On a clear summer afternoon, cars line the University lakes as people crowd the area running, biking, fishing or just relaxing.
Occasionally residents ride canoes on the lakes, some of them rented out by the Rec Center.
The Rec Center has various types of outdoor equipment available for rent, including canoes that rent for $15 a day. Included in the rental fee are two paddles, two lifejackets and two cushions.
During the fall semester, the Rec Center will begin transporting the canoes to the lakes on designated days to accommodate students who can not transport the canoes themselves, said Rec Center Director Elaine Purdy.
Purdy said the Rec Center decided to begin transporting the canoes to the lake in order to make them more accessible to students.
“We store our canoes at the Special Olympics pool,” Purdy said. “You have to go there and get the canoe, transport it to the lake and transport it back. It’s a lot to do.”
Mike Giles, associate director of the Rec Center, said they are trying to “promote the use of the lakes, the use of the canoes and the [Rec Center] outdoor program.”
Purdy said the popularity of the canoes led the Rec Center to look for easier ways to transport them.
“Especially during fall break and spring break, all our canoes are out so you have to reserve early,” Purdy said.
Vicki Watts rode the lakes Tuesday in her own canoe along with her husband and son. Watts said they bring the canoe out to the lakes a few times a year.
“You feel safe because its fairly calm and its fairly shallow,” she said.
Watts and her husband transported the canoe by putting it on wheels and walking with it from their house near the lakes.
Purdy said in the future the Rec Center would like to have an outdoor recreational facility located on the lakes for easier access.