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About Open Waters Network
Building a Hudson River paddling community where cost never determines who learns, who leads, or who feels belonging on the water.
Our Mission
To fund paddlesports education, wilderness safety training, and accessible waterway infrastructure for under-resourced and underrepresented communities along the Hudson River. We partner with outfitters, community organizations, and public agencies to build a more equitable paddling community by training organizational leaders, facilitating group paddling experiences, and co-funding ADA-compliant kayak launches at public sites.
Our Vision
A Hudson River corridor where everyone, regardless of income, ability, or background, can reach the water, supported by trained community leaders, funded scholarship programs, and publicly accessible launch sites built in partnership with the communities they serve.
Core Values
Accessibility
Safety
Environmental Stewardship
Partnership
Inclusivity
Leadership Development
Our Model
We leverage existing infrastructure—outfitters, training providers, and instructors—and fund access instead of building our own. This keeps overhead minimal and impact high.
Why Scholarships?
Because cost is the decisive barrier:
- • Equipment packages: $1,500–3,000
- • Instruction sessions: $80–130
- • Wilderness safety training: $350–1,500
- • Instructor certification: ~$700
We remove these financial walls.
What Success Looks Like
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A scout leader obtains safety certification and introduces dozens of youth to paddling
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A scholarship recipient becomes the first Latina kayaking instructor at a Hudson River outfitter
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A veterans group experiences the river for the first time
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Adaptive paddlers access properly equipped programs
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Alumni return as volunteers, mentors, and donors
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An ADA-compliant kayak launch opens at a public park, funded in partnership with OWN and the local parks department, making the river physically reachable for the first time for paddlers who use wheelchairs
Our Story
Open Waters Network was founded on Munsee Lenape Land in Cold Spring, NY in 2025 out of a simple belief: the Hudson River should belong to everyone. Instead of duplicating what works, we fund access to it.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
We prioritize serving low-income youth, people with disabilities, and communities historically excluded from outdoor recreation along the Hudson River. Click to read more.
Leadership
We are actively building our board and welcome diverse perspectives.
Interested in joining? board@openwatersnetwork.org
Impact Philosophy
We collect data from Day 1: completion rates, participant satisfaction, career pathways, instructor diversity, and environmental stewardship behaviors. Transparency drives trust.