Paddling Resources

Launch Spots

iOS Apps

  • PNW Current Atlas — A digital version of the Canadian Current Atlas, including the yearly current tables. Allows you to easily review current strength and patterns when planning a trip in the San Juans, Canadian Gulf Islands, or thereabouts.
    • See the Web Sites section below for videos covering the same material

Web Sites

  • Current Atlas for the San Juan Islands playlist on YouTube — the Canadian Current Atlas converted to videos in time-based order by Eric Christoffersen
  • Southwest Washington Paddle Trips is a blog from the author of SW Washington Paddle Launch Guide. The blog posts have a lot of great info on paddle options in (surprise) southwest Washington state.
  • Dreamflows — River flows, river segments, etc.
  • The We(s)T Side — A list of good class 2 beginner-level river runs near Seattle
  • NOAA Current Predictions
  • WestCoastPaddler has some active forums (apparently used to have more resources, but they are “temporarily unavailable”.
  • Whitewater Guidebook — Covering six states, including the Pacific Northwest and Utah. Some (many?) of the trip descriptions are wonderfully-detailed. Includes some class I and class II trips.

Miscellaneous

Gear

  • Yakima TimberLine towers (for attaching Yakima bars to roof side railings)
    • Strap kit screws: M5-0.8 x 105 mm Metric Socket Cap Head Screw with full-length thread
      • I stripped out the head of one of these screws. Yakima sells a replacement strap kit which includes the bolt, but they do not sell or even give specs for the bolts themselves (and the strap kit was out of stock when I needed it anyway). A local hardware store was able to figure out the specs, but didn’t have any that were both similar length and had full-length thread, which was vital. I was unable to find any that long, but I did find some 90 mm-long ones online, and they seem to be working out fine — they’re still plenty long that I don’t fear accidentally unscrewing them too far and detaching from the strap.

Courses / Lessons / Tutorials

Repair

  • Eddyline’s guides on repairing thermoformed kayaks
  • Kayakers Go Coastal — Repairs (and some retail) in Tacoma (I’ve had great experiences with Rhonda’s repairs, and with her kayak roll instruction in class)

Pacific Northwest

More below in state-specific sections

Washington

  • Navigating the Swinomish Channel (by La Conner) gives info on determining the current’s direction based on the tide (as there are no current stations there)
    • Use Seattle tides + 30 minutes, in addition to any adjustments for daylight (I don’t understand what the daylight adjustment means)
    • Slack is 2.5–4 hrs after high and low water at Seattle +30
    • Current flows north 2.5–4 hrs before high water to 2.5–4 hrs after high water
    • Current flows south 2.5–4 hrs before low water to 2.5–4 hrs after low water
  • Washington Water Trails from the WWTA
  • Kitsap Peninsula Water Trails
  • Northwest Discovery Water Trail covers from west of Orofino, ID on the Clearwater River, to the confluence with the Snake River at Lewiston ID, on to the confluence of the Snake River with the Columbia River in the Tri-Cities area of south-central WA, and then the Columbia River down to the Bonneville Dam. This is split into nine reaches. It includes water access sites along with info on facilities such as camp sites.
    • Note that the above site is being incorporated into the WWTA site. Most info is not yet on the WWTA site, but if the above link, try looking for the WWTA entry for this water trail.
  • Tapteal Water Trail (Yakima area) — Ten well-spaced launch sites covering 30 miles of the lower Yakima River, from Benton City to Bateman Island at Yakima.
  • Pend Oreille River Water Trail — 70 river miles from Oldtown, ID to the Boundary Dam in northeast Washington one mile shy of Canada
  • Lower Columbia River Water Trail — 146 river miles from Bonneville Dam to the Pacific Ocean
  • Kayak Chronicles talking about the Puget Sound area (and the broader site not limited to kayaking)
  • Sequim Bay Paddler’s Guide has info on launch spots, description of the bay, weather & tide links, and points of interest
  • Olympic Peninsula Paddlers is a sea kayaking club on the Olympic Peninsula. “Our membership ranges from people just beginning in the sport to experts in rolling and surf kayaking.”

Oregon

  • Oregon State Marine Board has various resources, including
  • OregonLive article on favorite places to paddle around Portland
  • Bend Paddle Trail Alliance has various info about paddling in the Bend region
  • For the Columbia River east of Bonneville Dam, one resource is the Northwest Discovery Water Trail. See the entry under Washington.
  • Siltcoos River Canoe Trail is a popular 3+ mile section between Siltcoos Lake and the estuary. Due to snags an submerged hazards, it is not recommended for novice paddlers. It is calm enough to be paddled in either direction (or out and back, for a 6.7 mile trip), and passing through dunes in the lower section. A small dam requires portaging, and apparently the river level is tidally influenced below the dam, which can mean very low water. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
  • Tualatin River Trail (Tualatin River SW of Portland) — “40 nautical miles of a peaceful, slow-moving river.”
  • Deschutes Paddle Trail — includes the navigable sections of the Deschutes River (95 paddle miles) and Little Deschutes River (26 miles) ranging from class I to class V. (Looks like many of the details are only available in a printed book available for purchase.)
  • The Wallowa and Grande Ronde Rivers — 45 river miles, class II–III, as a multi-day paddle from the confluence of the Wallowa and Minam rivers, down to the confluence with the Grande Ronde, and on to the confluence with the Wenaha river at Troy. Can continue another 19 miles to Boggan’s Oasis or even further to the Snake river (unsure if same river class).
  • Adventures Without Limits is an Oregon-based (but covering the general PNW?) organization whose mission is “to provide opportunity and adventure for all people, regardless of their ability levels, socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity or age”. Sounds like a good organization for those who could benefit, and a worthy organization to donate to.
  • Clackamas River resources (via Mt. Hood Territory)

Canada: British Caledonia

  • 3 Meter Swell — kayak trips on the BC coast & Salish Sea
  • Nahanni River in the Northwest Territories is a 7–12 day whitewater trip, possibly better for canoes (for transportation reasons!), viable for a fairly wide range of paddler skills.
  • 23 Kayak and Canoe Routes from Explore Magazine

Alabama

Florida

Arizona

  • Black Canyon National Water Trail leads down the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona, from the base of Hoover Dam appx. 30-miles to Eldorado Canyon, with another launch/takeout point (Willow Beach) about 12 miles downriver of the dam. (South of Willow beach strong upriver winds are frequently encountered, and it is recommended that a powerboat accompany any trips on this section.) Includes beaches, caves, hot springs, and solitude.
  • Backhauling service from Lees Ferry to the Glen Canyon Dam (15 miles) on the Colorado River by Page, AZ (including Horseshoe Bend)

Nevada

  • Black Canyon Water Trail on the Colorado River for 30 miles from the base of Hoover Dam. See the entry under Arizona.