Kayakers race through 'gnarly' rapids in Paddlemania on Saturday

With plenty of water in the St. Louis River this year, the Fin Falls race returns to Paddlemania Saturday, said organizer Cliff Langley, calling it more of a sprint race.

Kayakers will still paddle from just below the Thomson Dam to just above the rapids upstream of the swinging lift bridge at Jay Cooke State Park. From there, they will paddle the rapids upstream of the bridge - where spectators get excellent views of the action - then pass under the bridge about 100 years to where the river turns right and there's a waterfall. That is the "fin" of Fin Falls, Langley said. From there they dip into a mini canyon to finish the race.

"This race highlights some of the more gnarly rapids you have to navigate," he said, including some Class 4 rapids."

The race draws expert kayakers from across the Northland, the Twin Cities region and even the occasional visitor from the Pacific Northwest, Langley said.

After two years of drought, he's excited to have enough weather to bring back the Fin Falls race.

The competition itself should run from about 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. The best viewing spots are on the bridge or down the trail on the right side of the river if you're hiking downstream from the bridge.

"Once we start, we'll send one racer down about every minute," he said. "Of course, it's like herding cats [to get the kayakers to the start point], so the start time could come closer to 2:15."

For more details or race results, search for Paddlemania on Facebook.