Best Places to Live in the US for Canoeing?

I grew up in NYS.

If I were to pick a location solely based on canoeing, it would be along Hwy 30 from Saranac Inn to Lake Clear to Paul Smith's. If I factored in the winters, it would be either Potsdam (above the Tug Hill/Ontario snowbelt) or Utica/Little Falls/Gloversville (also out of the crazy snowfall area.) Tupper Lake or Long Lake aren't bad either, if you just factor in canoeing.

Alternately, MN has lots of water and would be a great area... Ely would be ground zero for me if I had nothing to do but worry about canoeing.

Maine has an appeal, but the winters might do me in, especially inland, where the land is cheaper. Wisconsin and Michigan are supposedly nice too, but I've not been there and have no suggestions.

Seeker said:

Ely would be ground zero for me if I had nothing to do but worry about canoeing.

Maine has an appeal, but the winters might do me in, especially inland, where the land is cheaper.

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I wouldn't discount winters in Ely, though I'd love to live there myself.

I’d love winters in Ely. Plenty of things to do and that’s the best time to socialize - local people connect and are more at ease without the hectic tourism craziness. Wife and I are listing the WI cabin. If I thought she’d go for it, I’d rent a place there for a winter. I’m not sure I’d enjoy a complete summer there.

Did you find a new home yet? I agree with many others - Michigan can be crowded during July/August. A lot of people vacation here from all over so the popular spots are good to avoid during prime time. I believe, like anywhere else, there are many more hidden gems than popular spots that you learn about over time where you can still find solitude. Lived here most of my life other than a couple years in WI. I lived in southern MI for a few years for work but really like the middle of the state where I am from and now reside. Pretty much 2 hrs to anywhere in the L.P., 2 hrs to the bridge, ~3hrs to lake superior or Sault St. Marie Canada. There are many canoeing opportunities, as well as some of the best fishing around and pretty good hunting. Outside of the hottest 6-8 weeks of the summer, most places are pretty low traffic. Then again, maybe I have just learned to avoid the crowds! There are stretches of the popular rivers that are really crowded during prime summer season, but not the entire system. Just avoid the main runs the rental/outfitter places service and you will be fine. I have done several summertime weekend trips on the uber-popular rivers like the Manistee and Muskegon in the L.P. and not run into others or maybe see 1-2 groups that never bothered me. Most canoe folks (even the kayakers) you run in to on the sections the outfitters don't service are good people. The college kid party crowd types stick to the day trip sections close to the rental places. There are a few wilderness areas and Canada is close as well. Not sure if we have any one spectacular spot everyone needs to see, just a whole bunch of really solid and beautiful opportunities. Houses are relatively affordable if you get a couple hours outside the bigger metro areas as well.

That said, I would probably choose to live closer to family (well, if you like your family that is) since you have kids. I have heard WV is a great place for outdoor lovers. You will have grandparents nearby to watch kids, family get togethers and holidays, maybe a few childhood friends in the area. In my opinion you can find fun canoeing just about anywhere there is water if you really love to canoe. If your kids and wife are into canoeing the family vacations can always revolve around that. If not, you likely won't get much free time away from the family anyway until the kids are out of the house no matter where you live. BUT, maybe you can send the wife and kids over to her parents' house to visit if they are close by and you can sneak away for a few hours to paddle! Get the kids in scouts and volunteer to help plan and participate in the campouts; I did a ton of canoeing, lake and river trips, with the scout troop. I'd say pick a spot where the grandparents can get involved with the kids while they (both grandparents and the kids) are still around and make some great memories. Find the local gems in the area where you can sneak away for a weekend here and there when time and the family allows and plan a couple bigger trips each year where you can experience what the rest of the country has to offer. Being a remote worker you can even work camp and spend a few weeks here and there exploring if you get that RV. The wife and I are both remote workers and have done some month long work camping excursions just to experience new areas. It is even easier now with starlink mobile. I can tell you from experience, just because you live near a bunch of great locations doesn't necessarily mean life will allow you time to get out as much as you would like. Now, if you don't like her and your parents/family, disregard everything I said, buy an RV and let the adventure begin! You will find the perfect spot to settle down after a bit of exploring...

mdkelley said:

Did you find a new home yet?

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@mdkelley not yet. We are taking our time and really thinking through what makes the most sense.

Thanks for your input on Michigan. I’ve always heard good things but haven’t spent much time in the state. WV is definitely on our radar, I’m actually on a long weekend trip in Canaan Valley, WV right now with friends and family. The paddling activities in WV will mostly be moving water. There isn’t a natural lake in the state, only reservoirs with lots of boat traffic in my experience. There is plenty to do outside of canoeing though which is a perk.

I really like the Saranac Lake area in the Adirondacks, and it keeps coming up in discussions with the wife. I just don’t like NY taxes.

I’d stay where I’m at in Northern lower MI or move a little more north. Even though others have mentioned it gets busy, they’re not wrong, there’s still plenty of spots to paddle with low to no crowds. Access to other areas that are a few hours away, have far less crowds and are always worth the drive to see shop owners or grab my favorite donuts. There’s always an inland lake or river to paddle or fish within minutes of anywhere I usually am. I’ve been in love with paddling Superior for a long time, so that’s always one of my favorites. Not terribly far from Wisconsin or Minnesota either. Maine and New York are enticing but there’s plenty of gems here with easy access that make micro trips great again.

I’ve lived in Utah and Alaska for a few years total, for snowboarding, and started to miss Michigan more and more when I came home. Once I moved back I was cranky the snowboarding sucked, and hardly went. One season we had exceptionally good snow all winter, and i went out again. I changed my approach to it and had an absolute blast. The love was back and the tiny hills were a blank canvas to ride however I wanted. I did the same thing with paddling, I only wanted long trips or weather to play in. I did the same thing, changed my approach and paddled anyways, because I loved it. Now, I don’t know how many small lakes and rivers I’ve been on but I’ve noticed each one had something special about it. Or the fishing was better than I thought. We have a great river in town that doesn’t get any more than class II but it’s forever changing and it had everything big rivers have, Eddie’s, spillovers, fast flow, tight corners, waves, and it’s always fun to paddle with friends and new people

So I’d move but to a similar sized home.. better layout, more property and I’ll keep canoeing these spots over and over.

I would argue that the best place in the US for canoeing is the place where you can pretty much walk out your door and drop a boat into the water in the course of a minute or two, preferably without driving. All bodies of water, be they lakes or rivers, have their own personality and that changes over the course of the year. I suppose it’s up to us to appreciate the qualities of what’s there. It’s what hinders you from quickly getting on the water wherever you live that is the challenge. I’m in northeast Ohio so not considered a destination paddling spot but within a long day’s drive we can be to Ely, Bangor or Temagami so maybe not such a bad location. I live within a 15 minute drive of 3 or 4 nice places to paddle which is great but it would be a treat to be a portagable distance from any one of those so I could easily be on the water every day.

Caledonia said:

I’m in northeast Ohio so not considered a destination paddling spot

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I grew up in Painesville and have fond memories of paddling and fishing the Grand River. It was (still is?) designated at National Wild and Scenic River so there was minimal development within eyesight. I haven't been back in over 30 years but I'm guessing it's still beautiful.

Caledonia said:

I would argue that the best place in the US for canoeing is the place where you can pretty much walk out your door and drop a boat into the water in the course of a minute or two, preferably without driving.

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Amen.

I grew up not far from the Adirondacks on a good size slow moving river where I did not get into canoeing as much as with a tiny Jon boat for rowing and fishing before I later got a small motor. I bought my first canoe (light thin skin 17' Grumman which I still own) while in the Air force stationed in central Ohio, where canoeing fun was quite limited due to competition with heavy motor boat traffic on lakes or on pea green water in small waterways in coal mining country where stealth or off paid designated site camping was not possible as I had done growing up from home. I eventually got stationed back to nearer my home turf, first while still in the military and then a long career as a civilian research engineer at the same base. It was good to be back close to real canoe country. Love of canoeing initially came as a youngster with Boy Scouts, where later as an adult, a state licensed wilderness guide, and eventually for 30 years have been a permanent senior instructor for BSA National Camping School wilderness guide trek leader's training in the Adirondacks. Canoe racing the many local ADK area races with my government civilian colleagues and others easily followed, finally leading to five trips to the Yukon River races.

My full-time home now is within five minutes of canoeable canals and rivers linked to ADK waters, connected with larger NFCT open lakes just a tiny bit further. Successful retirement eventually gave me the opportunity to purchase 5 acres of land and erect a cottage on a small owner association owned private woodland no-motors allowed lake, only 25 minutes from my home on the very edge of the Adirondacks. A small dam on a linear 3 mile waterway, but sufficient for quick laps around for hours of race training out my door with my canoe storage shed just 100 feet from the shore. Much larger lakes are very close by when I desire longer training routes. It is my dream location, even though this morning I awoke to a temperature of -22F and a foot of snow in the driveway. But the wood stove does a good job of ignoring that until spring arrives (as of today officially known by "Phil" to be just 6 weeks away).

Within a year of my arrival the association board of directors voted me in as Association President. During this time I purchased and enhanced new safety equipment and a kiosk at the common beach, controlled our advancing beaver problem, got us involved in private and state run education for aquatic vegetation control and preservation trainings, and created an association committee for preservation and management of our lake flow and wetland water resouces, among other duties.

Punkinhead said:

I grew up in Painesville and have fond memories of paddling and fishing the Grand River. It was (still is?) designated at National Wild and Scenic River so there was minimal development within eyesight. I haven't been back in over 30 years but I'm guessing it's still beautiful.

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The Grand is indeed still grand…