6 Top Canoe Destinations in North America
7-minute read
North America is the original land of the canoe and offers the most extensive waters in the world for long-distance canoeists. Here we highlight six wonderful and diverse canoe destinations on our part of the planet.
Canoeing in the Boundary Waters (photo courtesy of Brandon Johnson)
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota/Quetico Provincial Park, Ontario
The Boundary Waters/Quetico Wilderness has been called the canoists’ Mecca—and for good reason. With over 2,100,000 combined acres, the BWCA/Quetico has over 3,000 lakes. The Boundary Waters hosts more than 1,200 miles of canoe routes and 2,000 backcountry campsites with another 2,200 campsites in the Quetico. Both these wilderness parks are designated Dark Sky Sanctuaries.
Whether you pull a trip together on your own or go through one of the many local outfitters, once you experience it you’ll want to keep returning to this pristine wilderness. You’ll share the area with moose, black bears, wolves, eagles and other local wildlife.
About 250,000 visitors enter the Boundary Waters annually for multi-day trips from overnight to a week to several weeks. If you’d like to encounter even fewer humans on your wilderness canoe trip, Quetico visitors are limited to 20,000 a year.
Best time of the year: May-October. Busiest: July and August.
Need to know: This is backcountry wilderness with little-to-no cell service, abundant wildlife and unpredictable weather. Prepare to be self-sufficient, bear aware and keep safety top-of-mind—including cold-water paddling.
Carrying paper maps of your route is essential. All campsites are first-come, first-served. Permits are required to enter both wilderness areas. There are limitations to what’s allowed in, so be sure to learn all the necessary guidelines and follow them.
Learn more:
Northern Forest Canoe Trail, New England
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) covers 740 miles of connected waterways through New York, Vermont, a jaunt into Quebec, then New Hampshire and Maine. The route goes through a few dozen communities, with sleeping options (campsites or inns) every 15 miles.
Paddlers on the NFCT journey on lakes, on rivers (including some whitewater stretches) and over portages. Route options abound, from day trips to a through-paddle (covering the entire distance in one journey).
Northern Forest Canoe Trail trip (photo courtesy of Sheila Bergin Goss)
The NFCT winds through some of the most beautiful areas of the Northeast, including the Adirondack Mountains in New York and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in Maine. Black bears, moose, deer and other wildlife are abundant along many stretches of the Trail.
Best time of year: May-October. Busiest: July-August
Need to know: Some of the portages along the NFCT are over a mile long, but well-kept—some are even along roadways and through communities. Most canoeists use carts to portage their canoe and gear rather than the shoulder-carry style of the BWCA/Quetico.
While extensive paddling experience is needed for a through-trip, several stretches are beginner-friendly. There are whitewater sections for which whitewater experience and safety gear are essential. Cold-water paddling safety know-how is needed here too.
Learn more on the NFCT website.
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (Georgia, US)
Okefenokee is the largest intact blackwater swamp in North America. That means the water flows slowly through forested wetlands and picks up decaying plant matter along the way. This turns the clear water a dark color.
Kayaking in Okefenokee
The Refuge’s wilderness area covers 354,000 acres of unique habitat. There are 120 miles of water routes, 50 open to canoe and kayak only. A handful of platform campsites are available by reservation. These platforms are recommended for overnight camping to keep you off the ground and away from the 15,000 local alligators (as well as snakes and other critters you’d prefer not to meet eye-to-eye!).
If you want to cover even more miles, continue to canoe down the Suwannee River from the Okefenokee Swamp.
Best time of year: November-April. Busiest: March and April.
Need to Know: Winter and spring paddling will offer less heat and humidity and fewer bugs than the summer months. You’ll need a vehicle permit to enter the Refuge and a wilderness camping permit if you plan to take on a multi-day canoe trip.
Water filters are a bad idea here—instead, bring your own drinking and cooking water. According to the Guide (linked below), paddling here can be slow and strenuous. Though it’s flat and generally current-less, there’s little dry ground and you may occasionally have to get out to haul your canoe and gear through shallow water or over trees.
Learn more from this Okefenokee Wilderness Canoe Guide PDF.
Bowron Lakes (British Columbia, Canada)
72 miles of connected lakes, rivers and portages are nestled in the Cariboo Range of the beautiful Canadian Rocky Mountains. Bowron Provincial Park is known worldwide for this canoe circuit, with about 4,500 people paddling it each year.
To canoe the full circuit, allow 6-10 days—the longer the better to fully experience this gorgeous area. If you’d like to enjoy it on a smaller scale, it’s possible to canoe just the western portion in 2-4 days.
Bowron Lakes canoe circuit (photo courtesy of Gabrielle Mustapich via Unsplash)
Backcountry campsites, abundant wildlife, mountains, forests and deep, clear lakes are all part of the canoeing experience at Bowron. Wildlife encounters could include grizzly and black bears, moose, mountain goats and caribou.
Best time of year: Mid-May-September. Busiest: July and August.
Need to know: Both canoeing and wilderness camping/navigation experience are needed at Bowron. Cold-water safety practices are also essential in these deep alpine lakes.
Because of its popularity, permits are required with just 27 canoes (or 54) people allowed to begin the circuit daily. Backcountry campsites are first-come, first-served. Bear-proof caches are provided (and must be used) at the campsites.
Learn more through British Columbia Parks.
Nahanni River National Park Reserve (Northwest Territories, Canada)
The most remote destination on our list, this river trip can be reached only by float plane. The Nahanni is known for its spectacular scenery—including mountains, 3,000-foot canyons and 315-foot Virginia Falls—spread across nearly 7.5 million acres.
It’s also known for its far-north wildlife including musk oxen, caribou, grizzly bears and wolves. Being well up there in latitude, a canoe trip in this region offers a midnight sun experience and could bring any kind of weather. Don’t be surprised if it snows, even in mid-summer.
Canoeing the Nahanni River (photo courtesy of Mikaela Ferguson)
Best time of year: June-September. Busiest: July and August…if you can call 1,000 visitors a year “busy”!
Need to know: Canoeing the Nahanni is a backcountry wilderness experience. It requires advanced paddling skills (including whitewater), backcountry safety know-how and self-rescue skills. If you don’t have these yet, there are licensed guide services you can hire.
Reservations are required for a river trip AND de-registration is mandatory upon your return—they want to know you made it out alive! Rapids of up to Class V are possible, depending on the season and flow rates.
Learn more:
- Parks Canada
- It’s Never Too Late to Start Paddling (the Nahanni River)
Green River (Utah and Colorado, US)
This popular rafting and canoeing river is 730 miles long through a completely different environment. Its Utah section winds through some of the American Southwest’s most amazing canyons including Flaming Gorge, Dinosaur National Monument, Desolation Canyon and Canyonlands National Park.
The Green River is 730 miles long (photo courtesy of National Park Service)
Because the Green River runs through desert, its water level depends on annual snowmelt from the mountains near its mouth and northern end. So flow rate and campsite quality vary year-by-year and seasonally along the route.
Several whitewater sections need specialized skills. And there are 120 miles of slow-moving flow through spectacular canyons for canoeists of all abilities.
Best time of year: Spring and Fall. Busiest: April-May
Need to know: Whitewater skills and gear are needed on the whitewater sections. Multi-day trips require plenty of sunscreen and drinking/cooking water (water filter not recommended as the water is muddy).
Portions of the river require a permit for overnight trips. Plenty of licensed guides and outfitters are available if you enjoy getting the inside scoop regarding history, environment and not-to-be-missed natural beauty.
Learn more on the Visit Utah website (as well as various paddling websites easily found with an online search).
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We hope this inspired your next canoeing spot—for a day trip or multi-day adventure!
Happy paddling!
[This post was first published in 2016. Updated 2024.]
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