Venice Meets the Bayou: A Conversation with Detroit River Sports Kayaking Guide Eli Winer

Eli Winer learned to kayak the way a lot of great guides do — by accident, at summer camp. He spent his childhood at a residential canoe-tripping camp in Algonquin Park, Ontario, working his way up from camper to lead kayaking instructor, teaching hundreds of kids and staff along the way. These days he spends his guiding time with Detroit River Sports, leading historic canal tours as well as giving private lessons. We caught up with him to talk about how he ended up back in Detroit, what makes the Detroit River worth paddling, and why the canals remind him of Venice.

How did you get into paddling? Was there a specific trip that hooked you?

“I grew up going to a residential canoe-tripping summer camp in Algonquin Park, Ontario. From age 10, I was learning their kayaking and canoeing program, and I started working my way up to more advanced skills. Eventually I became their lead kayaking instructor in the park — I did that for about three years, teaching the staff, teaching hundreds and hundreds of kids, and hosting kayaking pretty much exclusively for anyone in the fall, whenever we'd have company retreats or school groups. I really got into teaching all ages across the board.

“Around 2022, I became much more local, staying in Detroit more again — for a while I was living here half the year and in Canada and at the park the other half. Being more local again, I was really happy to not just continue my hobby myself and get connected with people on Facebook groups and things like that, but being able to work with a company like Detroit River Sports has been really amazing, because they're offering unique guided historic tours in an area where not a lot of people are getting out on the water like that, in personal watercraft. It's really cool.”

What brought you specifically to the Detroit area, and what makes it fun to work in?

“I grew up kind of moving around the suburbs of Metro Detroit, renting here and there with my family throughout my childhood. I was working in Canada going back and forth through college and a little after — when I stopped working for that company as new owners came in, I was basically looking for a new home base. A lot of friends had always lived around Detroit, so I wanted to be close to people I knew, in an area where there's always something to get connected with, but also a lot of different cultures and things to learn, all in one close-by place.

“I started getting involved with anything that could teach me more about the areas of my home that I wanted to revisit. I worked for Eastern Market for a while, with a lot of the farms out around the west side. Then I started working for the DNR with the Outdoor Adventure Center, doing a lot of outreach and archery classes. Through them, it just kept spinning from there — I got connected with kayaking companies and hiking companies, and thankfully I found them.”

Most people don't think of Detroit as a paddling city. What would you say to change their mind?

“We have natural waterways that were here even before the French settlers — like Fox Creek, which used to all be marshland, and now you can go there and see historic homes. There are islands located in the river itself, plenty to explore. Wherever you are in Michigan, you're never more than 30 minutes from a body of water, so I think Michigan should be much more of a kayaking destination than it already is. A lot of people are into Great Lakes kayaking, touring, longer adventures, but I think there's a lot more accessibility in places like the Detroit River, the St. Clair River, the Au Sable — I have a whole list of my favorite Michigan river destinations, like Turnip Rock.

“There are so many places, even in the interior of Michigan, calm moving bodies of water that can really show people we're more of an outdoor recreation hub than a lot of people realize, especially downtown.”

“A lot of people who live in the city or around it don't really get in the water that much. They might go fishing on the pier, or go to their gyms, or go out to a metropark to do that kind of stuff. So it's amazing to be able to take people out that close to the city and get these beautiful views of the Detroit skyline — regattas of sailboats across the water while we're paddling, the Goodyear Blimp flying over us one day on a tour, a marching band practicing on the shoreline. There are longboats, big old sailing ships, freighters going by. We always see something new. And I haven't even mentioned the wildlife — people don't even realize we have beavers in Detroit.

“You've got to explore these areas that are right in your own backyard, and that ties into a lot of my philosophy as a guide: you don't have to be somewhere different or foreign or far away to learn something new and experience something new. You can always take a look at the same areas where you always are, in a different way, and it can give you a whole new perspective. I tell people the canals, the Jefferson-Chalmers area where Detroit River Sports is located, it's kind of like the vibes of Venice meets the bayou, all in one place. It's something special.”

You run everything from sunrise to full moon and after-dark paddles. How's the experience different, and do you have a favorite?

“I love the historic guided tours that go down from the Jefferson-Chalmers area, flowing with the current to an area called Grayhaven Island that has a really diverse background when it comes to Prohibition-era families. A lot of big old Spanish-style mansions down there that you'd never expect to see in Michigan — one of the Fisher mansions is there. That's always really cool. Seeing the wildlife is amazing on those tours.

“The full moon paddles are really special because you get that awestruck look on people's faces when we're all floating together on the river.”

“[for moonlight paddles] We time it so we catch the sun going down behind the city and then the moon rising over the Canada side. It's beautiful, and we make it extra special — we string different colored Christmas lights off the tops of everyone's kayaks, so it's a good picture opportunity. It's always so calming being out there. It's quiet. The water is like glass. You can see a freighter going by even under the full moon. It's really special.”

What would you tell someone who's never kayaked before? What should they expect on their first tour?

“We get a lot of first-timers on our typical historic canal tours. They go out onto the river for a short portion — it's basically the same route for our sunrise historic canal and sunset tours. We very frequently get people stepping into a boat for the very first time. You always have more than enough guides for a good ratio of guides to guests. All the guides are prepared to tow anybody with tow lines if we need extra help getting pointed in the right direction — we're all used to that, and we're all prepared on safety skills. So even on the off chance somebody might tip out of their boat, we're happy to get you back in, and it's always a calm process.

“We also teach a lot of private lessons — so if anyone is nervous about going out on the river or trying to keep up with a group, I'm actually our private lesson instructor. We offer a session that teaches everything from the kayak terminology and equipment you're using, and why the boat or paddle might be shaped a certain way for the type of kayaking you're doing — there are a lot of differences there depending on whether you're on the river or a lake. Then we get into paddling form and posture, efficient paddling techniques for going forward, turning, stopping your momentum while still turning, and staying balanced.

“It's not so much about the power behind each stroke, but the form and the rhythm.”

What's your favorite part about the storytelling in the historic tours?

“We talk about a lot. We go from the natural history of the river and those areas, through the different inhabitants of the river. We talk a little bit, as much as we're personally able to, about early tribes in the area and activities they were doing on Belle Isle, and French traders who partnered with them. We talk a lot about the French, and a lot about the Prohibition era on the Detroit River — that's a big history there. They say the Motor City was built on wheels, but I think even more so, it was built on booze.

“When the river used to not be as deep in the shipping channel, and didn't have as many effects from climate change, it used to freeze over all the way in the wintertime — the gang members running these rum-running routes would just drive their cars across the ice and try to make it back in time.

The history is really cool. We talk a bit about the river's importance with people like George de Baptiste, who helped people get to freedom as a last stop on the Underground Railroad. There's so much history you can learn about Detroit, and you can learn it from a lot of different groups. It's cool that while doing a completely new experience like kayaking on the Detroit River, you can learn a little about everything and see some homes.

“We talk about Belle Isle a lot — that's a big focus of mine, because I also work with a hiking tour company called Expedition Detroit. They're partnered with the DNR and lead historic hikes and adventure hikes all year long in pretty much all of the state parks and recreation areas of the Lower Peninsula.”

Ready to paddle the Jefferson-Chalmers canals with Eli? Book a historic canal tour, full moon paddle, or private lesson with Detroit River Sports through the Adventurtle app.