Paddling Education

Gear List for Kayak Camping
Ever wonder what to bring along for a kayak fishing and camping trip? Bending Branches Regional Ambassador Moo Lee shares his gear list with us from a recent trip of his.
These San Diego Girl Scouts Get Solid Canoe Experience
Kristen Elgo has been a volunteer with San Diego Girl Scouts for more than a decade. She and other adult volunteers have gotten ACA certified so they can pass on their love of canoeing and kayaking to the girls they serve.
45 Days Canoeing Canada’s Subarctic
Camp Manito-wish YMCA is one of the top wilderness camps in the country. 2023 staffer Dave Scott co-led a 45-day canoe trip in northern Canada and shared his experience with us.
Our Readers’ Favorite Paddling Content of 2023
Thousands of you read our blog! We thought it’d be fun to highlight your favorite canoeing and kayak fishing content of 2023.
Lake Superior Canoe Camping Trip
Lake Superior isn’t known as an ideal canoe camping lake because of its vast size and unpredictable weather. But Canadians Jon and Erin took 11 days in 2023 for such a trip along some of its northern shoreline.
An All-Women’s Boundary Waters Canoe Trip
A couple weeks ago a group of eight women took a week off work to head north and spend four days in the Boundary Waters together.
Hudson Bay Bound: An Interview with Natalie Warren
In 2011 Natalie Warren and Ann Raiho canoed 2,000 miles from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay. They were the first women to take on the route made famous by the book Canoeing with the Cree by the late journalist, Eric Sevareid.
Summer Playlist
Lets jam out together! We created the ultimate summer playlist with songs suggested by Bending Branches team members, employees, and you. Listen now and suggest your favorite songs below.  
Sea Kayaking Alaska’s Inside Passage: How to Choose a Campsite
Chris Whittaker and Nuka de Jocas are their own main characters in their ongoing story of For Fun’s Sake Expedition. Here we take a look at Episode 8 of their 1,600-km kayak journey: How to choose a campsite along the Alaskan coast.
We Asked Our Pro Team Where Their Favorite Local Kayak Fishing Spot Is
Since our National ProStaff and Ambassador team members are the kayak fishing experts, we wanted to find out where they love to fish in their own area.
The Role of Kayaks in Alaskan Subsistence Living
Bending Branches Ambassador Josiah Pleasant (and many of his fellow Alaskans) lives a “subsistence” life most of us think disappeared 100+ years ago. Josiah shares with us why that is, and how kayaking plays a role.
Top Kayak Fishing Spots in Europe
Bending Branches ProStaffer Dennis Kieselhorst shares his favorite kayak fishing destination in his native Germany as well as other top spots in northern Europe. If you’re one of the growing number of European kayak anglers out there, these will give you some great ideas…
The Best Canoeing in Scotland
Bending Branches ProStaffer Will Copestake has canoed all over his native Scotland. Here, he lets us in on what he believes are Scotland’s best canoe destinations.
Day Canoe Trip to Stairway Portage & Rose Falls
One of the best and most popular day canoe trips in the Boundary Waters (BWCAW) is the trip to Stairway Portage and Rose Falls.
Kayak Fishing South Florida’s Exotic Species
Bending Branches Ambassador, Bill Sikora, has been a South Florida resident for several years and loves to kayak fish some of its exotic species. Here, he shares his experience and expertise with other anglers who also want to fish those waters.
Kayak Fishing the Amazon River
Bending Branches’ ProStaffer Jason Schall and his wife, Jennifer, kayak fish together regularly. In the fall of 2022 they took a dream fishing trip together to the Amazon River in Colombia, South America.
Use Paddle Planner for Your Next Canoe Trip
Paddle Planner is a unique online toolkit that makes planning your canoe and kayak trips easy and fun. “It’s Google directions for the Boundary Waters,” says founder Ben Strege.
Wilderness Canoe Tripping: Minnesota vs. Maine
While canoeing in Minnesota and Maine are very similar in many ways—both have plenty of forests, lakes and rivers—the wilderness canoe cultures in these two US states are quite distinct from one another.
Canoeing the Wilds of Scotland’s Lochs
Ian Finch and Jamie Barnes, both UK natives, partnered with two others for a winter canoe trip in the wilds of Scotland’s lochs. As often happens, their trip didn’t go quite as planned, but the changes brought them to a magical “hidden glen” they wouldn’t have wanted to miss.
Best Canoe Camping Spots in America’s Upper Midwest
Backcountry canoe camping is a pretty amazing way to spend a few days. You always have a lakeside campsite. You can fish, swim, relax. You can paddle from site to site or stay in one spot.
14 Amazing Canoe Trips in Canada
Few things go together as perfectly as Canada and canoeing. In this post, I’d like to introduce you to some of the best canoe trips in Canada. This isn’t an exhaustive list - with so many lakes and rivers, it would be impossible to include all of the amazing places to canoe. I hope you find inspiration for your next trip!