The Burnstown Beach Paddle Shack reopens after 2020 fire

One of the busiest beaches in the Ottawa Valley has become even more popular this summer with the return of its water sports rental shack.

The Paddle Shack at the Burnstown Beach reopened this summer after two years to the delight of locals and tourists.

The original building was destroyed by fire back in April 2020.

"A lot more people are coming now that the word is out that there's a paddle shack," beach attendant and shack operator Sadie Armsden told CTV News Ottawa.

"The past week it's been really, really busy with the heat, so we've been pretty much steady," she notes of the recent heat wave. "People were waiting for other people to come back so they could rent."

The Paddle Shack offer rentals starting from $10 an hour to $40 for a full day, plus a $50 deposit. Beach goers can visit the Paddle Shack Wednesday to Sunday throughout the summer.

"We have four kayaks and five stand up paddleboards," says Armsden. "Normally by the time one is coming back someone is coming to get it."

Megan Beauregard spent Wednesday afternoon at Burnstown Beach with her nieces, and remembers visiting the original Paddle Shack.

"We were pretty sad to see that one of our local areas where people like to come and have fun activities get destroyed by that," recalls Beauregard. "So it's nice to see that it's back up and running and this promotes more people coming out here to have some fun."

The small town beach is a favourite of locals and tourists alike.

"We're sick of Ottawa's beaches, so we thought where could we go that's not so far, not so close but we will have some fun," says Mazen Alkhouli, who left the city to kayak at Burnstown Beach for the second time this summer.

"Every time, every chance I can get to come here and enjoy the water, I will."

"A lot of people from Ottawa are coming down," says Armsden.

"I've heard lots of stories of people going kayaking on the St. Lawrence but they prefer it here because it's calmer and not as busy with boats."