2026 Paddling Magazine Industry Awards: Winners Announced
Rapid Media is pleased to announce the winners of the seventh annual Paddling Magazine Industry Awards. These awards recognize significant and innovative achievements in...
Paddling Mag Wins People’s Choice Award for Best Print Publication
Paddling Magazine has been named Print Publication of the Year in the People’s Choice category for the second year in a row at this...
Artist Creates Mushroom Kayak And Crosses The Catalina Channel
On a recent summer morning, sculptor Sam Shoemaker was paddling a mushroom kayak 20 miles off the coast of Los Angeles when the hallucinations...
Iconic Midwest Paddling Shop Rutabaga To Close
Rutabaga paddlesports owner Darren Bush announced that he will close the Madison, Wisconsin, paddling shop at the end of the year to pursue a...
RallyCrew Launches To Unite Whitewater Paddlers
RallyCrew, a new free online platform, offers a unique space for the whitewater paddling community to connect, share experiences, and explore new rivers. Designed...
In Brief: News The Paddlesports Industry Is Talking About
To date, 2025 has seen what could be called a dramatic divergence from the status quo for the paddling industry, and with it, stark...
12 Kayakers Rescued In The San Juan Islands
On Thursday, August 14, 2025 the US Coast Guard (USCG) issued an urgent marine broadcast after being notified via VHF channel 16 that 12...
Kayakers’ Camp Washed Out By Tsunami In Alaska
On day 78 of kayaking the Inside Passage, a trio of sea kayak guides and instructors woke at 5:45 in the morning to a...
New Champion Crowned And World Record Set In Men’s Kayak Squirt Final (Video)
The 2025 International Canoe Federation Canoe Freestyle World Championships concluded in Plattling, Germany in June 2025, and Sam Wilson of the United Kingdom took...
An Ode To The Company We Keep On The Water
It’s an expression used mostly by grandparents and politicians. If you fly with the crows, you die with the crows. The intended meaning, of...
Hey, Whitewater Boaters: This Is Why No One Understands You
“Idolizing hard whitewater leaves out what the vast majority of whitewater paddlers do,” expedition kayaker and author Doug Ammons wrote 10 years ago in...
Chris Christie Dodges Icebergs In East Greenland
We awake early in the tent, mentally prepared for the daunting crossing of the Sermilik Fjord. My partner, Julie, and I dismantle the polar...
100-Year-Old Barren Lands Canoe Expedition Mystery Solved
When a husband-and-wife paddling team set out on a 1,000-mile, 64-day unsupported canoe trip through Canada’s northern Barren Lands to solve a century-old mystery,...
Packrafting Beneath The Grand Canyon
It’s a brilliant November morning in the heart of the Grand Canyon, and the ribbon of cold, clear sky framed by mile-high walls is...
Column Spotlight
Wave Theory: Is The Classic Kayaker Greeting Making A Comeback?
I used to drive a Volkswagen Westfalia van. Just out of college, kayak on the roof, Tevas on my feet—I thought I was pretty...
The Essential Rescue Skill Outdoor Programs Stopped Teaching
I was not much of a reader as a kid. In third grade, I won the Most Improved Reader award, which makes me think...
Dream Trip: How To Turn Your Paddling Fantasies Into Reality
I have a friend who loves to plan trips. The ratio of trips planned versus taken is probably 10:1. Whether remote expeditions in foreign...
Why Portaging Doesn’t Make You Less Of A Whitewater Paddler
One of the loneliest places in the world is in the slow drift leading into a stiff rapid. The quiet and calm, the river’s...
Why River Trips Give Our Life Meaning
Jeff Jackson has the answer to every and any existential crisis.
Sit-On-Top vs Sit-Inside Kayaks: Which Is Right For You?
It’s hard to say what the best kayaks for recreational paddlers are: sit-on-top or sit-inside. With more than 30 years of experience working in...
Choosing The Right Size Kayak For You
The size of a kayak plays a huge role in determining its performance characteristics, and whether it’s the right kayak for you. If you’re...
Best Beginner Paddleboards For 2025
The best paddleboard for beginners depends a lot on personal preferences and what you hope to do with your paddleboard. Are you looking for...
Best Inflatable Two-Person Kayaks For 2025
In all my years paddling, I've spent many days in kayaks and in rafts, but some of the most enjoyable times on the water...
Best Water Shoes For 2025
Among the checklist of what to wear paddling, solid footwear is not to be overlooked. The best pair of water shoes will keep you...
5 Expert Tips To Improve Your River Running
Too often, no matter whether on a big play wave in a spring creek, beginner and even quite seasoned paddlers run straight-ahead-Fred green runs...
How To Photograph A Tundra Wolf
Dream of capturing the photo of a lifetime? Use the recipe below to photograph a tundra wolf, barren-ground grizzly, caribou or muskox. Though not...
How To Fillet A Fish
If you’re not fond of bones or skin, you’ll want to fillet your fish to prepare it for cooking. Follow these five simple steps...
A Paddler’s Guide To Finding Yourself
Long trips, short trips, any trips out on the water are money in the Bank of the Soul. We can catch a sunset paddle, make...
Kayaking With Kids
A
t the end of a school year, I was surrounded by parents and their kids—my children’s cohorts in grade one and preschool. We were...
6 Best Places To Kayak With Manatees
Imagine this: You're paddling a clear and calm river, when suddenly, you see a large, gray shape ahead of you. As you get closer,...
5 Must-Do Paddling Adventures In Revelstoke This Summer
Created In Partnership With Revelstoke Tourism
Revelstoke is known for its big mountain adventures—steep ski lines, bike trails and alpine hikes—but long before resort maps...
5 Of The Best Places In The World To Go Bioluminescent Kayaking
Bioluminescence is a unique wonder that thrills almost everyone. Whether it’s created by a land-based creature like a firefly, or marine life like jellyfish...
The Best Places To Paddle Near You
Whether you're an expert or a beginner, there's almost always somewhere to go kayaking, canoeing, rafting or paddleboarding near you. Finding that perfect location...
Canada’s Largest Canoe Camping Reserve Is Hidden in Plain Sight—And It’s Not Algonquin
Created In Partnership With Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Boasting more than 800 kilometers of maintained routes traversing rivers, reservoirs and some 4,000 scenic lakes, Réserve faunique La Vérendrye...
