{"id":327365,"date":"2026-07-02T15:43:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T15:43:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/327365\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T15:43:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T15:43:50","slug":"heat-wave-sends-paddlers-to-the-great-miami-river-in-search-of-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/327365\/","title":{"rendered":"Heat wave sends paddlers to the Great Miami River in search of relief"},"content":{"rendered":"

WCPO 9’s Stephen Knobel covers Butler County. If you have a story that you’d like Stephen to look into or a news tip, email him at\u00a0stephen@wcpo.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio \u2014 The boats are loaded for you. The shuttle ride is handled for you. Someone even gives your kayak a shove into the current.<\/p>\n

All that’s left to do is sit down, dip your paddle into the water and let the Great Miami River carry you downstream.<\/p>\n

As the Tri-State entered the third day of a heat wave that pushed heat index values toward the triple digits, dozens of people found themselves making the same decision: if they were going to be outside, they were going to be on the water.<\/p>\n

“If you’re gonna be outside, you’re either doing water or air,” Sherry Hutslar said.<\/p>\n

At Middletown Adventure Co., that decision started in a parking lot lined with brightly colored kayaks waiting for their turn in the river.<\/p>\n

Ten minutes later, after a short shuttle ride and a walk down a handful of steps, those same boats slipped into the water.<\/p>\n

WATCH: This Butler County business is booming as people search for relief from the suffocating heat<\/p>\n

Heat wave sends paddlers to the Great Miami River in search of relief<\/p>\n

Customers strapped coolers onto their boats and prepared for a few hours of floating relief from temperatures that had kept many indoors for days.<\/p>\n

“Really, we have just been inside because the heat is honestly suffocating,” Kelly French said.<\/p>\n

Owners Jason and Courtney Groves said hot stretches usually bring more business, but this week has been different.<\/p>\n

In just three days, they said they have sent more than 60 boats onto the river.<\/p>\n

“It has been booming,” Jason Groves said. “We have just come home dirty and sweaty, but we love seeing people come off the river and they just have a blast.”<\/p>\n

He said the heat has made one thing almost universal among customers.<\/p>\n

“I haven’t seen a single person come back dry,” he said. “Everyone has been jumping in and getting wet.”<\/p>\n

Not even a broken leg was enough to keep one paddler on shore.<\/p>\n

With a cast still wrapped around her leg, she climbed into her kayak and prepared to launch anyway.<\/p>\n

“I’m excited, ready to go kayaking,” the kayaker said.<\/p>\n

For the Groves, watching moments like that unfold is part of the reward.<\/p>\n

The business is only in its second year, but it already feels like a family operation. Their children help out. Their father-in-law pitches in. Everyone has a role.<\/p>\n

“We get to be the best part of people’s days,” Courtney Groves said.<\/p>\n

Out on the river, it is easy to understand why.<\/p>\n

The current moves just fast enough to carry paddlers along without demanding much in return. Birds chirp overhead. Trees hang over the water, providing pockets of shade.<\/p>\n

The loudest sounds are usually paddles dipping into the river or the splash of someone deciding they would rather swim than sweat.<\/p>\n

With an Extreme Heat Advisory remaining in effect through Thursday in Butler County, more people are likely to make the same calculation in the coming days.<\/p>\n

Have a story idea or tip for WCPO 9 Butler County reporter Stephen Knobel? Email him at\u00a0stephen@wcpo.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"CONTACT<\/p>\n

WCPO<\/p>\n

WCPO 9 News’ Stephen Knobel covers Butler County. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WCPO 9’s Stephen Knobel covers Butler County. If you have a story that you’d like Stephen to look…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":327366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[35666,35667,123,125,124,35668],"class_list":["post-327365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-9-on-your-side","tag-cincinnati-news","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-wcpo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=327365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}