Wonderful Water Trails
I have visited a fair number of National Park Service properties in 48 states, and occasionally, I will run into a property that has provided opportunities for paddling, and some even have a designated water trail. I love them! The National Park Service has a whole slew of National Water Trails all over the country that are wonderful to explore.
When I am traveling, I’m not always prepared to take advantage of them while I am there, but I love them just the same. I’ve put a few together here that I have enjoyed and would love to hear of more!
Georgia
This was one of the water trails that I was not prepared for. I was visiting the Atlanta area, and went to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area for a hike. I was at the Island Ford area and came across one of the several maintained boat launch sites. Later, when talking to a friend, I realized how large this water trail is. There are about 48 miles of trails that have maintained launch sites. There are also several outfitters in the area ready to help with rentals!
Some information from the National Park Service on the trail can be found here Chattahoochie River National Water Trail
Wisconsin
The Horicon Marsh area has a lot going on in the realm of outdoor activities! It is located in Dodge County, Wisconsin and is touted as the country’s largest freshwater cattail marsh. I have absolutely no reason to disbelieve this. Its HUGE! It is a beautiful spot, and there are birds everywhere! While I was there, after a delightful walk on one of the boardwalks, I drove to a landing spot and took out my daughter’s trusty blow up kayak. If you haven’t seen one of these before, they are easy to set up. There was another kayaker that pulled up right before me, and I noticed that I was ready before he was! (It wasn’t exactly a race, but I was surprised.) The Water Trail map is well defined, and while floating along, I saw quite a bit of wildlife. Worth the trip!
Florida
In Florida, with all the coastal mangroves, there a lot of water trails. On a recent trip, I was just north of Fort Meyers, and was fortunate enough to have the time and equipment available for a paddle in the Great Calusa Blueway. This route goes through coastal mangroves, where I saw birds everywhere, I looked. I was even fairly sure that there was a manatee at the launch point! This trail was great, but I ended up paddling on three water trails during this trip – each with a lot of nice wildlife. Florida has a site to give more information about their paddling trails.
Minnesota
Paddling down the Mississippi River is just one of those things that makes you feel like Tom Sawyer. This trail is a bit north of Tom Sawyer’s stomping grounds, but it is located along the mighty Mississippi, and offers 76 miles of river to explore! When I visited, I was in the Minneapolis area, and was not exploring by boat, but rather, went to visit the lock and dam. There is a lot of different and new experiences to have at this park!
Wisconsin
The Apostle Islands National Park is located along the shores of beautiful Lake Superior. The lake is impressive and rather ominous, being known for rough waters and infamous shipwrecks. The shore in the Apostle Islands area is marked with sea caves, and kayak trips into and around the sea caves is a unique and exciting way to see the topography. The preferred way to see these is with a sea kayak, and there are outfitters in the area that can help with that, as well as showing you where to go. The day I was there, we were advised not to go in the caves because of the waves, but other days, you can kayak right through them. In the winter, these areas turn into ice caves, and give a whole different way to view them. The National Park Service has information on their site about kayaking around Apostle Islands. Check it out!
Please drop me a message and tell me about your favorite paddling spot!
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