Canoe Camping Vacation
A canoe camping trip that combines tent-camping overnights with a canoe as vehicle-of-choice by day is a sure way to pack extra fun, exercise, adventure, relaxation and scenic beauty into any camping vacation.
Why Canoe?
If your dream excursion is a face-to-face, high-sensation encounter with all that nature has to offer, a canoe camping trip is for you. There’s not much better than guiding a 16-foot aluminum canoe down a rushing – or even quietly flowing – stream through a wooded wilderness as the morning sun breaks through the trees.
Canoe camping is beginner-friendly, and astonishingly inexpensive. It requires very few skills and little gear beyond what’s prudent for typical camping trips and equipment. Riverfront or shoreline campsites can be as cheap as nothing at all to $5 or $10 a night. Canoe camping with friends or family makes the adventure livelier and even less expensive.
Transporting your camping gear on a canoe camping trip is so easy, you may never backpack again! The typical two-person aluminum canoe can easily carry close to 500 pounds of “stuff” – although, remember, the more you bring, the more you must haul off-board, pack up and haul back on-board when you break camp in the morning. Just because you can haul more on a canoe camping trip, doesn’t mean you should.
Because you’re traveling relatively slowly, you’ll see much more of the countryside’s scenery and wildlife in a canoe camping trip than you’ll see when using a car, truck, RV or other motor vehicle to transport you from campsite to campsite.
How To Plan Your Canoe Camping Trip
As with any new venture, planning ahead is the key to your enjoyment.
1. If someone in your party (including you!) is new to canoeing, by all means, take a short test run on a nearby stream or small river. Practice paddle-handling, especially turning and banking. Get in and out of the canoe, and load and unload it. If possible, spend at least one night camping on your dry run, to get an idea of what gear and supplies you can leave behind on a longer trip, and what items you absolutely can’t live without.
2. Choose your waterway. Word-of-mouth from other canoeists and campers is the best way to decide on your destination, because they’ll have first-hand experience with all aspects of the waterway, everything from good campsites en route to bad mosquito populations along the way. Camp-gear outfitters, canoe rental sites and local, state and national park Web sites are also great information sources. They can help you match up your prospective canoe route with your detailed vacation plans. Consider: What else are you hoping to do on your trip besides paddle your canoe and set up and strike camp? What’s available on any given waterway varies dramatically from site to site, so check each option carefully.
3. Map your route. Once you’ve decided which watery superhighway you’ll be traveling, treat canoe camping planning as you would any other kind of vacation trip. Will you bring your own canoe or are long-term rentals available, and where are they located? How long will you travel each day and where will you rest each night? Where are the portages and how long will you spend portaging? What’s the off-water terrain like? What side trips do you want to take? Will you stop to fish, swim or eat along the way? Are there locations to stop and seek shelter in case of dangerous weather?
Put it all down on paper. That paper, of course, will find its way to a waterproof dry bag as you’re putting your canoe camping gear together!
What To Take Canoe Camping
It’s helpful to prepare your packing list in two columns: what you need for canoeing, and what you’ll need for camping. Since canoe campers are typically experienced car, RV or backpack campers first, the focus here is on what you’ll need specific to canoeing.
1. First and foremost you’ll need a canoe! A 16-foot canoe about 34 inches across and 12 inches deep is the ideal vehicle for a two-person canoe camp trip.
2. Equip your canoe with one paddle for each occupant, plus an extra paddle for caution. Lifejackets for each occupant are also a must and really should be worn when the canoe is in the water.
3. A cooler to keep each day’s prepared foods and drinks cold in the hot sun.
4. Water jugs filled with fresh water. Paddling can be thirsty work. Drink water while you canoe. Bring at least 2.5 liters per person per day. A few packets of water purification tablets can’t hurt (packed in a waterproof bag.)
5. A bright heavy-duty flashlight for the canoe. If for some reason, you’re stuck paddling in twilight or darkness, you’ll want to see as much as you can of the waterway, and you’ll want others to see you as well!
6. Rope or towline. Invaluable for tying up at night, but also necessary in the event the canoe overturns and paddles are lost.
7. Emergency supplies: Compass, Swiss Army Knife, waterproof matches, first aid kit, whistle, aloe, lip balm, sun block, aspirin, disinfectant. Some canoeists won’t leave home without a weather radio. Many pack a hand-held mirror to enable them to signal shore or other canoes in a pinch.
8. Canoeing clothes. Check the gear outfitters for super-comfortable quick-dry shorts that can be worn over a bathing suit if you’re planning to swim along the way. Tee-tops are fine most of the time, but you’ll want a shirt with sleeves and possibly quick-dry long pants for morning and evening paddling when the mosquitoes are out and about. Also, don’t forget rain ponchos. Wear skid-resistant boat shoes at all times and never canoe without protection for your head. A wide-brimmed sun hat is ideal and works to keep rain off, too.
9. Supply of trash bags and dry bags. Your dry bags will be watertight and will contain items such as your map, wallets and personal identification, cell phones, cameras, extra batteries and flashlight lamps, and anything you need to protect from the inevitable spray and wet-tracking that comes with canoeing. Plastic trash bags work fine for extra clothing, extra food, camping needs, and, of course, trash. Don’t dispose of anything in the waterways. Always place your trash in proper receptacles.
Some items that you normally would pack away for camping, you may want to leave out in the canoe, such as your camp chair or plastic-covered cushion. Hours of sitting on a plain un-cushioned canoe seat can be tough on the bottom. Keep your fishing gear handy if you’re planning to fish along the way. Binoculars, camera, notepad and extra pens should also be kept within reach.
After you’ve got your canoeing gear lined up, simply pack your camping gear, complete your other typical trip preparations, leave your trip plan with a friend or family member, and you are ready to hit the trail. All that’s left to do is enjoy yourself!
