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Celebrate Earth Day 2025 with Rowing Dock, Epic SUP & The Trail Conservancy: A Fun-Filled Clean-Up Event!

Posted on | by Kate Aoueille | Leave a Comment on Celebrate Earth Day 2025 with Rowing Dock, Epic SUP & The Trail Conservancy: A Fun-Filled Clean-Up Event!
All Earth Day graphics (including t-shirts) made by The Masonry

Get ready to make a difference this Earth Day in the most exciting way possible—by combining outdoor adventure with community impact! Rowing Dock is thrilled to invite you to our fourth annual Earth Day Lake and Land Clean-Up on Friday, April 25th benefiting The Trail Conservancy. Whether you’re a longtime volunteer or brand new to giving back, this event is the perfect opportunity to try out voluntourism while keeping Austin beautiful.

Why You Should Join Us

Last year, over 1,900 incredible volunteers helped remove 14,000 pounds of trash from Lady Bird Lake and surrounding trails. This year, we’re setting our sights even higher, and we need YOUR help! Whether you prefer to paddle out on the lake or stay on land and walk the trails, there’s a spot for everyone to contribute.

This isn’t just a clean-up—it’s a celebration of our community, our environment, and the power of collective action. Plus, it’s a fantastic way to try volunteering in a super fun setting. If you’ve never volunteered before, this is the perfect first step. You’ll meet new friends, explore Austin’s scenic outdoor spaces, and leave knowing you made a tangible impact.

What to Expect

Volunteers will have the opportunity to select from three main sites to clean up from: Rowing Dock on the west end, Epic SUP on the east end and Festival Beach, also on the east end. Volunteers can select from two clean up times (9am or 12pm) and should expect their clean up to run approximately two hours. At Epic SUP and Rowing Dock, volunteers can clean up the city by boat or on foot. At Festival Beach, volunteers will walk along the trails to find trash. 

All volunteers will receive this year’s event t-shirt, designed by The Masonry. But that’s not all—volunteers can win prizes for the most trash collected and the weirdest item found (trust us, Austin’s trails have some surprises!). And to keep you energized, we’ll have delicious bites and refreshing drinks from local favorites like Thundercloud Subs, Richard’s Rainwater, Via313, Sno Beach, Easy Tiger, and more.

Event Details

Date: Friday, April 25, 2025
Time: Choose between two time slots—9 AM or 12 PM
Location(s): 


Cost: FREE for individual volunteers! Corporate teams of 10+ can participate with a $15/person donation to benefit The Trail Conservancy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Register Now: www.rowingdock.com/earth-day-cleanup

Sign Up & Spread the Word!

Spots fill up quickly, so don’t wait—grab your friends, family, or coworkers and sign up today. And if you can’t make it, help us spread the word by sharing this event with your network. Together, we can make a huge impact and keep Lady Bird Lake and its trails looking beautiful for generations to come.

Join us in celebrating Earth Day 2025 in the best way possible—having fun, making new memories, and giving back to the planet we all love. We can’t wait to see you there!

Mental Health Awareness Day

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In support of “World Mental Health Day: make mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority,” on Monday, October 10, you’re invited to Rowing Dock for a day of FREE outdoor programming designed to give you the opportunity to connect, reflect, and reset.

Daytime programming (8AM-5PM) will include an hour of free paddling. Evening programming, starting at 5:30PM, will begin with an expert lakeside chat about modern mental health featuring Alyssa Cornett, and hosted by Recalibrate, followed by a guided sunset sound bath and meditation, led by ATX Yoga Girl.

While all activities are free, advanced registration is required!

Click here to register.

GUARANTEED TO WRINKLE PADDLE WITH PURPOSE

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Meet us at the water on Thursday, September 8th at 6:00 PM for an early evening paddle supporting local non-profit, Flatwater Foundation.

This event is open to GTW members, interested members, and friends!

Flatwater Foundation seeks to provide therapy to those in the wake of cancer. Flatwater connects individuals with therapists to help clear their mind, heal their body, and find the strength to take on a diagnosis. 

This event includes a 1.5 hour SUP paddle with the GTW community, with food and drinks provided afterwards. Your ticket purchase will be a donation directly to the foundation. If you would like to donate more than the minimum requested ($30), please feel welcome! Every dollar donated goes towards hours of therapy for those in need.

To sign up, click here.

ATX Paddle Dash Benefiting Explore Austin

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Calling outdoors enthusiasts and the outdoor-curious, alike! Join in on Austin’s newest tradition on September 25th – The ATX Paddle Dash, a first-of-its-kind kayak race on Lady Bird Lake, followed by a social hour, with food and drinks provided. There will be three different kayak races, ranging from youth to competitive divisions.

We are honored to partner with Explore Austin for this event, and all proceeds from this event will support Explore Austin and its mission of empowering youth through leadership, mentoring, and outdoor adventure.

For more time specific details and pricing, tap here.

Support Explore Austin’s mission and join us for the ATX Paddle Dash!

 

Rowing DOck feature on tribeza

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The history and success of Rowing Dock was featured in a recent Tribeza article– The Rowing Dock is a Growing Family Business on Lady Bird Lake.

 PRIOR TO 2010, Susan Goldberg had never stepped foot on a paddle board. In 2022, Goldberg is 12 years into being the owner of Austin’s hidden gem rowing location, the Rowing Dock.

 “Before buying the business, she had no experience in the outdoor industry,” says Goldberg’s daughter and the Rowing Dock’s director of marketing and communications, Kate Aoueille. “Regardless, she had the faith that she could figure it out, which speaks to her tenacity and entrepreneurial mindset. That mentality is a huge reason this business has grown to the scale it has.”

Rowing Dock is incredibly grateful for this coverage from TRIBEZA, as it truly shows Rowing Dock in a new light- it’s not just a boat rental business on Lady Bird Lake, but a company founded in love, a commitment to keep Lady Bird Lake clean, and a passion for giving all community members the opportunity to experience the natural beauty of Lady Bird Lake.

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Rowing Dock X TruFusion Summer Sweat Series

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We’ve partnered with TruFusion Austin to bring barre fusion to the dock with our Summer Sweat Series.

WHEN: August 20th 7:30 AM

WHERE: Rowing Dock

WHAT: This class series offers a 45-minute barre fusion workout, followed by an hour-long Stand-Up Paddle on Lady Bird Lake to cool down. After working hard, we’ll treat you to Zorro Coffee, protein Greenhouse Donuts, Mayawell Prebiotic Soda, and a refreshing Nutrl seltzer.

ADDED BONUS: You’ll get exclusive access to sign up for TruFusion’s $30 for 30 days Intro Offer with an extra $30 off your second month, and a 20% off voucher to the Rowing Dock for future paddles!

Be sure to bring your own mat, water, and sweat towel.

Please arrive no later than 8:00am to sign our waiver and get settled on your mat space. Class will begin promptly at 8:15am, and there will be no exceptions for late arrivals. 

Grab a friend to get your sweat on with!

Rowing Dock X FP Movement Fitness Series

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Rowing Dock is excited to partner with FP Movement Austin to offer a variety of outdoor experiences to get people moving.  

Sweat to Splash Class: Thursday, August 4th 7:30-8:30AM

Our FP Movement X Rowing Dock Sweat to Splash Class offers a 30-minute dock workout, followed by a 30-minute paddle board cool down.

SUP Yoga: Thursday, August 18th 7:30-8:30 AM

For this class, you’ll be guided through an hour-long stand-up paddleboard yoga. You’ll get a sweat on, while also challenging your balance!

All class offers a fun way to sweat hard, while cooling off by the water. The best part? You’ll get an adorable pair of FP Movement’s Way Home Shorts. Grab a friend and join us for a perfect day in ATX.

If you’re not able to join us for these classes, rest assured there will be several more FP Movement experiences we’ll offer in the coming months. Don’t forget to check our Happenings Page for the latest info.

Help Us Keep Austin Beautiful with the Kayak Clean Up Crew

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Here at Rowing Dock, our main priority is to keep our lake clean. With the amount of growth Austin is experiencing, it’s more important now than ever to reverse the damage of littering. As a result, Rowing Dock’s philanthropic initiative, the Kayak Clean Up Crew, brings volunteers out every Saturday to clean up Lady Bird Lake.

Volunteers will get a free two-hour boat rental, a trash bag, gloves, and grabbers. Upon your return, a Rowing Dock team member will weigh your trash bag, snap a pic, and add it tour our roster. As a thank you for your contribution, we’ll give you an additional free one-hour rental pass for each full bag of trash you bring to use on any future occasion.

Help us clean up our lake and join us Saturday mornings!

Paddle Under the SOCO Bat Bridge: Weekly Sunset Bat Tours

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Watching the bats fly out from the South Congress Bridge is a well-known attraction of Austin, TX. However, Rowing Dock puts a twist on it by offering a way to watch the bats from Lady Bird Lake in one of our kayaks, canoes, or paddleboards. From watching the sun set to seeing thousands of bats fly from the SOCO bridge, our guided Sunset Bat Tours make for an unforgettable experience.

Here’s a perspective from one of our tour guides, Mark DeGraff:

“I love bat tours because they allow you to experience great views of the Austin skyline, the emergence of the largest urban bat colony in North America, and the sunset over Lady Bird Lake all in just a few hours of paddling. In my opinion, bat tours are one of the best things to do in Austin!”

Join us for Sunset Bat Paddles every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday! To learn about an upcoming bat tour, check out our Happenings Page.

Austin’s First and Largest Earth Day Lake & Land Clean-Up

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Rowing Dock launched and hosted Austin’s first and largest Earth Day lake and land clean-up in history in partnership with EpicSUP. In just our first year holding the event, we were able to bring 1,400 volunteers together who yielded over 6,000 pounds of trash from Lady Bird Lake and Austin greenspaces. This event brought in $13,000 in donations for Austin Parks Foundation. We secured coverage across all local broadcast stations and were on the front page of the Austin Chronicle.

One prominent feature, written by Cora Neas, Digital Journalist and Assignment Editor of KXAN, highlighted the impact of our city-wide Earth Day trash clean-up:

“Hundreds of volunteers arrived at Rowing Dock and Epic SUP this Earth Day to sweep the banks of Lady Bird Lake, and they removed just below 6,000 pounds of litter from the area.

The crews returned laden with bags of trash and some rare finds: a bottle jack, a lawn mower, rental bikes and scooters, an ottoman, chairs, fenders, a fire extinguisher and a washing machine, among other oddities.”

To watch the segment, click here.

Rowing Dock is so grateful of Cora’s coverage, as it serves as a reminder of why we do what we do. Rowing Dock’s main priority is to keep Lady Bird Lake clean and healthy, and our efforts, such as Earth Day, have done just that. Our hopes are to make 2023’s Earth Day even larger with an even greater impact on our lake.

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