Mockup. A sample website built for Paradise Outfitters at Smithville Lake, which has no site of its own. Phone number, address, rates and the status shown are placeholders for demonstration.
Little Platte Paddle Co.
Photograph to be taken Full bleed, shot from the water at the Little Platte ramp: two sit-on-top kayaks pulled up on the gravel, the trailer rack behind them, late afternoon light on the lake. Horizontal, room at the left for the headline.

Kayaks, boards and bikes, ten minutes from the dam

Hourly and daily rental on the west side of Smithville Lake. Walk up to the rack, or reserve a boat for a Saturday morning before they are gone.

The fleet

What is actually on the rack

Counts are what we own, not what is free at two o'clock on a Saturday. Call ahead on a holiday weekend and the tandems get held for you.

Sit-on-top kayaks, single

14 boats · 10 ft · up to 275 lb

The default boat and the one almost everyone should take. Stable enough to stand up out of, impossible to swamp, and easy to climb back onto in open water. Paddle, seat back and a life jacket come with it.

Photograph to be takenThe single kayaks stacked on the rack, hulls out, numbers visible. Wide shot.

Tandems

5 boats · 12 ft

Two adults, or one adult and two small kids. These go first on Saturdays.

Photograph to be takenA tandem on the ramp, both paddles across the deck.

Paddleboards

8 boards · 10 ft 6 in

Inflatable, pumped stiff before you leave the counter. Ankle leash and a belt life jacket come with each one. Best before ten in the morning, when the lake is flat.

Photograph to be takenOne board on the water, taken from the shore, early light.

Trail bikes

6 bikes · sizes S to XL

Front suspension hardtails for the Smithville Lake trail system. Helmet included and required for anyone under sixteen. A flat kit rides in the seat bag.

Photograph to be takenThe bike rack with all six bikes, trailhead sign in frame.

Kids' boats

4 boats · 6 ft

Short hulls for ages six to eleven, with a youth jacket fitted at the counter.

Photograph to be takenYouth life jackets on the fitting bench.

What comes with every rental

No extra charge

A Coast Guard approved life jacket fitted to the person wearing it, a paddle, a whistle on the jacket, a dry bag for phones and keys, and two minutes of instruction at the ramp on how to get back on the boat if you come off it. The dry bag is the one people are most glad about later.

Photograph to be takenFlat lay on the counter: jacket, paddle, whistle, dry bag, laminated launch map.

Rates

Two hours, half a day, or all of it

Everything is priced per boat, not per person, and a tandem is one boat. Rates below are illustrative for this mockup.

Craft2 hoursHalf dayFull day
Single kayak$25$40$55
Tandem kayak$38$58$78
Paddleboard$28$45$60
Kids' kayak$18$28$38
Trail bike$22$35$48
Family four pack
Two singles and two kids' boats		$75$115$155

Half day is four hours. Full day is open to close. A card is held at the counter and released when the boat comes back. Nothing is charged for a late return of under thirty minutes.

How it works

Reserved on a weekend, walk up on a weekday

  1. Call the day before

    Friday and Saturday sell out by mid morning in July. A reservation holds the boat until eleven.

  2. Sign at the counter

    One waiver per person. Anyone under eighteen needs a parent to sign it in person.

  3. Get fitted at the ramp

    Jackets are fitted, not handed over. Two minutes of instruction and you are on the water.

  4. Come back to the same ramp

    Boats come out where they went in. Rack them and the card hold drops off.

Where to put in

Little Platte Park, west side of the lake

The rental rack sits at the gravel ramp on the park road, past the second parking loop. If you reach the swim beach you have gone too far. Trailered boats use the main ramp instead, which is north of us.

  • Drive timeAbout twenty minutes from Liberty, thirty five from the Northland.
  • ParkingFree in the gravel loop next to the rack. Clay County day use fee applies at the park gate.
  • RestroomsVault toilets at the loop. The nearest flush restrooms are at the marina.
  • WaterBring it. There is no spigot at this ramp.

Season and weather

Open from the first warm Saturday in April to the last one in October

Seven days a week from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 9 to 7. Weekends only in April, May, September and October, 10 to 5.

The lake closes us, not the calendar. Sustained wind over about fifteen miles an hour puts whitecaps on the main body and the rack does not go out. Lightning within ten miles closes the ramp for thirty minutes past the last strike. Both decisions get posted to the board at the top of this page in the morning and updated if the day turns.

If the board says open and you are driving more than half an hour, call anyway. Nobody minds.

Saturday, July 25Open 9 to 7, full rack
Call (816) 555-0164