Charleston, South Carolina
Never grieve the end of paddling season again. Charleston’s sandy surf beaches, barrier islands and maze of protected inshore waters are welcoming year round. Palm trees, people watching and antebellum architecture make the historic waterfront a pleasant urban escape, and every April the East Coast Canoe & Kayak Festival attracts hundreds of paddlers, vendors and gawkers.
Dream Jobs: South Carolina Aquarium caretaker, NOAA weather egghead
Juneau, Alaska
Bill Bryson solidified his birthplace as America’s most boring city, and Chuck Thompson’s descriptions of Juneau painted his hometown in an even less favorable light. But the Alaskan capital’s undeniable appeal for paddlers is proof that you can’t trust travel writers. Surrounded by the sheltered waters of the Inside Passage, world-class wilderness parks, tidewater glaciers and unmatched wildlife viewing are all within easy reach.
Dream Jobs: Sightseeing pilot, glacier dog sledding guide
Tofino, British Columbia
Sure, it’s touristy, but the throngs of adven- ture-seekers and alternative-lifestylers give To- fino its funky surf-town vibe. Hit the breaks at Chesterman and Long beaches, hike the rainforest trails of neighboring Pacific Rim National Park, discover fanciful driftwood domiciles and explore Clayoquot Sound’s labyrinth of remote arms and verdant islands.
Dream Jobs: Water taxi driver, surf instructor
Norris Point, Newfoundland
Surrounded by Gros Morne National Park, Norris Point’s colorful clapboard homes tumble downhill into the harbor and minke whales frequent the arms and tickles of Bonne Bay. Inland, more paddling abounds in the park’s spectacular, fiord-like lakes— known as ponds—and caribou share the Long Range Mountains with hikers, skiers and backpackers.
Dream Jobs: Kayak guide, park interpreter
Arcata, California
Redwood trees thrive on the cool fogs and frequent drizzle of the northern California coast. So does a tight-knit community of organic farmers, artisans, students, paddlers, brewers and hippies just 25 miles south of Redwood National Park’s towering trees and unspoiled beaches. Intimate and erudite, Arcata offers kayakers everything from mellow jaunts on the Humboldt Lagoons to wild surf at Moonstone Beach to open coast touring around Trinidad Head.
Dream Job: Kokatat R&D team
Killarney, Ontario
If you live to paddle, Killarney has everything you need. There’s just one general store, few year-round employers and no roads out of town aside from the lonely blacktop of Highway 637, but every resident is just steps from Georgian Bay. Ex- plore the flooded white quartzite mountains of Killarney Provincial Park, the pink gran- ite whalebacks of the French River delta and dozens of idyllic archipelagos in between.
Dream Jobs: Seasonal park ranger, Killarney Outfitters boat schlepper
Marquette, Michigan
With a progressive, outdoor-oriented vibe, “Marquette is the white collar on the well-work workshirt that is Michigan’s Upper Peninsula,” says local photographer, Aaron Peterson.“It’s a center of culture and services in a region known for logging, mining and lightly populated hinterlands along the south shore of Lake Superior.” With a largely undeveloped shoreline, paddlers will find rock gardens, surf spots, sandstone caves and sandy beaches all within city limits. The 200-foot cliffs of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore are just 40 minutes to the east.
Dream Jobs: On campus at Northern Michigan U, four bike shops employ sprocket jockeys
This article first appeared in the Spring 2013 issue of Adventure Kayak Magazine. For more great content, subscribe to Adventure Kayak’s print and digital editions here.
