New business ready to hit the waters of Sanders County
<p>Fame Lopez stands in front of a raft. The new Plains business, Lewis and Clark Whitewater, opened its doors on July 22.</p>
PLAINS – A new business focusing on the outdoor activities offered by the rivers of Sanders County has come to Plains, looking to cater to both residents and tourists passing through the region.
At the corner of Highway 200 and Highway 28, those passing by can often see a pink raft hanging from the building at the street corner.
The pink raft and several other watercrafts are the property of Lewis and Clark Whitewater, an outdoor recreation outfitter, which has recently started operations out of its new office.
The rental and sales company opened the doors to its Plains office on July 22.
Lewis and Clark Whitewater celebrated the recent opening with a weekend cookout, offering free food and raffle prizes to those who stopped in on Saturday, Aug. 16.
Hot Dogs and hamburgers were available and stand up paddleboards were on display and ready to be rented during the festivities, which ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Despite opening the doors to their Plains office about a month ago the company has been in the rafting rental and sales business for the past couple of years, operating through their website.
After being open as an online rental service since 2012, the company made the move to an office and on-site rentals after expanding their product inventory.
“When we were doing just the rafts online it was ok to do the business online but with the other items it is easier to run the business in person,” Store Manager Mandi Reyma said.
Reyma noted in the past several customers had inquired about stand up paddleboards, an outdoor sport, which has increased in popularity lately.
The outfitter has several colorful paddleboards ranging around ten feet in length. Additionally, some paddleboards have a color LED light system, which creates quite a scene if one is on the water during the evening or in the twilight.
“There was a lot of interest shown in stand-up paddleboards,” Reyma said.
Reyma said so far their business has come from a combination of local residents and tourists, with several individuals passing through the area stopping in to inquire about their rental services.
Despite the fact most of the store’s inventory is currently centered around products focused on water sports Reyma said the business plans to stay open throughout the year and will offer camping equipment and potentially some hunting items.
The new business is a family operation with Reyma handling the management duties, her brother Chris Reyma working as the store owner and her nephew Fame Lopez offering up his services as a sales representative.
According to M. Reyma, both her brother and herself were interested in whitewater rafting from a young age.
“Since we were both younger we have always liked whitewater rafting,” Reyma said.
Lewis and Clark Whitewater offers rafting products for both class II and class III whitewater rapids.
The new outdoors sports store is located on Montana Highway 200 in Plains and the office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.