Paddling through the green eddies of the Harpeth River is where an outdoorswoman like Patty Shultz wants to be.

But getting to the river's edge, especially in Franklin, can be tricky with the often slick and rocky ramps found along the river now.

Those old canoe slips may one day be a thing of the past as river enthusiasts unveiled earlier this month the first of 25 canoe access docks at the Williamson County Recreation Complex on Hillsboro Road.

Crews plan to begin work next on improving the canoe slip at Pinkerton Park along Highway 96 near downtown Franklin in April.

Made of 128 reused railroad ties and pressure-treated lumber, the Hillsboro Road canoe access dock and stairways offer a safer and easier way to reach the river.

And that might bring more people to a river that sometimes goes unseen.

"This just makes it more user-friendly," said Shultz, author of Paddling Around Nashville,a guide to floating local rivers and waterways.

Volunteers like Shultz want to eventually build 25 new, similar canoe slips along the river's entire 125 miles and put up "blue way" signs on adjacent roads to let canoeists know there's an access point nearby.

Though the new canoe access will be maintained by county parks staff, the project was funded with an $8,000 grant from Brentwood's REI outdoor sports store. Volunteers with the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association, a statewide advocacy group, constructed it.

Updating canoe launches on the perennially low-flowing and environmentally troubled river wasn't a coincidence.

"We chose the Harpeth because of its visibility in a highly populated area," said Marshall Spencer, board member of the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association.

County Commissioner Mary Brockman, who owns land that adjoins the river, is hopeful the updated canoe launches will stir greater interest in the river.

"It's in your backyard and people don't realize it," Brockman said. "I think it will jump-start the whole idea of getting into the river."

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