The Chesapeake Bay watershed covers 64,000 square miles and drains parts of six states and Washington, DC. Along with its 400-plus rivers and creeks, the Chesapeake boasts 4,600 miles of tidal shoreline suitable for kayaking. Sea kayaking is booming in the Chesapeake region, and the state of Maryland is fully supporting paddlers in finding access and creating routes and safe places to explore. This new guide will describe dozens of trips along the Eastern and Western shores, in the Bay proper, and in its tributaries. Trip descriptions will include important information on put-ins and take-outs, winds, and currents, equipment, paddling techniques, and safety issues. The authors enliven their instruction with informative sidebars on topics such as salt marsh ecology, wildlife, and social and maritime history. They also touch on low-impact paddling techniques, hypo/hyperthermia awareness, and many other paddling-related topics.

Recreation -- Travel -- Nature

From Bayou Bartholomew in the north to the Atchafalaya Swamp in the south, from the Sabine River in the west to the Pearl River in the east, Louisiana abounds with water to explore. "Canoeing Louisiana" is your guidebook for paddling through a Deep South region that boasts a great variety of waterways.

The book takes a broad focus, covering the state in a way that anyone--local or visitor, day-floater or wilderness tripper--can enjoy. The book especially highlights waters that are in or near public lands, including wildlife management areas, parks, national forests and national wildlife refuges. In Louisiana there's no shortage of options, from easy day jaunts to semi-wilderness expeditions.

Although there is no whitewater in this bayou state, there is nature galore--a wealth of woods, water, and wildlife. And there's considerable variety: clear sandy streams like Tangipahoa and Whiskey Chitto; vast swamps like Atchafalaya and Honey Island; hill-country bayous like Bodcau and D'Arbonne; gorgeous lakes like Chicot and Bistineau; and sea kayaking destinations such as Grand Isle and Lake Pontchartrain. Paddlers who still want an adrenaline thrill can try finding a way through seemingly endless cypress swamps, dodging cottonmouth snakes, or paddling among alligators.

Author Ernest Herndon has identified more than thirty waterways which meet criteria for good paddling. "Canoeing Louisiana" provides general descriptions and specific information on where to go and what to expect. It also discusses types of boats and gear most suited to Louisiana, as well as techniques for camping, navigation, and fishing. And it explores relevant facets of history, ecology, folklore, and biology since most paddlers want to know more than just the logistics of a paddling destination.

This is the only comprehensive guidebook about Louisiana's waterways. It will appeal to all those who have an interest in the natural wonders of the Bayou State.

Ernest Herndon is a staff writer and outdoors editor of the "Enterprise-Journal" in McComb, Mississippi. He is also the author of "Canoeing Mississippi" (University Press of Mississippi). See the author's Web site at www.ernestherndon.com.

Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness together comprise some one and a quarter million acres of the wildest country in the United States. This nearly roadless region of lakes, bogs, and forests in northeastern Minnesota is a mecca for canoeists from around the world. Veteran paddler James Churchill guides readers to great paddling and camping destinations. Maps, detailed route descriptions, and a wealth of planning tips make this an indispensable guide for the modern voyageur.
Features include:
-An overview of what to expect and how to prepare
-Detailed maps showing access points and routes
-Information on each waterway's character, difficulty, and the best times to paddle
-Lists of local paddling organizations and information resources
-Trips to thrill experienced paddlers and novices alike
-Historical importance and wildlife

Explore the diverse natural wonders of the Jersey Pine Barrens, the unique ecosystem covering more than a million acres in southern New Jersey. From easy afternoon paddles to extended trips deep into remote wilderness areas, Paddling the Jersey Pine Barrens takes canoeists and kayakers on a journey through the state's most spectacular landscape. Included are waterways known for their scenery, historical importance, and wildlife. In addition to detailed river descriptions, there is extensive information about the region's geological, social, environmental, and botanical history.Paddling the Jersey Pine Barrens is designed to help you select the best of the waterways that course through the Pinelands. Inside you'll find: an overview of what to expect and how to prepare; detailed maps showing access points and routes; information on each waterway's character, difficulty, and the best times to paddle; lists of local paddling organizations and information resources. (5 1/2 x 8 1/2, 192 pages, maps, charts)

Adventure Guides are the perfect travel companion for the modern explorer. Whether you're looking to backpack around your home state or boost the number of stamps in your passport by traveling overseas, these books will heighten your travel experience.

Our team of knowledgeable authors offers comprehensive introductions that cover history, geography, climate, when to go, transportation, planning and culture. Region-by-region, the books then delve into the heart of the area, with driving tours and side trips to the best museums, historic sites and shops. But the focus is on activities, and you'll learn about the best spots for diving, snorkeling, horseback riding, hiking, biking, rock climbing and more. Extensive listings of recommended tour operators, too. Select places to stay and eat, as well as regional festivals and celebrations.

Hike some 166+ miles in Isle Royale National Park; take in the excitement of the Port Huron-to-Mackinac Island sailboat race; watch the wheels spin in the Tour de Michigan cycling marathon; spend a quiet afternoon canoeing on a pristine lake; or try some urban adventures in the cities. Year-round activities, detailed by resident authors. A destination rarely covered by guidebooks.

Jerry Dennis has earned a reputation as one of the finest writers on nature and the outdoors in America today. Now in From a Wooden Canoe, he turns his attention to old passions and discovers new reasons to appreciate them.

This engaging collection explores the quintessential American sports of canoeing and camping and pays tribute to the things worth keeping, from wooden canoes to pocket knives to cast-iron skillets. At a deeper level, it is about respect - for our possessions, for the natural world, for ourselves - and about the pleasures of a life well spent.

From a Wooden Canoe is a celebration of the good things and the simple pleasures of life outdoors. It is a book to be treasured, to be read on winter evenings and rainy afternoons, and to be kept handy on a cabin shelf.

A paddling guide designed for canoeists and kayakers who want to explore the Cape's rivers, marshes, and shoreline and learn about the region's natural history. Paddling the Cape's waterways is the best way to see its wildlife and to understand the ever-changing forces of sand, tide, and wind that define this land-and it's a perfect way to escape the crowds. The authors are experienced paddlers who own a canoe and kayak touring business. Full of natural history, this guide also has practical details, like where and when to go; tides, currents, and safety considerations; and information about where boats can be rented. This guide is endorsed by Cape Cod Museum of Natural History.

Tap into the source and stay on course This definitive guide for navigators contains all the information kayakers need to paddle the seas safely and confidently. Novices and veterans alike will be able to chart an accurate course, whether on open water or between islands. Navigation basics are explained in full detail, including the essentials of chart reading, compass use, finding and keeping track of position, predicting tides and currents, trip planning, and navigating at night, in the fog, and in traffic. Electronic navigation is also discussed, including GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers, which allow a kayaker to pinpoint his or her position anywhere on the globe with amazing accuracy.

Lourie completed his trip. It took him three weeks and marked the first time anyone has traveled from the source of the Hudson to the mouth in a single vessel. The Hudson proved to be a very changeable river. It includes seven locks and nine power dams. The northern half is a true river with strong current, but the lower half is tidal, a sunken river from the days of glaciers. In its first 165 miles, it drops more than 4,000 feet to Albany. The second half falls no more than a foot. Lourie's account of his trip is a fresh look at one of America's great and complex waterways, one of the few, in fact, that still contains its historical and biological species of fish. It is also the longest inland estuary in the world. Henry Hudson called it the "great river of the mountains." Nowadays, too often the Hudson is stereotyped as a ruined, polluted industrial river. its glorious past is compared to its present neglect. In River of Mountains, Peter Lourie combines the Hudson's rich history and descriptions of some of the region's most impressive landscape with the residents of its mill towns, the loggers, commercial fishermen, and barge pilots - all of whom are proof that the river is still a thriving, vital waterway.

With two slender sixty-pound kayaks, a ten-pound medical kit, twenty pounds of books, triple-digit temperatures, and no contact with the outside world, Jonathan and Deborah Waterman spent two months paddling through the violent tides and storms that define the mythically charged Sea of Cortes. Amid the lore and romantic past of the Baja they discovered that what began as a mutual exploration would soon become an unforgettable test of will.

Exhilarating and lyrical, filled with images of death, beauty, and adventure, this paradisiacal journey depicts the past and present of a legendary body of water -- and the struggle of a man and a woman to find each other.

As well as being a comprehensive guide to the many rivers and streams in the state, Canoeing & Kayaking Ohio's Streams includes chapters on water safety, paddling instructions, how to read and rate white water, and even tips for paddling with children. For each of over 45 rivers in the state, you will find suggested stopover point for natural and human history, information on potential hazards and portages, detailed maps with river miles and car shuttle miles from access points, and listings of game-fish for each waterway.

This is the manual endorsed by professional guides, instructors, and recreational river runners everywhere. With comprehensive step-by-step coverage starting with the first run, it includes tips from top guides, outfitters, and instructors, plus the most complete guide to Class V rafting techniques ever assembled. This is the completely revised and updated successor to Bennetts best-selling manual, Rafting!.

"She's all my fancy painted her, she's lovely, she is light. She waltzes on the waves by day and rests with me at night. But I had nothing to do with her painting. The man who built her did that. And I commence with the canoe because that is about the first thing you need on entering the Northern Wilderness". Thus opened Nessmuk's first commissioned "letter" for Forest and Stream in 1880. For years thereafter, George Washington Sears, under the penname Nessmuk, contributed a glorious series of pieces on canoeing the Adirondacks, exploring rivers and streams, climbing the many mountains and peaks, and chronicling his long relationship with one of the greatest canoe builders, J. Henry Rushton.

In a book that has been called "a love song to nature," the author documents the latest decade of his explorations of the Baja peninsula and the Sea of Cortez. While much of the book narrates his experience as a writing professor taking undergraduates on sea kayak expeditions to the Isla Espiritu Santo archipelago each year during spring break, the book also reflects on experiences with a condor restoration project in the Sierra San Pedro Martir, and an altogether different teaching experience based in a field station on Bahia de los Angeles. While the author's intent is to evoke Baja ecologies in fresh ways, the reader comes to realize that he's also describing how education can become a transformational experience. A retired scuba instructor who turned to academics and went on to receive his college's highest teaching award, Dr. Farnsworth believes that education should be a lifelong adventure, and that explorations of the natural world should be animated by reverence and delight.

Although books on strip building canoes abound, this is among the first to adapt the technique to crafting attractive, functional kayaks. Using high-quality, computer-generated illustrations and photographs to explain key techniques, the book provides complete plans and measurements for three different kayaks: 1) A simple solo craft for beginners, 2) A high-performance solo kayak for intermediate paddlers, and 3) A tandem design for two paddlers. With its easy-to-follow guidance and instructions, The Strip-Built Sea Kayak makes top-notch kayaks accessible to budget-minded paddlers.

A thrilling account of two friends kayaking 1000 miles though the Inside Passage of BC and southeast Alaska. This is a story of exploration and adventure, with rough seas, calving glaciers, bear encounters and persistently bad weather. But equally enjoyable is the story of this dramatic and culturally rich region, which the author weaves fluidly throughout the book. With flowing prose and non-technical language, the author provides a fundamental understanding of the area's rain forest, glaciers, wildlife and both past and present cultures. In addition to maps, instructive sidebars offer further information and tips about the many issues that arise while discovering the beauty and danger of this region. History buffs will like the many stories about the Pacific Northwest's early explorers; sea kayakers will benefit from the kayaking information; wilderness adventure buffs will be inspired by the exciting tale of paddling the Inside Passage. This book is sure to appeal to many and be enjoyed by all.

Ancient records of canoes are found from the Pacific Northwest to the coast of Maine, in Minnesota and Mexico, in the Southeast and across the Caribbean. And if a native of those distant times might encounter a canoe of our day-whether birch bark or dugout or a modern marvel made of carbon fiber-its silhouette would be instantly recognizable. This is the story of that singular American artifact, so little changed over time: of canoes, old and new, the people who made them, and the labors and adventures they shared. With features of technology, industry, art, and survival, the canoe carries us deep into the natural and cultural history of North America. In the foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winner John McPhee, we dip into the experience of canoeing, from the thrilling challenges of childhood camp expeditions to the moving reflections of long-time paddlers. The pages that follow are filled with historical photographs and artwork, authors Neuzil and Sims describe the dugout and birch bark craft from their first known appearance through the exploration of Canada by fur traders, to the recreational movements that promoted all-wood and wood-and-canvas canoes. Modern materials such as aluminum, fiberglass, and plastic expanded participation and connected canoeists with emerging environmental movements. Finally, Canoes lets us hear the voices of past paddlers like Alexander Mackenzie, the first European to cross North America, using birch bark and dugout canoes a decade before Lewis and Clark went overland, Henry Thoreau, Eric Sevareid, Edwin Tappan Adney, and others. Their stories are a tribute to the First Peoples who, 500 or 1,000 or even 5,000 years ago, built a craft designed to such perfection that it has plied the waters fundamentally unchanged ever since.

The west coast of Scotland casts a spell on anyone with a taste for adventure, a feeling for the past or a love of the wild, uninhabited places. With tidal currents of awesome power running between fascinating patterns of islands, it is a challenging place for any type of small craft. Robin Lloyd-Jones has been exploring here in his sea kayak for more than forty years.In this enchanced new edition of Argonauts of the Western Isles he takes us on many a memorable epedition to wild and beautiful shores. Amongst magnificent scenery and ever-changing seas, we are transported to Jura, Scarba, the Garvellach Isles, Mull, Staffa, the Treshnish Isles, the Monack Isles, Iona, Lewis and the Utis, Skye, the Orkneys, the Shetland Isles to places with music in their names, like Tir Nan Og the land of the ever-young, places which, once visited, become part of you.Along the way the author tells us a great deal about kayaking, about the wildlife and the history of the area but, more than that, he makes us feel that we are with him on his kayak.We experience what it is like to set out with one's destination below the horizon and nothing but open sea ahead, to bivouac under the stars, to spend the night aboard a wreck, to be 'hunted' by the vortex of the Corryvreckan whirlpool, to paddle into dark, booming caves, to feel an Atlantic swell rolling beneath the kayak and to become part of its rhythm. Through the author's vivid descriptions we know the terror of a force nine gale, the tranquillity of moolit trips, and the lure of tiny bays and seal-meadows accessible only to a slim kayak. We encounter dolphins, otters, unidentified monsters and nuclear submarines. And when he writes of the magic of remote islands, the Robinson Crusoe in all of us is awakened.This is a book to set the imagination adrift, a book for those seeking wider horizons, be their vessel an armchair or a kayak.

The Columbia and its tributaries are rivers of conflict. Amid pitched battles over the economy, the environment, and the breaching of dams on the lower Snake River, the salmon that have always quickened these rivers are disappearing. On a warm day in late May, Mike Barenti entered the heart of this conflict when he slid a white-water kayak into the headwaters of central Idaho’s Salmon River and started paddling toward the Pacific Ocean. This account of his two-month, nine-hundred-mile solo journey into the world of the Columbia Basin plunges us into the adventure of navigating these troubled waterways. Kayaking Alone is a narrative of man and nature, one-on-one, but also of man and nature writ large. In the stories of the river guides and rangers, biologists and ranchers, American Indians and dam workers he meets along the way, the rich and complicated life of the river emerges in a striking, often painfully clear panorama. Through his journey, the ecology, history, and politics of Pacific salmon unfold in fascinating detail, and with this firsthand knowledge and experience the reader gains a new and personal sense of the nature that unites and divides us.  

A recreational canoeman in his native Texas, Rick Sparkman thought he knew all about the sport when he moved to Nova Scotia in 1981. The swift, cold rivers and streams of his new home adjusted his thinking in the most personal way: he got dumped. That's when he started learning to paddle in earnest. Woodlands Canoeing explains the fundamentals of recreational canoeing in the woods of the Maritimes, New England, and anywhere else where the waterways are small, the water is swift and at times shallow, and canoeing varies with the seasons. It's a guide to safe, comfortable recreation for those who already canoe a little and want to know more, as well as for people experienced in canoeing on lakes or on the more predictable rivers described in other canoeing books. Woodlands Canoeing outlines the advantages of various kinds of equipment and describes canoeing and camping techniques in words, photos, and drawings, mixing practical information with anecdotes drawn from Sparkman's years of family canoeing. Throughout, Sparkman concentrates on having fun, even when the expected summer shower becomes the tail of a hurricane or the canoe has to be inched over rocky shallows where only a few days earlier there was plenty of water. Keeping warm, dry, and well fed are crucial to Sparkman's pleasure, and Woodlands Canoeing contains hints for packing, instructions for making camp, and recipes for delicious and satisfying meals. Because of the region's volatile climate and variable water conditions, Sparkman has learned how to canoe delightfully in all weathers, and in Woodlands Canoeing he passes his hard-won knowledge along. An enthusiastic winter canoeist, he even explains how to achieve this feat safely and -- believe it or not -- in comfort.