29 Tips For Fun, Worry-Free Family Camping

June 27, 2022

Parents of young children, don’t you miss the great outdoors? Great news: bringing kids along on trip doesn’t have to put a damper on your taste for adventure. Whether you love to get outside on foot, by caravan or in the cockpit of your kayak, our family camping experts share their top tips and tricks for creating amazing and memorable trips everyone will love.

29 tips for fun, worry-free family camping

8 tips to plan a family trip

Ignore the doubters
Your less-enlightened friends will assure you that kids mean your outdoor days are over. Step one: ignore them.
Never too early
Kids are never too young to get outside. “Earlier is better,” says outdoors supermom Alice Young-Clark—in some ways, it’s easier too. “We started at three months. There was no extra food or water to carry while nursing, although you do have to deal with diapers.”

Maintain goodwill
If you’re worried your terrific tot will become the tent terror of campground C by night, introduce yourself to your closest neighbors and offer earplugs. You’ll find most campers are just excited that your little one is enjoying the outdoors.
Get their feet wet
For kids new to camping, make an adventure of using sleeping bags, pads and jacket pillows at home before a trip, removing this variable from the new experience. Set up the tent in the backyard to introduce them to it before embarking on an adventure.

[ Plan your next family paddling adventure with the Paddling Trip Guide ]

Reminders of home
Pack just a little bit of home with you. Whether it is your child’s favorite bowl and spoon or The Lorax for the thousandth reading, familiar items help anchor the idea that your family is home as long as you are together.

The world is your toy chest
Practice nonattachment and leave most toys behind. “Toys matter very little because kids gather many treasures along the way,” explains Young-Clark. “This way, kids learn to find and collect, and let go of things.”
Kids’ choice
Offer some (pre-screened) options and let your kids help plan the trip. Do they want to camp at a beach or visit a waterfall? They’ll buy in if they feel like the trip is theirs as well.
Double the fun
Nothing makes a camping trip more fun for your kids than when they can bring a buddy. The real bonus is for parents: whining is just not cool in front of your friends.

young girl crosses a log bridge over a forest brook while her father encourages her — Adults seek out big views, remote areas and wildlife. Kids just want to play. | Photo: Morgan David de Lossy/Unsplash

5 kid-sized camping tips

Ramp up to adventure
Be realistic and know your child’s limits. “The average time a kid will only spend 30 to 40 minutes in a canoe or on a hiking a trail, especially if they’re under five,” notes author Kevin Callan. “We introduced our daughter to canoe tripping slowly by going on a half-day outing, then a full day, then a weekend, and so on. If you don’t move up the ladder of progress slowly, your child will definitely come crashing down.”

Prepare to snack
To make longer days with kids work, take lots of breaks and eat like hobbits. “In addition to stopping for anything interesting, be sure to take regular breaks for breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, snack, supper, and bed time snack,” says Young-Clark.
Set attainable goals
As a rule of thumb, older kids can hike half a mile per day for each year of age. Regardless of the distance you choose, expect “Are we there yet?” to be a common refrain.

Fun comes first
Adults seek out big views, remote areas and wildlife. Kids just want to play. “They want to play in water, climb on rocks, crawl through narrow crevices, and throw stones,” explains Michael Lanza. “Choose destinations that you know will provide natural features that engage and excite kids. Make them want to go out again.”
Lose your agenda
Happy camper Callan re-learned the meaning of living in the moment from his daughter. “Kyla taught me to slow down and spend time looking at things. I remember her looking at an anthill for over half an hour,” he says. What’s important is sharing the experience. If being together is the goal, every trip will be a success, whether you’re camping by car, canoe, ski, foot or llama.

a family of campers sit around a campfire in front of a lake — Parents willing to play the role of camp counselor will be the heroes of the day. | Photo: Brooks Rice/Unsplash

3 ways to stay entertained

Keep kids occupied
No matter how tired you are, your kids will still need activities to fill the day. Instead of beach naps, parents willing to play the role of camp counselor and armed with songs, stories, puzzles, crafts, cooking projects and games will be the heroes of the day.
Crafting a keepsake
A family trip scrapbook is a beautiful keepsake and the ultimate rainy day activity. Bring basic craft supplies and use needles, pebbles, bark and lichen from the forest floor to have everyone add their own touch to daily journal pages.
Budding naturalists
Bring field guides for flora and fauna in the area. Being able to point out and name local plants and animals and interesting facts about both can be a great way to keep kids aware of their surroundings.

young boy stands up in a tent in the forest with a hiking backpack and gear around him — Your tent will become a nylon funhouse, so pack a little extra padding so kids can roll and leap at will. | Photo: Dave Quinn

5 tips to remember on trip

Up off the ground
Managing the pebble and moose poop intake of a crawling toddler quickly becomes exhausting. If you have very young campers, bring a Bumbo Chair or playpen so they have somewhere off the ground to sit.
Pack extra padding
Your tent will become a nylon funhouse, whether you like it or not. It’s all fun and games until someone bonks their head on the root or rock that kept you awake all night. Bring an extra sleeping mat or two so kids can roll and leap at will or line the tent floor with foam floor tiles.
Communicate clear boundaries
Constant reminders about cliff edges and water hazards will become tedious—for you and the kids. Instead, explain the hazard and make appropriate rules together, such as clear boundaries (like, “Don’t go past that big tree” or “Wear your PFD to play near the water”). “Experienced older kids need less instruction and can be given more freedom,” explains Lanza, “but don’t assume older kids who are beginners will understand every potential hazard.”

[ See also: How To Trip With Kids ]

Kids help around camp
Make a game of having kids help with age-appropriate camp chores. Five-year-olds can help gather kindling, an eight-year-old can help start a fire, and a 12-year-old can be responsible for a meal.
Laugh off the missteps
Accept that things will go wrong while on a trip. “You can count on that,” guarantees Callan. “If you can laugh at the misfortunes, the moderate ones at least, kids will learn to relax and do the same.”

young boy and girl help their father set up a tent while on a camping trip — Whether a task is perceived as a painful chore or a perk often depends on whose idea it was. | Photo: Aaron Peterson

5 tips for dealing with gear

Loosen those purse strings
Maybe you can make do with that old, scruffy PFD that rubs your nipples raw, but make sure your child is comfortable with well-fitting, quality gear in a color they like—or you’ll hear about it.

[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: View all kids & infants paddling gear ]

Ditch the stroller
Get your kids used to the idea of walking early, and they will grow into strong hikers. “I preferred a child-carrier backpack to a stroller, even in urban settings, for those occasions when my kids needed a break from walking,” explains Lanza. “It gives you exercise, is more convenient on stairs, and helps communicate to kids that our family carries packs—that we’re hikers.”

Timing is everything
Whether a task is perceived as a painful chore or a perk often depends on whose idea it was. Don’t force your kids to carry packs, instead wait until they ask for one, adds Lanza.
Prepare for the elements
Since kids can’t regulate their body temperature as well as adults, half the stress of traveling with them becomes keeping them either dry, cool or warm. Weather-appropriate layers are a no-brainer, but an ultra-light trekking umbrella is a welcome shield from the elements and will become a staple in your camp kit.

child wearing PFD hangs from a tree branch — If you wear your PFD, your kids will wear their PFD. | Photo: Jordan Bergendahl/Pexels

Age-appropriate sleeping quarters
Instead of a crib, consider using a portable shelter, such as a Kidco Peapod for babies and toddlers. It is also a great bug-proof nap nest.

3 ways to come home safely

Set a safe example
If you wear your PFD and helmet, your kids will wear their PFD and helmet. Parents that force their children to wear safety gear without wearing their own are asking for a battle.
Wear a whistle
In the backcountry, have your kids wear a whistle on a lanyard and instruct on how to use it. Explain what it means to be lost (when you can’t find Mom or Dad), and what to do: stop, blow your whistle three times, and listen for a response, then repeat.

[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: View all safety & rescue accessories ]

Get first aid training
If you’re more than a 911 call away from help, Mom and Dad should invest in a wilderness first aid course for peace of mind.

This article was first published in the Spring 2015 issue of Canoeroots Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.

Your less-enlightened friends will assure you that kids mean your outdoor days are over. Ignore them. | Feature photo: Bruce Kirkby

8 Ways To Unlock Your Urban Paddling Potential

Tim Shuff

June 24, 2022

It’s not easy being a paddler in the city. Expensive real estate, limited boat storage, premium parking, traffic congestion and polluted waters conspire to make metropolitan kayakers feel like they’re paddling against the current. Here are eight secrets to city survival, gained from years of experience paddling and battling through the worst urban woes.

8 ways to unlock your urban paddling potential

1 Get a waterfront pad

Easier said, right? But waterfront city living gives you the best of both worlds—urban convenience out the back door, watery wildness out the front. Walk your kayak down to the dock for a sunrise paddle, or size up surf conditions from the kitchen window.

To accomplish this it helps to lower your standards. I managed waterfront living as a student by renting rooms in dilapidated houses, subletting, housesitting and moving indiscriminately between basements, garrets and laundry closets. My bed was a Therm-a-Rest air mattress on shipping pallets, but I lived in some of the Pacific Rim’s priciest oceanfront ‘hoods for less than $400 a month.

bow shot from a kayaker paddling in front of an urban skyline — The next best thing to living on the water is to park your boat there. | Photo: Jocelyn Allen/Unsplash

2 Get your boat a waterfront pad

The next best thing to living on the water is to park your boat there. The 50-odd cubic feet required to store a kayak is a slice of waterfront that almost anyone can afford.

Just be prepared to get in line. My local paddling club has been full for years. Every spring I get an email from someone who’s de-cluttering the waitlist, asking what skills I might have to volunteer if I were chosen to join, which hints at a suspiciously biased selection process. I promised to wash and wax everyone’s kayaks, and attached a swimsuit photo, but I haven’t heard back.

3 Ditch your car

Like all booming cities, my town is in a state of perpetual gridlock, construction and repair. The road to my local put-in has been closed for more than a year. Driving to the water means running a gauntlet of street closures, flag-persons, single-lane bridges and traffic jams that crop up around various special events and seasonal attractions. I pass a Cirque du Soleil show, a bustling Chinese grocer and a waterfront pool bar, capacity 3,000, where Justin Bieber likes to go when he’s in town.

At the beach, I have to fight the other three million city residents for parking. One time, the only available space was along a strip of vacant and overgrown waterfront. Forced to portage through a network of shrubby singletrack, I encountered an unusual number of deeply tanned and extraordinarily friendly middle-aged men before reaching the water.

Had I sorted out waterfront storage as per section two, I could have biked to the water in 10 minutes. Until I get into that paddling club, I’m shopping for a kayak trailer for my bicycle.

4 Join the sharing economy

People are sharing everything these days: cars, tools, houses. Like these items, good kayaks are expensive, but durable and long lasting. Why own three boats that only get used for hours a week? I’ll bet one kayak could serve five or 10 people. We could store it by the water, share the lock combo, and set up online reservations. I’m thinking of starting a community library for outdoor gear of all kinds, so I don’t have to own a nest egg’s worth of kayaks, canoes, surf skis and paddleboards for every conceivable mode of watery play. Want to join?

5 Cover your cockpit

Pricey real estate and high populations make homelessness a problem in our cities, notably among wildlife. Spiders and slugs are my customary cockpit stowaways. But twice, raccoons have turned one of my kayaks into a fetid winter den or part-time port-a-potty. And readers may remember an earlier reference in this column to a kayak bulkhead that was devoured—in the spring I found a gaping hatch full of pungent foam crumbs. These poor vermin are, like us paddlers, just wild creatures trying to eke out a living in a hostile urban jungle, but that does not make us allies. Shell out for a good cockpit cover.

6 Check the water quality

In the city, weather conditions are generally tamer, but along with the forecast I also check online water quality reports. After heavy rains, the E. coli count skyrockets. It’s okay to paddle, but wait a couple days before attempting rolls or rescues.

SERENITY NOW, INSANITY LATER. | PHOTO: FRANCIS LÉPINE/ BIOSPHEREPHOTOGRAPHIE.CA

7 Embrace the offseason

Come fall, the circus leaves town, the beachgoers are replaced by migrating birds, parking lots empty, the bacterial counts drop and the algae blooms die off. Frigid temps wrap the busiest beaches in a cloak of peace, wildness and free parking. To love off-season paddling, all you need is a drysuit.

8 Adopt a watery state of mind

The key to overcoming the travails of urban paddling is to let your time on the water be a gateway to a new pattern of thought. For me, being surrounded by millions of other humans threatens to turn every petty annoyance into a personal battle: the guy who cut me off at the stoplight, the gentrifying hordes driving up house prices, the construction workers blocking the roads. It’s all somebody’s fault. Nature inverts this mentality; out there, it’s not about you or anybody else. All you can control is your attitude. And that’s calming.

One of my favorite places to paddle is a large peninsula that’s younger than I am—it’s constructed entirely of construction waste. As new glass condos overtake the ephemeral downtown, truckloads of rubble are dumped here for infinite repose, raising the lakebed to become parkland, a refuge for coyotes and waterfowl.

The bulldozed remains of so many expressways and buildings have a timeless, wild quality that belies their manmade origins. It used to make me angry that all I had to look at were the crumbled corpses of factories and warehouses. That the weathered driftwood and fragrant kelp beds of my student days in the Pacific Northwest had been cruelly replaced by broken concrete telephone poles and mangled knots of rebar twisting out of the shallows like jagged reefs.

But paddling is paddling. It tires your muscles and opens your mind in the same way, no matter how urban. Whatever the headaches of getting on the water and home again, you’re a better person for it.

This article first appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of Adventure Kayak magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine and get 25 years of digital magazine archives including our legacy titles: Rapid, Adventure Kayak and Canoeroots.

2 Essential Techniques To Escape A Hydraulic

Virginia Marshall

June 22, 2022

Russ Schroeder realized this wasn’t your typical spin cycle after the one-minute mark. Slipping off-line and into the don’t-go-there left side of the Petawawa River’s Suicide Rapid, Schroeder hit a retentive pour-over and flipped. The whitewater kayaker’s training on how to escape a hydraulic kicked in—but would it be enough?

Kayaker Rescued From Dam’s Recirculating Current (Video)

“I knew the boat wasn’t going to flush, says Schroeder, “so I pulled my sprayskirt.”

Pinched in a narrow trough, he swam hard across the hole, grabbing for any water moving downriver; curled into a ball to try to reach the downstream current along the river bottom; and kicked off the rock whenever his body came into contact with something solid. After an estimated two minutes—an eternity in the disorienting, hypoxic realm of a powerful recirculation—Schroeder had exhausted every textbook hole-escape technique.

“I finally just went limp,” he remembers, “then I flushed.”

Two techniques to handle hydraulics

1 Deal with it

Swiftwater Rescue professionals like Rescue Canada’s Matt Cuccaro teach two proven self-rescue strategies for hole-escapes: swim for the side or swim for the bottom. Schroeder’s full-body surrender, which he admits was more the result of beginning to lose consciousness than a considered tactic, is a last resort.

[ Paddling Trip Guide: View all whitewater rescue courses ]

“Stay active—it’s all about reaching for that water that’s moving downstream,” says Cuccaro. If you can’t get to a side, swim hard into the current and curl into a ball. With any luck, you’ll be driven deep into the flushing current below the recirculation.

two whitewater kayakers paddle down a river together — Paddling in pairs opens up more rescue options if you end up in a tough spot. | Photo: Pixabay

Paddling in a group increases safety and rescue options. During his swim, Schroeder was unable to grab his sole paddling partner’s throw bag. Tag line and live bait rescues were potential lifesavers not possible with just one rescuer.

Three people on shore, one person throwing a throw rope to person in the water

Whitewater Rescue Skill: How To Use A Throw Bag

2 Avoid it

Thorough scouting is the best way to steer clear of a sticky situation. Be especially wary of frowning holes—those with edges that curve upstream, feeding back into the center—and quiet, or relatively unaerated, hydraulics. The latter recirculate well below the surface so are particularly hazardous for swimmers.

The critical factor is the distance between the pour-over slot and the boil line, which delineates where current begins moving downstream. In general, walk around anything with a boil line over half a boat length.

Cover of the Summer/Fall 2010 issue of Rapid magazine This article was first published in the Summer/Fall 2010 issue of Rapid Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.

What to avoid, and how to escape if you do get caught in a hydraulic. | Feature photo: Courtesy Pyranha

Dramatic Footage Shows Kayaker Saved By Quick Acting Friends (Video)

Paddling Magazine Staff

June 21, 2022

The unfortunate reality of river kayaking is that there are often deadly hazards. Getting pinned is one of the worst of them.

Things can take a turn in an instant when a member of your group finds themself pinned—especially if the pin is holding the boat or the paddler in a position where breathing is impaired. Having a knowledgeable, fast-acting safety team can mean the difference between life and death in these scenarios.

A group of experienced kayakers ran into trouble on Richland Creek, Arizona when one member of the group got stuck in a vertical pin. Watch the video and read the first-hand account below to discover what happened next.

Words By Derek Hankins:

“’Apple Pie Rapid’ has a notorious sieve on the left side, only in play at high water. A member of our crew was pushed off line and happened to find the sieve, and pinned bow first, upside down. Fortunately, he was able to hold himself up on a log that was stuffed under the rock already. The log was also preventing him from being able to pull his sprayskirt, so he was essentially stuck.

[ Also watch: Canoe Pin Rescue On Ontario’s Petawawa River ]

I realized he was in a bad situation and tried to get to him as quickly as possible, leaving behind my throw rope in my boat as I was focused on getting to him and stabilizing him. When I got to him I tried to grab him but the water was too deep and turbulent to safely reach him in the sieve.

Thankfully, another member of our crew was right behind me with a rope that we were able to get to him and pull him out of his shoes and through his sprayskirt.

In hindsight, I should have taken the extra couple of seconds and grabbed my rope, something I will make sure I do from now on. We were able to extract the kayak with a z-drag. Swift Water Rescue is an integral part of running whitewater, you never know when you will find yourself in a life or death situation. It is always good to be prepared for whatever may happen, and just hope you don’t need it. Stay safe out there folks.”

Video and words courtesy of Derek Hankins.

Lone Kayaker Saves Two Men From Sinking Motorboat

Jeff Moag, The Safer Paddling Campaign

June 20, 2022

The view from Allen’s boat as he rushed to rescue two men from a capsized motorboat. | Photo courtesy Allen Hutto

Allen Hutto was having one of those days.

He’d loaded his sea kayak for an early morning paddle, but on the way to the lake his car picked up a nail. Repairing the flat took a couple of hours.

The wind was whipping when he finally got to the boat launch at Lake Murray near Columbia, South Carolina, and most of the boat traffic had already called it a day. Not Allen. He’s been sea kayaking for 35 years and worked hard to improve his skills, training with the likes of Derek Hutchinson and Nigel Foster and earning his Level 4 Open Water certification from the American Canoe Association.

Allen enjoys paddling in lively water, and the wind ripping across Lake Murray was just what he needed to get his mind off the flat tire and the workweek ahead.

Kevin Outlaw and Will Dobose were having a day too. The longtime friends had gone out fishing that morning in Will’s 16-foot skiff and were well offshore when the wind began to rise. As they motored toward the ramp, the waves grew steadily larger.

[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: See all rescue kits ]

Lake Murray is formed by the Saluda Dam, which stretches a mile and a half across the eastern end of the reservoir. It was the world’s largest earthen dam when it was built in the 1930s, and when the wind blows out of the west as it was that day, the waves pile up against the dam and double back on themselves. Kevin and Will would have to pass through this gauntlet of rough water to reach the boat ramp at the north end of the dam.

Kevin had his life jacket on and buckled before leaving the boat ramp. Though an avid fisherman, he’s not at all comfortable around water. In fact, in his 33 years Kevin had never ventured more than knee-deep in a lake or ocean. “If I go on the lake, I’m going to fish,” he explains. “I’m not going for any water sports or nothing like that.”

Kevin says urged Will to wear a life jacket too, but Will refused. The life jacket was too tight, he said. Later, as Kevin struggled to guide the little skiff though the building waves, there was no way he could put it on.

“The wind was so heavy, it was pushing more water into the boat than the bilge pump could put out,” Kevin recalls. “It just happened so quick.”

Allen had honed his kayaking skills for years, earning his ACA Level 4 Open Water certification. | Photo courtesy Allen Hutto

Allen estimates he was about 100 yards from Kevin and Will when their boat rolled over, near a set of massive concrete and brick towers that draw water into the dam’s hydroelectric turbines.

“They were about 90 degrees off my course and I just happened to look over and I saw the boat capsize,” he says.

In all the safety scenarios Allen had practiced at kayak symposiums, during his guide training and with paddling friends, this one had never come up: One kayaker, single-handed, aiding two big men in open water.

Allen didn’t hesitate. “I started yelling, ‘I’m coming! I’m coming!’ And I just spun around and hauled ass over there,” says Allen, who estimates it took him about a minute to reach the capsized skiff.

As he approached he could see Kevin floating in his life jacket, and Will holding tight to him with a look of panic in his eyes.

“I don’t think that other guy could swim,” Allen says, referring to Will.

In fact, neither Kevin nor Will is much of a swimmer. In the 60-odd seconds it took Allen to arrive, Kevin’s life jacket was the only thing keeping both of them afloat. “Will was holding on to me and I was staying afloat for the most part,” Kevin says. “So my thing was to make sure that Will didn’t let go. I kept telling him, ‘He’s just about here. He’s just about here.’”

When Allen reached the men he told them to grab the bow of his kayak, and once they’d latched on he took a moment to reassure them, saying, “We’re going to get you out of this. You’re going to be fine.”

Allen knew he was taking a chance assisting the two men, but the idea of not helping them never crossed his mind. “The only thing that went through my head was ‘Get your ass over there and help them,’” Allen says. He was in a Nigel Dennis Latitude sea kayak with a bomber spray skirt, dressed for the conditions with a full compliment of self-rescue gear. Most of all, he had years of rough-water paddling experience and rescue practice.

[ Plan your next rescue training with the Paddling Trip Guide ]

“I focused on getting them to hold onto the boat properly and just being ready to brace if I had to,” said Allen, who was using a Greenland-style paddle. Then, with Kevin and Will stabilized, Allen took a moment to assess the situation. The wind was pushing the trio toward the intake towers. Allen back-paddled between two of the stacks and took a hard look at the boulder-clad edge of the dam. It was about 400 feet downwind, across a jumble of rebounding waves. It wouldn’t be easy, but with 15 to 20 knots of wind at their backs Allen was confidant he could tow both Kevin and Will to shore. But then what?

“That dam is rip-rap, and the waves were coming down the length of the lake,” he says. “It would have been hard to get them up on those rocks without them getting banged up pretty good.”

Fortunately it didn’t come to that. Allen spotted a pontoon boat a short distance away and was able to get its attention. A few minutes later it chugged into position, and Allen helped Kevin and Will climb aboard. Soon they were safe ashore.

[ Also Read: Preventing Kayak Accidents: Lessons From The New York Ferry Collision ]

Allen is careful not to claim he saved anyone’s life that day. After all, Kevin was wearing a life jacket, and with the water temperature in the high 50s they had time—though not a lot of it—before hypothermia would set in. “Maybe they could have got to shore,” Allen muses. Then, after a moment, he adds, “The guy who didn’t have a life jacket on, I genuinely think he was in trouble.”

We’ll never know for certain what would have happened to Kevin and Will if Allen had not been there. Ultimately, the question is less important than the fact he was prepared to help. All those years paddling—the courses he took to improve his stroke, to master his roll, learn rescue techniques and incident management—they paid off that day on Lake Murray.

The rest came down to chance. “If I hadn’t had that nail on the tire, I wouldn’t have been there,” he says. “It was just one of those right place, right time things.”

This article was produced under a grant from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, administered by the U.S. Coast Guard.

8 Best Canoe Routes in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Conor Mihell

June 20, 2022

wide shot of two people paddling a canoe through Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area — Feature photo: Paul Vincent

With over 1,200 miles of canoeable lakes and rivers, you could spend a lifetime exploring the pristine waters and rugged portage trails of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Regardless of whether that’s your plan or if you just want a taste of what the North Woods has to offer, you’ll need some ideas for where to start. Here you’ll find the best Boundary Waters routes, across a variety of trip lengths.

Use your imagination and be honest about your paddling skills and fitness when studying maps to plan a Boundary Waters canoe trip. Remember to think about your expectations; for example, do you want the focus of the trip to be fishing, relaxing, having fun as a family, or pushing yourself to cover distance? Then develop an itinerary to match.

Local outfitters are your best source of route information. They know the lay of the land and can recommend the perfect route for your experience level and expectations. The trips below make for great starting points, but don’t be afraid to make adjustments to create what is truly the “best” Boundary Waters canoe trip for you.

Once you’ve selected your route, it’s time to secure your permit. Permits for the Boundary Waters are based on entry points and can be reserved online in advance for trips taking place between May 1 and September 30. A self-serve registration system is used at entry points during the rest of the year.

[ This article is part of our Ultimate Guide To Canoeing The Boundary Waters. Find all the resources you need to plan a paddle trip in the BWCA.]

woman paddles from the bow of a canoe — Venture into the Boundary Waters, if only for a day. | Photo: Paul Vincent

Best Boundary Waters day trips

Sawbill Lake and surrounding lakes

If you only have a half-day, explore the Sawbill Lake area. It’s a great entry point for all experience levels, including beginners. Start at Sawbill and then take the short, easy portages over to Alton, Kelso or Smoke lakes. You might see moose, loons, eagles and beavers. Look for gnarled, weathered trees growing out of rock, tamaracks, bog flora, various mosses and intriguing glacial erratic boulders.

[ View all Minnesota paddling adventures in the Paddling Trip Guide ]

Clearwater and Mountain lakes

If you have the whole day to explore, paddle Clearwater Lake on the eastern side of the wilderness area. A quick portage to Mountain Lake will add to your adventure. You will find towering cliffs, inspiring scenery, crystal-clear water and abundant wildlife along this historic voyageur trail.

Continue

Why Portaging Doesn’t Make You Less Of A Whitewater Paddler

Jeff Jackson

June 17, 2022

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 current compressing and picking up speed, and a roaring horizon line falling away in the near distance. It’s not a spot for second thoughts, but in that instant I often wonder—is this what defines a whitewater paddler? And what about the rapids we choose not to run?

Paddler Aniol Serrasoles was only four years old when TLC’s breakout hit “Don’t go chasing waterfalls” spent seven weeks at number one on the Billboard Top 100. | Feature photo: Steve Rogers

Why Going Bigger Makes The Whitewater World Smaller

Portaging doesn’t make you less of a whitewater paddler

The lip of a rapid is a favorite place for me, although it feels exposed—the commitment having already been made but still waiting for the show to begin. This is especially the case today, on a solo wilderness raft trip. The Petawawa is a personal favorite. It’s a drop-and-pool river with slow, smooth entries leading into short and steep ledges or long and technical boulder gardens. I’ve run it every year for the last 15 years, but today feels different.

We river runners are a peculiar lot, we are dedicated to our skill-intensive craft that takes us to inaccessible but beautiful places. That we use the word “we”—as in we see ourselves as a unique group—is predicted by what sociologists refer to as social identity theory.

Social identity refers to how we grow to define ourselves as individuals by choosing to be a part of a certain group. When we buy into a group, in this case calling ourselves whitewater paddlers, social identity goes on to predict that we also adopt that group’s values and behaviors. It’s why paddlers wear Gore-Tex, chug booty beers and talk about going to church. Group values and sentiments become our own. As the academic S. Alexander Haslam writes, “We are motivated to live up to norms and to achieve goals that are relevant to our self-definition.”

Proving yourself on the Petawawa

The Petawawa through Algonquin Park is a classic canoe trip with a couple portages. In an oar rig, it becomes stellar class III, with one notable exception. It is this exception that dogs my thoughts. Crooked Chute is a real rapid. Its long technical entry compresses and tips downward, into a steep and fast full 90-degree turn that needs to set up threading big holes, finishing with a long run out full of demanding moves between pinning rocks. At high water it’s a full class V, at medium flows a beefy IV with mandatory hole hits, and at low water a technical class IV. At a high water class V it’s a portage every time, no question, given the remote setting. The low water IV I’m perfectly comfortable with, as rowing rapids of technical difficulty is my thing. It’s the in-between I’m worried about.

Ample bow volume and rocker, just like the Phantom, helps the Rewind resurface and maintain speed after drops, while its slicey, low-volume stern turns every eddyline into a play opportunity. | Photo: Scott MacGregor

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For the first day and a half on the river I find myself worrying over what the water level will be at Crooked. I scan for clues in the early rapids as to what it will be like farther downstream. In camp the first night I fall asleep rehearsing the different lines in my mind, nervous for the beefy hole punching.

Weird. I rarely worry about what’s downstream. I ask myself what it is I’m fretting over, visiting the usual suspects: getting old, becoming risk averse, losing my skills. It’s none of these. What I am worried about is making the call between a beefy IV and a too-beefy IV. Why has this routine scouting decision become a conflict? This is where social identity comes in.

Whitewater is who we are

I’m a river person. Rivers have shaped what I do, where I live and what I believe. I identify myself as a river guide and a whitewater paddler, even though what used to be 200 days a year on the oars is now more like 20, half of which are on class II fly fishing rivers.

My conflict? If I decide that a rapid is over my head, does that mean I can still claim membership in the whitewater guild? That I’ve run the rapid every trip before this only makes me more self-conscious. If I portage today am I less a whitewater paddler than I was before? This is ridiculous, of course, and the pressure is entirely self-imposed. It is a solo trip, after all.

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On the portage around Crooked Rapid I have a lot of time to think. Whitewater is not just what we do but who we are. Deciding a rapid is too tough today has little to do with my identity. As a river runner I believe the worth of any one rapid is only as good as the whole river trip it contributes to.

A whitewater paddler from start to end

The entry float into a big rapid may be a lonely place, but I take solace in knowing I’m part of a bigger group. It’s a group of people who run rivers from put-in to take-out. Sometimes we run every drop along the way; often we don’t. Either way, it’s okay. Membership in this tribe isn’t based on a single stunt, but a lifestyle, moving us from shore to shore, seeking flow.

If I portage today am I less a whitewater paddler than I was before? | Feature photo: Ben Kitching/Unsplash

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5 kid-sized camping tips

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5 tips to remember on trip

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3 ways to come home safely

The U.S. Coast Guard reports:

To reduce risk on the water, paddlers should:

Education: Get Some!

Wear A Life Jacket

Dress For Immersion, Not Air Temperature

Check The Weather

Know The Local Hazards

Paddle Sober And Smart

How The U.S. Coast Guard Research Is Conducted