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Kayaking the San Juans

From the rocky tip of Sucia Island’s Henry Point, the views in every direction are rewarding. To the west, the sun drops behind Patos Island, casting an orange beam across the Olympic Mountains in the distance. A glowing Mount Baker towers above Matia Island to the east.
Matt Nelson, an Orcas Island resident and employee of [...]

Canoe the rainforest at Southern Belize’s Machaca Hill Resort

Punta Gorda, Belize, has long been known as a flyfisherman’s paradise, especially for the elusive permit. But visitors to Machaca Hill Lodge will see that this quaint community in Southern Belize is also a great place to paddle a canoe down the Rio Grande.

Machaca Hill is one of the nicest resorts in all of [...]

Paddling Utah’s Black Box Canyon

You should know right away that I don’t like paddling much. I mean, it looks pretty cool and all, but I don’t have opposable thumbs, which means I can’t hold a paddle, which means “going paddling” for me and other dogs translates to “going swimming,” which, as any beginning kayaker will tell you, is another [...]

Paddling Baja

I moved to California last year. To Southern California, no less, home to smog and traffic jams and an awful lot of asphalt where grass used to be. It was an intimidating move for a diehard western river-lover to make, especially coming off more than a decade of trout chasing in the Northern Rockies. How [...]

North America’s Most Scenic Paddling Trips

Everything from wildflowers to wildlife to a fleeting rainbow after a summer storm can constitute scenic grandeur on a paddling trip. But while beauty may be in the eye of the bow-bound beholder, there is surely nothing like the sweeping, awe-inspiring, all-encompassing vista—those places on earth just begging for a panoramic camera. Many waterways have [...]

Sea Kayaking Australia’s Cocos Islands

YOU’VE NEVER been here. Of that I am reasonably certain. And I know you’ve never sea kayaked here, because we were the first. But if you go, one thing’s for sure: You won’t get lost on your way to the put-in. In Australia’s Cocos Islands you can, quite literally, walk off the plane, carry your [...]

Kayaking Belize

Bob Pickett really wanted to see a boa constrictor. Actually Bob really wanted to touch a boa constrictor. Well actually, Bob really wanted to find a boa constrictor; wrap it around his neck like a Hawaiian lei, and get a photo taken to show the boys back home. Lucky for Bob, when your four days [...]

Still time to raft the Snake River this summer

Get the front seat if you can. That’s the first advice, that’s where the action is. Rafting in the Greater Yellowstone region is not only recommended, it’s practically required. The area is so packed with burly white water and calm lakes that to return home without getting on the water is like taking a trip [...]

Brothers on the Bashkaus

Guarding the canyon like a sentry, a rapid called Unpopulated marks the beginning of the lower gorge. It’s an apt name. Not many people in their right mind would pass here. A large waterfall cascades into the river on the left, while two large boulders force the river into a narrow slot on the right [...]

Kayaking near Moab, Utah

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Featured Destinations

Kayaking the San Juans

From the rocky tip of Sucia Island’s Henry Point, the views in every direction are rewarding. To the west, the sun drops behind Patos Island, casting an orange beam across the …

Canoe the rainforest at Southern Belize’s Machaca Hill Resort

Punta Gorda, Belize, has long been known as a flyfisherman's paradise, especially for the elusive permit. But visitors to Machaca Hill Lodge will see that this quaint community in …

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