CHILLICOTHE, Ohio | A familiar name on Paint Creek may soon have a new owner.
Waters Edge Canoe Livery, located along State Route 772 just outside Chillicothe, is being offered for sale for $750,000, according to a current listing from the property’s owner. The listing describes the sale as an opportunity to purchase the longtime canoe and kayak operation along with its property, buildings, equipment and inventory.
For many in the Chillicothe and Ross County area, Waters Edge has been much more than a place to rent a canoe. It has been a destination for summer floats, fishing trips, camping weekends, family outings and plenty of memories made along Paint Creek.
The business has been part of the local outdoor recreation scene for more than two decades. A 2013 Ross County events publication celebrated Waters Edge’s 10th anniversary, placing its beginnings around 2003.
The property is being offered as a 4.46-acre operation that includes a number of components that could allow a new owner to continue the existing business or potentially develop it in other ways.
According to the sale listing, the property includes a two-bedroom, one-bathroom house, an office for the livery, restrooms, a shower house, three mini-cabin rentals, a primitive camping area and a shelter area available for parties.
The listing also includes a significant amount of equipment and inventory, including a 2006 Freightliner full-size bus, two 15-passenger vans, a Chevrolet step-side shuttle van, five trailers and approximately 220 boats, along with life jackets, paddles and office equipment.
Waters Edge’s existing operation has centered around recreational trips on Paint Creek. The livery’s website currently advertises multiple canoe and kayak routes, including approximately 6-mile, 11-mile and 19-mile trips, with transportation, paddles and life jackets included with rentals.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has also identified Waters Edge as one of the liveries providing canoe and kayak recreation on Paint Creek, documenting its location on State Route 772 and its various float routes.
The business has also been part of organized community and recreational activities over the years. In 2014, the National Park Service partnered with Waters Edge for guided “Prehistoric Paddle” trips on Paint Creek, giving participants an opportunity to explore the creek while learning about the Hopewell culture and nearby earthworks.
Beyond the water, the livery’s current website describes primitive camping and mini cabins, along with fishing opportunities and other amenities.
A possible changing of the guard
The current owner says in the sale listing that, after opening the business in 2004, retirement is now prompting the consideration of selling what he describes as his “Baby.”
There is no indication that a sale has been completed, and a listing does not necessarily mean the property or business will ultimately change hands.
Still, the possibility is enough to make longtime customers pause and remember the place.
For generations of local families, a trip down Paint Creek can be about much more than the miles traveled. It can mean a summer afternoon with friends, a first canoe trip with the kids, a camping weekend, fishing with family or simply spending a warm Ohio day on the water.
Whatever happens next, we want to thank the owners of Waters Edge Canoe Livery for the memories they have helped create in the Chillicothe and Ross County community over the years.
Perhaps the business will remain in the family or the current owners may ultimately decide not to sell. But if a sale does happen, there will undoubtedly be many locals hoping that whoever takes the reins understands what Waters Edge has meant to the community and chooses to keep the tradition on Paint Creek going.
For now, Waters Edge Canoe Livery remains a familiar part of the local landscape, and its future is still unwritten.
Editor’s note: The $750,000 asking price and the property, equipment and inventory included in the potential sale are based on the owner’s current sale listing. Hopewell Heritage Headlines has not independently appraised the property or verified the seller’s stated inventory. Readers considering the property as an investment should conduct their own due diligence.
