Safety Tips for Canoe Camping

When you are canoe camping for the first time, it is important to consider some things around safety and planning to ensure you have the best possible experience!

As with all things, it is usually best to start with a route, plan and gear that will make things feel leisurely, or even easy, for your first time. You can always push the kilometers, do massive portages and try out ultra-light packing on a future trip. 🙂

Here are some tips that we think will help you plan a fun and safe canoe camping trip!

Canoe camping is a ton of fun, but does present some additional risks! Photo by @vonniechan.

Route Planning

• Some of the most popular (and accessible) areas require advance booking (up to 5 months in advance of your date for Ontario Parks). While it is not as difficult to book backcountry sites as it is car-camping sites, it is still a good idea to book as far in advance as possible to ensure you aren’t disappointed, and you aren’t forced into a more challenging route than you bargained for.
• It is often best to plan an “out and back” or “loop” trip for your first time out, which means starting and ending at the same point. That way, you don’t have to worry about the logistics or cost of getting your vehicle to the end-point of your journey.
• Consider the length, amount and condition of portages on the route you are considering. A portage is when you take a trail from one body of water to the next, carrying your gear and canoe with you. For a first time out, depending on your fitness and gear, between 0 and 2 portages of not more than 500m is what we would recommend. You can sometimes find information about the difficulty of portages by googling the lake names followed by “portage”. People often take multiple trips on a portage because all the gear in one go is too difficult – this is ok and normal! Don’t hurt yourself trying to carry everything at once.
• Consider the lakes you will be travelling on and how comfortable you are paddling in wind and waves. A lot of the big lakes in Ontario can get quite windy and this can create difficult conditions. You can look online for information about a specific lake’s tendency for wind and waves. Lakes that are bigger will be more prone to wind, but also look for long straight lakes on maps. These lakes have a long way for wind to pick up speed and make waves.
• Travelling on a big lake means you can go a long way with less portages, but may mean you have to deal with more wind. If you are on a lake prone to wind, travelling as early as possible in the morning usually means calmer conditions.
• A lot of canoe camping lakes in provincial parks operate via lake-based bookings rather than specific sites. This means you may end up travelling around the lake trying to find an unoccupied site. Make sure you leave enough time in your day to do this.
  

  Bonus tip: If you’re canoe camping with kids, do even fewer portages!

Food and Gear

• Because you are only carrying your things for a portion of your trip, canoe camping is usually an opportunity to be a bit more luxurious than a backpacking trip.
• Having a bear-resistant container in which to store your food is essential. Our favourite is the blue barrel, sometimes called a river barrel. If you are borrowing a canoe camping kit from Adventure Report, this will be included.

• If renting, your choice of canoe will depend on your budget, type of trip and your own requirements for what weight you can carry if portaging. Note that lighter composite or kevlar boats are generally more expensive and more delicate.
• Make sure you secure your gear and boat at night. Your boat may seem secure in the calm evening pulled up on the beach, but a storm could bring up waves and wash your boat away. Always best to carry your canoe well up on shore for the night.
• Note that you are required to carry the following gear in your canoe based on coast guard regulations. It may be a rare event to get checked on a backcountry trip, but a fine could really put a damper on your trip:
  1. Coast Guard approved PFD
  2. Paddle or appropriate propulsion device
  3. Sound signaling device (like a whistle)
  4. Bailing Device
  5. 15m (50 feet) of buoyant heaving line
  6. A waterproof white light *(in low light or low visibility conditions)
• An extra paddle is a good thing to bring on a backcountry trip.

Other Posts You Might Be Interested In

Canoe Camping Spots for Beginners near Ottawa | Adventure Report

Where to Rent a Canoe/Kayak/SUP Board in Ottawa | Adventure Report

Canoe Camping with a Toddler | Adventure Report

Happy paddling!

You can do it!