UPDATE 4PM From the City of Jacksonville Lakes Department: Attention Jacksonville area visitors and residents! We know you’re eagerly anticipating the launch of our kayak and paddleboard rentals, but we want to update you on the progress of the program. The CVB has some onboarding training, and the City Lakes Department is working on completing some landscaping before we can officially get the rentals up and running. We understand your excitement and appreciate your patience as we work to ensure a smooth and successful launch. Rest assured, we will release more information as soon as everything is ready to go.
Anyone who has wanted to try kayaking in the Jacksonville area will soon have the opportunity to try it out thanks to a pair of Jacksonville lakes offerings this year.
The Jacksonville Parks & Lakes Department with assistance from the Jacksonville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau have obtained what is essentially a kayak vending machine with kayaks and safety gear for rental through a special mobile app.
Jacksonville Lakes Superintendent Brett Gilbreth says the dispenser gives residents and visits a chance to rent a kayak without having to fork over the cash to buy one: “We had put into our budget this year two brand new kayak launches. One will be stationed at Lake Jacksonville on Point 1 and the other will be stationed at Lake Mauvaisterre. Brittany Henry with the Visitors Bureau helped us out with the company. They dropped one off at Lake Mauvaisterre on Tuesday what is basically a kayak vending machine. Everything will be done online. Then, people who don’t want to purchase a kayak or are here in the Jacksonville area for a couple of days, they can rent a kayak and enjoy kayaking without having to make a big purchase or haul stuff around. It’s a couple of nice things for our kayakers. It’s another opportunity for recreation. That’s what we are supposed to be doing by making those things more available to our customers here in Jacksonville.”
The self-service system will be installed at Lake Jacksonville at a later time.
Users can download the rent.fun app on their smartphone or visit rent.fun.com. At the Lake Mauvaisterre launch site, users will scan a QR code to unlock one of the kayak bins that are complete with paddles and life jackets.
Users can then enjoy the equipment, and then, return it to the bin by selecting ‘unlock’ on the app to reopen it and secure the items for the next user to enjoy.
For more information on the self-service kayak rental system, go to rent.fun.com or download the app either on the Google Play or Apple App stores.