AMERICUS — Americus resident Lan Benton is set to paddle 92 miles this summer as part of Georgia River Network’s Paddle Georgia 2009 on North Georgia’s Coosawattee and Oostanaula rivers.

The annual canoe and kayak adventure brings together more than 300 people each year from across the Southeast, the U.S. and Canada for a week-long journey. This year, paddlers launch from Ellijay on June 20 and complete their trip June 26 in downtown Rome.

Fashioned after the annual Bicycle Ride Across Georgia, Paddle Georgia is more than just a canoe and kayak trip. The event will include educational programs on the river’s cultural and natural history, tours of facilities and historic sites located along the river, nightly games and entertainment, and even a research program in which participants will help collect chemical and biological data to give a snapshot of the current health of the Coosawattee and Oostanaula.

In the past, paddlers participating in the trip ranged in age from 4 to 74 and family groups are common. At an all-inclusive cost of about $51 per day per person (includes meals and registration fees), the trip is a vacation value, and one that will not soon be forgotten, according to event organizers.

“We’ve had people come on this trip that have never paddled before and now they are life-long paddlers,” said Joe Cook, coordinator of the event. “This is an adventure that changes peoples’ lives.”

The trip also serves as a fundraiser for Georgia River Network and local watershed groups, including the Coosawattee Watershed Alliance in Ellijay and the New Echota Rivers Alliance in Calhoun.

Registration fees are $195 for adults, $130 for children age 8-17 and $170 for seniors and college students. Paddle Georgia Lite registration fees are $90 for adults, $55 for children age 8 -17, and $75 for seniors and college students. Children age 7 and under are free. Organizers also offer a meal plan that includes eight dinners, seven lunches and seven breakfasts for $200. Registration is limited to the first 300 paddlers. As of April 16, less than 100 spots still remained for the adventure.

Georgia River Network is a non-profit 501c3 organization working to ensure a clean water legacy by engaging and empowering Georgians to protect and restore our rivers from the mountains to the coast.

More information or to register, visit www.garivers.org.

For more information, contact Joe Cook at 706-235-1170 or via e-mail at jcookpg@gmail.com or contact April Ingle at 706-549-4508 or via e-mail at ingle@garivers.org or visit www.garivers.org and click on the Paddle Georgia link.