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Chesapean Outdoors

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In 1996 a Virginia Beach native named Matt Redford started a small kayak eco-tour company called Chesapean Kayak Tours hoping to share the “backyard of his youth” with others. Unlike other kayak tour companies of the time which focused on ka... Read more

In 1996 a Virginia Beach native named Matt Redford started a small kayak eco-tour company called Chesapean Kayak Tours hoping to share the “backyard of his youth” with others. Unlike other kayak tour companies of the time which focused on kayaking the backwaters, Matt wanted to lead expeditions in the ocean to see wild dolphins. In fact, Chesapean was the first company in the state of Virginia to offer such tours regularly off Cape Henry. Chesapean Kayak Tours continued to grow as a company and changed its name to Chesapean Outdoors in 2004 with the opening of a retail location near the oceanfront of Virginia Beach. Expanding into SUP (Stand-Up Paddleboarding), Surfing, Biking, Adventure Camps for Kids, and Group/Corporate Outings over the last decade, we recently opened our new Tour and Rental Center in 2015 on Linkhorn Bay just blocks from the beach. At Chesapean Outdoors our goal is simple- get people outdoors and reconnect with nature. In this busy world where everyone is accessible 24/7 via their computer or i-phone, we want you to unplug from it all and get connected to the real source of life- Nature. Just like our motto says, “Get Connected. Unplug.” The Chesapeans (or Chesapeakes) were the Native Americans that lived in Virginia Beach near and around the Lynnhaven River. The name Chesapeake literally means “Great Shellfish Bay” in Algonquan. This of course refers to our nation’s largest estuary we call the Chesapeake Bay which at one time had so many oysters, clams, and other bivalves the water in the entire bay was filtered every three days. The Chesapean Indians lived in abundance here and enjoyed many aspects of the water and land that we also explore on our tours over 400 years later. Chesapean Outdoors continues to offer our famous kayak dolphin tour as well as a number of other great outdoor activities and we look forward to providing you with your next big adventure while visiting Coastal Virginia.

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