Kayaking
Latest Kayaking
Have Kids, Will Paddle: Nikki Bettis Is Rebuilding Her Family One Expedition At A...
Nikki Bettis, a single mom of 15 biological children, laughs now about the detour. Three days into her family's 1,175-mile trek across North Carolina's...
“In The U.S., I Train Alongside The World’s Best Athletes Every Day”
Athlete Arseni Mashko moved to the United States at 16 on an athletic scholarship and just one year later won the U.S. Sprint &...
Follow the Water: Inside the Best Kayaking Film of 2026
The Crooked River is a small, relatively unknown river in western Maine. Adventure photographer Andy Gagne had lived near the Crooked River for 10...
Best Touring Kayaks For 2026
Originating in the tidal waters of the Far North, the first kayaks were both works of creative ingenuity and tools of surgical precision. Fast...
Kayakers Have Orca Encounter Of A Lifetime
A group of kayakers in the Vancouver area found themselves surrounded by a pod of orcas in an up-close and awe-inspiring encounter.
An exciting return...
Myth Of The Bombproof Roll
When I bought my first kayak, on the West Coast back in the early aughts, I was encouraged to get one of those inflatable...
Join Our Upcoming Webinar: How to Get Your Dream Girls’ Paddling Trip Out Of...
Paddling Magazine is hosting an inspiring and practical webinar with Maddy Marquardt—editor, experienced sea kayaker and guide known for leading women’s trips on Lake...
What’s In Editor Maddy Marquardt’s Sea Kayak Day Trip Guiding Kit
When you’re out on the water with beginner paddlers every day all summer, you’re likely to run into challenging conditions and unusual scenarios. While...
Back To Nordkapp: Retracing The Expedition That Launched The Modern Sea Kayak
Fifty years after the original Nordkapp expedition helped define the modern sea kayak, U.K. kayak guide David Priddis and two friends traveled to Norway’s...
Kayak Buying Advice
Best Current Designs Kayaks For 2026
Current Designs kayaks emerged from the wilderness of Vancouver Island in the late 1970s with stable, high-storage sea kayaks suited for multi-day coastal travel....
Skeg Vs Rudder: The Great Kayak Debate
For avid kayakers, few debates are as popular—or as polarizing—as the controversy over skeg versus rudder. Which system is easier to use, more effective,...
Best Tandem Kayaks For 2026
I’m a big fan of tandems. In my many years working as a kayak guide, these two-person boats have been the most consistent MVPs...
Best Delta Kayaks For 2026
As a sea kayak guide, I rarely see a group out for a day or multi-day trip without at least one Delta kayak in...
Best Foldable Kayaks For 2026
Trying to find storage for a full-size touring or recreational kayak can be a real barrier to owning your own boat. Add to this...
Kayak Buying Guide: How To Find The Right Boat For You
Paddling Magazine is here to help you discover what kayak is perfect for you
Best Places To Shop For A Kayak
If you’re looking to buy your first kayak but don’t know where to start, look no further! The best place for you to purchase...
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...
Kayak Review: Lekker Osprey
Celliers Kruger isn’t in the barge building business. As the founder of Fluid Kayaks back in 2002, he was known for making innovative whitewater...
Kayak Review: Stellar’s Modular S14 G2
Every kayak has an origin story. In the best designs, that raison d’être is described in every detail, from the hull shape and material...
Inflatable Recreational Kayak Review: Intex Challenger K1
The Intex Challenger K1 is a user-friendly inflatable kayak that’s easy to paddle and easy to store in small spaces. It’s also among the...
Review: Klepper Folding Kayaks’ Aerius 545
With the possible exception of orchestral instruments, few products have changed as little as the Klepper kayak since the design was first produced by...
Review: Norse Kayaks’ New Ask
Henry, Goodman, Lockwood, Dennis, Foster—some sea kayak designers possess such consistency of purpose and personal expression, I know the moment I sit in one...
First Look: Eddyline Caribbean 10 Recreational Kayak
Eddyline first introduced the Caribbean 10 in 2023 as a sit-on-top kayak geared toward paddlers seeking calmer waters like slow rivers, lakes and ponds....
First Look: Delta 10AR Recreational Kayak
In the spring of 2024, we got our first look at one of the most unique recreational kayak designs we’ve ever seen, the 10AR...
First Look: Eddyline Sky 10 Recreational Kayak
Kayakers choosing a recreational kayak usually seek a few key attributes. First, a manageable size, around 10 feet, making them easier to transport and...
Best Navigation Apps For 2026
As much as I love the hands-on engagement and rewards of using old-school, tried-and-true navigation tools like magnetic compasses, tide tables, and paper maps,...
Best Toddler Life Jackets In 2026
For this guide, I collected a dozen toddler life jackets for testing. Then I asked myself, how many children under 30 pounds are actually...
The Mustang Life Jacket Reinventing The Inflatable PFD
For decades, Mustang Survival was the brand of life jacket you’d expect to find hanging in the boathouse at the cottage, stowed on a...
Best Kayak Paddles For Touring In 2025
If your faithful touring paddle performs like a glorified egg beater, maybe it’s time to choose a new kayak paddle. The best kayak touring...
Tarp Shelter Tips For Canoe And Kayak Camping
You’re a paddling Jedi who can keep it hull-down in any sea conditions, roll a loaded double and cook a mean backcountry soufflé. But...
Skeg Or Rudder For Your Sea Kayak?
Which is better, skeg or rudder—or nothing at all? It’s a popular shore-side debate within the kayaking community, and these hardware options are often...
Guide To Kayak Trailers: Types, Parts, Towing Tips & More
You don’t need a trailer to transport your kayak, but sometimes kayak trailers are the right tool for the job. Heavy fishing kayaks can...
The Real Problem With Kayak Rudders
Okay, I’ll be honest. I came up in the world of sea kayaking in the Great Lakes, indoctrinated in the cult of British sea...
More Kayaking Stories
Skills
Eighteen-Year-Old Killed By Lightning Strike While Kayaking In Florida
Loved ones of 18-year-old Michael Aiden Vargas share he died while doing what he loved–hanging with his dad on the water.
Vargas, who went by...
How To Read A Tide Table
It was the sound of two boats bumping together that made me sit bolt upright in my tent. Kayaks, as a rule, are supposed...
How To Use Strength Training to Improve Your Kayaking Performance
Sport scientist and performance coach Matty Graham gives you six exercises to help you strength train for kayaking.
How To Paddle In A Straight Line In Wind And Current
When paddling in crosswinds or crossing currents, it can be difficult to stay on a straight-line course from the point of departure to the...
Kayaking With Kids
At 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...
How To Pack For Kayak Camping
A well-packed kayak is one where you know where everything is, and nothing important gets left behind. So, as a veteran guide, I felt...
How To Kayak Surf In Style
Aside from being one of the coolest feelings in the world, good surfing skills let you make controlled landings when conditions aren’t perfectly flat....
How To Kayak Tow Your Friends Out Of Trouble
Sometimes the best way to assist another paddler is to give them a helping hand in the form of a tow. Towing a weaker...
Trips
Join Our Upcoming Webinar On Kayak Expeditions In Portugal
Join Paddling Magazine for a free, live webinar with Douro Kayak Expeditions, where we’ll explore what it’s really like to kayak through Portugal’s legendary...
6 Best Places To Paddle 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 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...
This 190-Mile Water Trail In Florida Passes Through Mangrove Tunnels, Pristine Beaches, And Historic...
Whether you're seeking solitude in Southwest Florida's wild landscapes or craving a lively day on the water, the Great Calusa Blueway paddling trail offers...
Expedition Torngat
Instinct tells me to turn around. Urgently.
The worst-case scenario is a polar bear right behind me, I think, not believing it as I write...
A Paddlers Guide To Whale Watching In Baja California Sur
Peter Grubb was kayaking between two islands in Loreto Bay National Marine Park—a protected area off the coast of Mexico—when he saw the first...
6 Paddling Expeditions To Watch This Summer
Summer is expedition season for paddlers in the Northern Hemisphere, and many of this year’s biggest journeys take advantage of the long daylight hours...
News & Opinions
The Less You Know, The Better You Decide
You’re standing on the beach, eyeing the swell. It’s sunny, with shrinking patches of fog. A trip around a prominent headland is in your...
Have Kids, Will Paddle: Nikki Bettis Is Rebuilding Her Family One Expedition At A...
Nikki Bettis, a single mom of 15 biological children, laughs now about the detour. Three days into her family's 1,175-mile trek across North Carolina's...
“In The U.S., I Train Alongside The World’s Best Athletes Every Day”
Athlete Arseni Mashko moved to the United States at 16 on an athletic scholarship and just one year later won the U.S. Sprint &...
Myth Of The Bombproof Roll
When I bought my first kayak, on the West Coast back in the early aughts, I was encouraged to get one of those inflatable...
What’s In Editor Maddy Marquardt’s Sea Kayak Day Trip Guiding Kit
When you’re out on the water with beginner paddlers every day all summer, you’re likely to run into challenging conditions and unusual scenarios. While...
Back To Nordkapp: Retracing The Expedition That Launched The Modern Sea Kayak
Fifty years after the original Nordkapp expedition helped define the modern sea kayak, U.K. kayak guide David Priddis and two friends traveled to Norway’s...
Has Kayaking Gotten Too Expensive?
Last summer I took my family on a three-week trip. Getting our minivan to the take-out needed a shuttle. I called the only game...
Inside The Weird World Of Kayak Polo
I hear the splash before I see it. I turn and sprint toward the floating yellow object of my desire. I have a clear...
