Balade En Canoe La Marne Chalons Pelles Chalonnaises Famille © Marat Anaev

Travel down

The Marne in a canoe

Explore nature in a new way, with the Pelles Châlonnaises, a rowing and canoeing club in Châlons-en-Champagne. The Marne River with its shaded banks and lush green surroundings is just waiting to be discovered.

You’ll love it for…

Head to Matougues

for the departure

It was a lovely, warm day… A perfect time to be on the water. We met up with Christophe, from the Pelles Châlonnaises club, at the water-sports centre. He would be our guide for the day.

Before setting off, we changed into more comfortable clothing that didn’t matter if it got wet, which we were certainly going to do…

When we arrived, Christophe had already packed the 2-seater canoes onto a trailer. Paddles and life jackets were distributed and we got into the van, heading for Matougues.

Our itinerary for the day: Matougues-Aulnay-sur-Marne which takes around 1 hour 15 minutes down the Marne.

On the water!

Launching onto the water is very simple: the group is divided into pairs and off you go. Take care, pairs have to be in the right position. The person at the back is in charge and then both need to paddle or let themselves be carried by the current, which is really cool.

First we traveled below a bridge where the water was a little more choppy. It wasn’t dangerous. we were just a little less steady. And no risk of turning over unlike Martial … He was on his own in a kayak, which was not quite so stable but really fast!

The scenery was delightful. We ran a bit of a race, but we felt so at ease on the water that we were in no hurry to get the finish. Everyone could go at their own pace.

Balade En Canoe Sur La Marne Chalons Pelles Chalonnaises Couple © Marat Anaev

In Aulnay, Christophe was waiting for us. We hoisted the canoes up onto the trailer and climbed into the van to head back to Châlons, our starting point. We were a bit wet, as expected, so don’t forget to take a towel and some sunscreen!

We felt fantastic and really relaxed, after this action-packed adventure in the great outdoors. A real breath of fresh air!