western us
Mile High Sea Kayaking Paddling Yellowstone Lake
03.25.2008
The snow fell during the night, piling around the tents and covering the boats in a white shroud. I stuck my head out the door and recoiled from the cold. The thermometer read just 20 degrees. No wonder my feet were chilled.
Kayak Fishing from a Mother Ship
03.07.2008
Southern California’s best kayak fishing destinations lie far beyond paddling reach. Those places are the thick kelp beds and rocky shallows of the windswept Channel Islands, spots the most audacious power boaters avoid.
Paddling California’s Mammoth Lakes
02.01.2008
Mammoth Lakes sits in the pristine beauty of California’s Sierra Mountains. Surrounded by a backdrop of fragrant pines and majestic peaks, the lakes are some of Califorinia’s paddling gems. In the typical winter there could be over 100 inches of snow on the mountains and makes for some tough paddling,but it’s never to early to [...]
California Kayak Fishing in the WinterThe off-season packs plenty of fishing action
11.08.2007
Feel that chill in the evening air? Even here in the gorgeous Golden State fall is here and what passes for Old Man Winter is on the way. Rather than pine for the days of summer gone by, savvy paddle-powered fishers are anxiously awaiting a splendid time of year. “The winter months are some of [...]
Kayak Caving in the Channel Islands National Park
03.21.2007
By Chuck GrahamA Canoe & Kayak Web Exclusive3/20/07 I scanned the brittle, pock-marked walls of a dark sea cave within Santa Cruz Island, one of the Channel Islands off the west coast of California. The caves harbor pelagic cormorants and pigeon guillemots where they roost comfortably in the damp alcoves. Bird-watching in the caves is [...]
Waterfalls on Colorado’s San Juan River
10.27.2006
A deluge on the San Juan River lifted a fun float into a new level.
Escalante Calling
03.18.2006
By our fifth day of meandering down the wondrous Escalante, we are out of superlatives to describe this rarely run wilderness river in southern Utah’s redrock-canyon country. We keep using the same gushy adjectives-unbelievable! mind-boggling! stunning!-as our intrepid band of six pushes south past the narrow mouth of Scorpion Gulch, a tantalizing side chasm choked [...]
Reno Revival
02.27.2006
I’d been in downtown Reno for no more than 15 minutes when I saw world freestyle champion Eric Jackson shouting encouragement to his 16-year-old daughter, Emily, as she was throwing down in the whitewater park. Reno River Festival, May 12-14, 2006 So far there didn’t seem to be anything about Reno that would prompt Starbucks [...]
Canoe & Kayak Destination – Oregon’s John Day River
09.19.2005
Oregon’s high-desert John Day River lives up to its wild and scenic status.
Sea Kayaking by Mother Ship – Baranof Island, Alaska
06.24.2005
Cold rainy Alaska is the perfect place to trade in your soggy tent for a comfy berth with hot showers.
Good Times on the Main Salmon
02.07.2003
An 80-mile, seven-day run down the Main Salmon River gives paddlers postcard scenery, wide-open wave trains, and a Christmas gift that keeps on giving.




