Inclusion on the Champlain Canal!

Hudson Crossing Park’s Adaptive Launch Opens — A New Beginning on the Champlain Canal! 🌊

A Ribbon, a Canal, and a Whole Lot of “Yes, You Can!”

On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, Hudson Crossing Park cut the ribbon on its brand-new BoardSafe adaptive kayak launch at Champlain Canal Lock C5 Island in Schuylerville, NY — and what a morning it was! Rochester Accessible Adventures (RAA) was honored to be there in person, with our Inclusion Specialist Dee Mascari and Executive Director Anita O’Brien on the ground to help celebrate. As always, the people gathered around the dock told the real story — community members, paddlers, families, AARP and NYS Canal Corporation representatives, and the Hudson Crossing team who have been making this project happen over the past year.

If you’ve been following along, you know this project was set in motion last year — and now it’s real, it’s installed, and it’s open. 🎉

The First Paddler Out of the Gate

We were thrilled to watch Jim Nolan become the very first person to use the new launch. Jim sustained a spinal cord injury and uses a wheelchair, and getting back into a kayak alongside his wife had been something he hadn’t dared to plan for.

“I never dreamed I would be able to do something…” — Jim Nolan, first paddler at the new launch

That moment — the wheelchair-to-bench transition, the overhead grab bar, the sliding seat extending toward the kayak, and then Jim, on the water — is exactly the kind of moment that fuels the work we do. It is why we keep showing up at boat ramps, dock edges, and welcome centers from one end of New York State to the other.

What Makes This Launch Special

The BoardSafe system installed at Hudson Crossing Park is a beautifully engineered piece of accessibility infrastructure. A few features worth highlighting:

• A four-step boarding bench that lets a paddler transition from a wheelchair down to the kayak in slow, manageable increments.
• An overhead grab bar and suspended hand straps that support paddlers with limited grip strength or arm power.
• A sliding bottom bench that extends out to ease the final transfer into the boat.
• Adaptive kayaks with outriggers, higher seatbacks, and pedestal-mounted paddles, donated by RAA — designed so a person can paddle one-handed if needed and stay confidently upright on the water.

Hudson Crossing Park’s Executive Director, Kate Morse, has said something we love about how the launch feels — describing the experience as something close to a gentle hug as you’re guided out into the canal. (Kate, we agree. It’s true.) She also pointed out something practical and important: the team kept costs down by tying the new launch into existing waterfront infrastructure — a smart, replicable approach for other parks and municipalities watching this project unfold.

It’s Not Just About the Ramp

One of the most quotable moments of the morning came from Darby Racey, Program Manager for On the Canals at the NYS Canal Corporation (a subsidiary of the New York Power Authority). Darby reminded the crowd that physical access is only a small slice of the full inclusion picture — roughly 15% of the work. The rest is programmatic access, administrative access, training, hospitality, and community welcome. It is the everyday choices an organization makes about how a person is greeted, registered, oriented, and supported.

YES! This is, after all, the foundation of RAA’s Inclusion Partnership model — the long-term, mentored work of building a true culture of inclusion alongside the people, processes, and policies of an organization. Hudson Crossing Park has been walking that walk even before we met them, and we are proud to call them a partner in this work through the Accessibility Education Program (AEP) — RAA’s two-year statewide initiative with the NYS Canal Corporation now reaching many businesses and communities all along the 524-mile Erie Canalway.

It was wonderful to connect in person with so many of the people who have made this launch possible — community members who turned out on a Spring canal morning, AARP representatives whose investment helped fund the launch, Canals colleagues who keep this work moving statewide, and Hudson Crossing’s volunteers, board, and staff. This is what it looks like when a community decides everyone belongs on the water. 💙

A Beginning, Not a Destination

Here’s the thing about a ribbon cutting: it’s a beautiful day, and it’s also Day 1. The launch is in the water now — but the real work begins as paddlers arrive, programs run, families show up together, and the launch becomes part of everyday life along the Champlain Canal.

That’s where Hudson Crossing’s ongoing inclusion work — and RAA’s continuing partnership — comes in. The park has an Inclusion Point of Contact, Wendy DeLaCruz (wdelacruz@HudsonCrossingPark.orgcreate new email), to help paddlers with disabilities plan their visit. RAA will continue to walk alongside Hudson Crossing through the AEP, helping ensure that physical access is matched, every step of the way, by the welcoming culture that makes a person actually feel invited.

Watch for adaptive paddling opportunities on the Hudson Crossing Park calendar this season — including Inclusive Paddling On the Canal dates already on the books!  We hope you will go try it out with them!

Stay Tuned for Summer 2026!

This is one of several BoardSafe adaptive launches coming online across New York State this spring and summer through our growing Inclusion Partnership network — including the new launch at Elevator Alley Kayak in Buffalo, joining Erie Canal Boat Company (Fairport), Brockport Welcome Center, Churchville Park, and now Hudson Crossing Park on the map. New York State is becoming, quite literally, the most paddle-accessible state in the country. 🚣

We’re not done. We’ve got more communities to visit, more launches to celebrate, and so many more “Yes, I can!” moments to share with you.

Interested?

👉 Does your waterfront business or municipality want to bring accessibility and inclusion of people with disabilities to the front of your To Do list?

Check out How We Help Businesses & Organizations

👉 Want to find your next inclusive adventure on the water?

Check out our DirectConnect Resources Guide

👉 Want to learn more about RAA’s statewide work along the Erie Canalway?

Read about our 524-mile vision of accessibility and inclusion

In the News — Coverage of the Launch & Project

For readers and partners who want to dig deeper, here is the full press trail on Hudson Crossing Park’s adaptive kayak launch — from grant announcement through ribbon cutting:

Ribbon Cutting Coverage (April 2026)

• Daily Gazette — “Accessible kayak launch opens at Schuylerville’s Hudson Crossing Park,” by Melanie Snyder. Read article

Project Announcement & Build-Up

• Daily Gazette — “Accessible kayak launch coming to Schuylerville’s Hudson Crossing Park” (Dec. 2025). Read article
• NEWS10 ABC — “Hudson Crossings Park to add kayak launch next spring” (Dec. 2025). Read article
• NEWS10 ABC — “Hudson Crossing Park awarded $25K grant for kayak launch” (Sept. 2025). Read article
• Northeast Explorer — “New York Park Gets New Kayak Launch” (Mar. 2026). Read article

Hudson Crossing Park’s Own Releases & Calendar

• Hudson Crossing Park Press Releases (announcements re: BoardSafe installation, AARP grant, Reeve Foundation grant, RAA donation of adaptive kayaks). View page
• Hudson Crossing Park Upcoming Events (April 28 ribbon cutting and Inclusive Paddling On the Canal — May 19 and June 8, 2026). View calendar

Related RAA Background

• RAA Notes from the ED — “BoardSafe + RAA = Inclusion in Action!” (Jan. 2026). Read post
• BoardSafe Adaptive Kayak Launch Locator (live nationwide map). Open locator

See you on the water! 🚣‍♀️