Canoe Camping - USA
The Pleasures of Canoe Camping

A Late Discovery

I have few regrets in life -- one is that I did not discover the pleasures of canoe camping sooner!  I grew up in the semi-arid northwest corner of Oklahoma, where one could live an entire lifetime and never lay eyes on a canoe.  It was not until my 38th year, having moved to Irving, Texas, that the discovery occurred.

It all started when I was browsing the stacks at the local library, and noticed a book called Texas Rivers and Rapids.  I had never been in a canoe, but it looked interesting, so I checked it out.  The book told of scenic and interesting rivers, and had pictures of people having fun fishing, floating, and camping on the river.  Complete with maps of the river, "how-to" information, and all about what kind of boats and gear to buy to outfit yourself properly, this book was a treasure trove for wannabe canoeists.

Within a few weeks, on a family vacation, I rented a canoe, and we paddled cluelessly around a little inlet on a lake.  A couple of months later I bought my first canoe, a 17' aluminum Lowe!  Within about 18 months, I was organizing and leading trips on nearby rivers, the Red, Trinity, Neches, and Brazos.

Many Aspects of Paddlesport

Now let me say here, that this story or one like it could be told by or about many of the untold thousands of people who are interested in various forms of paddlesport.  Many of these paddling enthusiasts are interested in one thing only: whitewater canoeing (or kayaking or rafting).  Others are tuned in to the athletic competitive nature of paddling, engaging in races ranging from sprints  to multi-day contests over hundreds of miles.  Some are devotees of artistic or historic paddling techniques, and some are dedicated to the building of magnificent boats of beautiful natural woods.  Many enjoy traversing the lakes and streams of the north woods, retracing the steps of the Voyageurs in overland portages of canoe and gear. Some see the canoe as a means to an end such as hunting, fishing, nature photography, or bird watching.  Specialized craft allow coastal enthusiasts to paddle around on bays, inlets, and even the open sea.  And of course, some just see it as a fun way to spend an afternoon, floating along some nearby branch or river, perhaps enjoying  a picnic along the way.

But my passion became canoe camping, a specialized branch of paddlesport which involves hauling all your gear along with you in the canoe and choosing a suitable site to pitch your tent, cook your dinner, and possibly explore some of the land along the river.

What Makes Canoe Camping so Special . . .

First and foremost, it is about the river.   When you canoe camp on your way down a river, you really get to know the stream, for better or for worse.  After many years of canoe camping trips, and countless hours thinking about why I find this activity so wonderful, I finally realized -- it is the river!  Rivers are the arteries that carry the vital water that is needed by every living thing on earth.  Nowhere else can you feel more closely connected to the natural world.

There is no way to experience the river quite like spending a week or so floating and paddling on the route that the river has selected for you.  Rivers are used and enjoyed by all nature's creatures (including humans) who live along their branks, or in the nearby lands.  After such a trip, you will surely say, "I know that river!"

If you enjoy camping, you will almost certainly love camping at a primitive site alongside a river.  With none of the noise or distraction of a public campground, you can hear the sounds, see the sights, and smell the smells of a natural setting -- and you almost never have to pay a fee for your campsite!

Awaking to a new day, you will discover the weather and water conditions that you are faced with for the next leg of your journey.   Perhaps they will be ideal, perhaps disastrous, but you will have to deal with them all the same.  Your day may be a grueling travail . . . or perhaps a lazy float!   Whatever it may be, you can't change channels -- this is your program, like it or not.  The most difficult, challenging, and sometimes painful experiences will be the ones you always remember, and you will relate those stories to your friends (many of whom were probably there with you) for years to come.  Those nice, warm, sunny, lazy days?   Enjoy them for the present -- you will have no good stories to tell . . . only fond but vague memories.

Add to all this a sense of journey.  Even though you may have shuttled your cars from one end of the planned trip to the other, or perhaps paid someone to pick you up or move your vehicles, you can still think of your canoe camping trip as an odyssey.  Under only your own power, plus that of the river, you will traverse many miles, stopping along the way to rest and relax.  You will experience a sense of travel that is more akin to that experienced by those who have gone before us.

So ENJOY!

We hope you will take some pleasure in browsing our information about canoe camping, and perhaps get some ideas for a trip that will bring you as much enjoyment as our many trips over the years have brought to us.  Thanks for stopping by!  See you on the River!