It's time to start thinking about warmer outdoor pursuits and I've got a great bit of news on that front.

Lancaster County has its first home-based paddling outfitter in who knows how long.

Chiques Rock Outfitters of Columbia had a great trial run last summer. They're bursting with enthusiasm to send people downriver come May.

They'll be offering guided and unguided trips down the Susquehanna in canoes, kayaks and inner tubes.

Their coverage area is mainly the Susquehanna from Falmouth to Columbia, but this summer they also plan on running trips down the Conestoga from Bridgeport to the Susquehanna River.

In addition to rentals of canoes, single or tandem kayaks and tubes, they offer shuttle service, guides, overnight camping trips on islands, streamside catered meals, crab boils, cookouts or box lunches to go.

Located at 39 N. Front St., just across from Columbia River Park, Chiques Rock Outfitters is owned by Jim Cox and Ranae Tibbens. The phone number is 475-6196 and the expansive Web site, chock-full of photos, videos, prices, etc., is at www.chiquesrockoutfitters.com.

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A former Marine, Cox, 43, moved to Columbia in 1989. A river rat, his love of the outdoors eventually crossed paths with another nature lover, Tibbens, from the State College area. They've been a couple for about eight years.

In the summer of 2008, the couple was on a kayaking trip in Indiana. Cox, who is currently a laid-off truck driver for Yellow Freight, began thinking, "We've got nothing like this in Lancaster County."

There's Shank's Mare outfitters on the York County side of the river. And Blue Mountain Outfitters upriver in Marysville.

But Cox and Tibbens think more locals would like to experience their favorite section between Falmouth and Columbia, a stretch, they point out, that's rocky enough to keep most power boats off the water, ensuring a placid float.

It's also patrolled regularly by bald eagles, including several active nests. And the section has chunky smallmouth bass lurking.

Then there's the section's iron furnace and Native American history, and grooved river pot holes.

You can also take a trip south of Columbia to explore the lazy water that weaves between the islands and bird-rich mud flats known as the Conejohela Flats.

The couple decided to give it a try.

First, they bought a couple dozen canoes and kayaks, paddles, life vests, towing trailer and a used school bus from Lancaster Boy Scout Troop 99.

They put a shed next to a riverfront warehouse in Columbia in April 2009. Locating at the old river town's riverfront park seemed a natural. The park is undergoing extensive renovations, including a separate boat launch for canoes and kayaks.

"Then we decided to just hang a little shingle out and do limited advertising and see who came," Cox recalls.

They made up fliers and handed them out to pedestrians crossing the bridge between Columbia and Wrightsville.

They held their collective breath. In May, to their unease, the phone did not ring. But suddenly, it got hectic and never let up.

Aided by Cox's 18-year-old son, Rob, a senior at Manheim Central High School, and Cox's cousin, from Conneaut, Ohio, the outfitters handled 125 trips until foliage floats ended in late October.

"I had no idea there would be as large a following as we garnered," says Cox.

"There were a lot of repeat customers that had a real good time," echoes an enthusiastic Tibbens, who is a materials analyst at Tyco Electronics when she's not on the water.

"A lot of people had never been close to eagles before. We've also seen mink."

"We had a number of people who came in from small trips and wanted to go back out in the afternoon," says Cox.

Sometimes, when the water is low, Cox likes to paddle stealthily to grass beds, where kayaks practically bump into huge carp.

Cox and Tibbens found the most popular trips are half-day excursions from Marietta to Columbia, a section that passes by Chickies Rock and an especially rocky riverbed.

"It's different every day," says Cox. "Sometimes it's like the moon out there. We have no less than five different routes. It depends on the experience of the paddlers how wet you want to get."

The section has an island the outfitters have dubbed Flower Island that's wall-to-wall wildflowers and a view of Chickies Rock that you can't see when you're on top of that landmark.

There's also a rock, nicknamed Lion's Head Rock, in the middle of the river that protrudes about 15 to 20 feet out of the water. The pool underneath is 15 feet deep. You can guess the rest.

When the water's high enough, there's usually a side trip up Chiques Creek to an impressive waterfall formed by an old dam.

One oft-requested trip are paddles beginning at 5 p.m. "They seem to appeal to business people," says Cox. "It blows the stink of the day off."

If you're an experienced paddler, you can rent a canoe, kayak or tube and be off. One avid birdwatcher routinely paddles all day alone down the 18 miles from Falmouth to Columbia. But Cox says a guide goes along on about 80 percent of the trips.

The outfitter bills itself as an ecologically-driven business. "We're like garbage scows," laughs Cox, referring to the quantity of litter they bring back from each float.

It's only their sophomore year coming up, but the couple already is allowing their imagination to wander. As the riverside Northwest River Trail comes together, they'd like to start offering trips that incorporate both paddling and perhaps mountain biking or hiking.

"I believe this is a good thing for this area," says Tibbens. "It gets people outdoors. It's good exercise and it gets kids away from the video games."

acrable@lnpnews.com