08/28/2026
"I left Jackson—born and raised here—and got a little spot in Leota on the Muskegon River. I needed some peace to reflect and grow. Lori and I found some peace for almost 20 years. We raised my nieces and rebuilt a small house. I started renting a couple of kayaks because we were next to the river. I'd drop them off two miles up from the house and they’d paddle back two and a half hours and get out right across the street.
When the girls got old enough, they wanted to live with their mom, so they came back to Jackson. I sold the house with the kayaks with it and came back, too. My family’s all here so it made sense. It also made sense to use the money I made to do more kayak rentals.
That’s when I learned that the building we’re in now was available and owned by Jackson County Parks. I called them and Kyle said, 'We're going into a meeting in a half hour to talk about what to do with the building.' And I said, 'Well, I'm licensed, insured. I got my LLC. I've got kayaks. I’ve got money to grow. So I'd like to take over the lease this year and start Memorial Weekend.' And he said, 'Sounds good.' I signed the paperwork, got the insurance and everything. That was two weeks before Memorial Day.
People have said, 'We're so happy that there's something there. That there's energy. That it's not vacant all the time.' So I wanted to do more. We went from just being a kayak rental and a drop-off service to getting the tubes for the kids to play with for free. The lily pads are all free for everyone to play with at the lake. We have cheap, affordable ice cream, pop, and chips at $1 because we want to show you don't have to price gouge your community to make money. We want everybody to be able to play and have fun and that means it needs to be affordable. You don't want people to come and feel like they got to break their pockets to buy a couple sodas and some chips. Do a good job, and you'll make enough money. We have to make it affordable and accessible, and that's what I want to do.
I wanted to create something where I was around people that wanted to be happy and that I could make happy. Since being here, I've met so many people. One guy sat on the bench for the entire day, and he was going through a lot in his life. He said it was his first time out, and he was mentally struggling. We fed him, and he's been back several times and with a whole different mindset. We have so many people come in here weekly, daily, and say, 'This is just great. We just love what you're doing. Our family loves it. We love seeing it. We haven't seen this in Vandercook in 20 years, and we just really enjoy it.'
Along with people coming here as families, we work with different groups. For example, there's Activities Recovery Empowerment. They brought 30-40 people here at a time. We work with youth groups and churches. They can just come and kayak or we can put together an activity for them.
I like what Experience Jackson is doing, trying to show everybody what Jackson can become, and I like being part of that. The energy has been just amazing. The positivity, the whole community has been great.
I’d love for people to come visit us at Otterly Fun Kayak Rental at Vandercook Lake in Jackson. We have affordable kayak rentals, paddleboard rentals, pedal boat rentals, free tubes, lily pads and floats for kids to use at the lake. Affordable concessions at $1 for ice cream, pop, chips and candies. We also let everyone at the lake use life jackets for their kids. It's a day that you can spend with your family that's affordable, fun and safe.
They can reach us at otterlyfun.com, Otterly Fun Kayak Rental on Facebook, Paddles the Otter on TikTok, or they can call 517-262-8750.
I appreciate the community and how they have supported us, and we hope to continue to grow."
— Gerald Easton, Otterly Fun Kayak Rental LLC
Townsend Beaman County Park at Vandercook Lake
407 Parkway St., Jackson, MI 49203
