Lisa came prepared to rent one of the four single-person kayaks: She downloaded the Rent.Fun app to her phone. Once she paid the hourly fee through the app, she heard the click to let her know the door to the vending machine was open. She grabbed the kayak, paddle and personal flotation device and carried it to the New River, just steps away from the kiosk.

Lisa spent the day on the New River, one of Jacksonville’s blueways water routes in Onslow County. She checked out the osprey nest at the Louis Sewell Jr. Bridge and found a shady stop near Wilson Bay for a break.

“The cool thing about being on the New River is there is a lot of nature to see as you go along the banks of the river,” says Lisa, a Jacksonville resident and former Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative member. “You can see turtles, herons, egrets and kingfishers. It’s just a beautiful place to go.”

Albemarle, Havelock and Jacksonville are the first cities in the state to offer this “kayak vending machine” option.

“Several cities in North Carolina have added kayak kiosks as amenities,” says Susan Baptist, director of recreation services for Jacksonville. The kiosks are a great option for vacationers who don’t bring kayaks with them, military families who move often, and for those who don’t want to commit to purchasing a personal kayak. The rentals are $5 to $15 per hour, depending on the location.

“This is an opportunity for people to put their toe in the water,” Susan explains, “and explore without the investment and transport of a kayak.”

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