Hey everyone!
I’m a first time dad with a 11-month old son and I’m trying to think of the best way to get him onto the water with me. Looking for any advice from other moms and dads out there for how you’ve managed it, specifically the logistics of overnight trips (Sleeping in a tent, food and diapers, seating in the canoe).

Thanks!

Not specific to BWCA, just canoe trips in general.

Hey Jbones! I have done it with my kids when they were 6 months old and I know a few others here have as well. Here is a link to a page on here that is all about what you are asking canoeing with kids

And also some quick answers to your questions.

Food was formula mostly and then I brought a lot of snacks as they got a little older. I pretty much just brought the same stuff I used at home.

We had them sleep between us at night. Brought their blankies and small pillow. I turned my two mattress pads sideways so everyone was on them but that could have been improved on lol. The moving around of air made it feel like a water bed at times.

When they were young I had them in the front of the canoe. I will show some pics of that.

For the diapers I had brought a kitchen garbage bag like the glade scented ones and that went in another bag.

My biggest tip would be to bring extra stuff so they are comfortable. Most importantly was a screen tent of some sort for the bugs.

Those are such great pictures! Looks like a great set up for the kiddos. Thank you very much!

Haha, I go to the bwca to get away from my kids.

What is the purpose of bringing an infant to the bwca? What are you hoping to gain for them and yourself? Remember an infant in a life jacket can still drown if they’re unable to lift their head.

I know others have done it. However, having had 3 kids and 8 grandkids I did not do any type of water trip with them until they could swim, handle themselves, and were able to follow instructions.

Like the other poster, not sure what the purpose of bringing an infant (or even a very young child) is.

Fair questions. The purpose for me is that this is the only way my fiancée and I can have an opportunity to get away and enjoy the splendour of the outdoors. Neither of us have any family in the city or province, so if the kiddo doesn’t come with us, we ain’t going anywhere.

I also do want my son to grow up with a good appreciation for nature, and obviously right now he couldn’t care less where we are as long as mom and dad are there, but still, it’s never too early to start.

I’m obviously not taking him to the deep backwoods for 10 nights haha

Also, he can lift his head, and we’ve been acclimating him to water and his life jacket for months now. I’m not just going out on the spur of the moment, I would never put him in any unreasonable danger and am preparing thoroughly… thus why I made this post!

I'm way past the age, but I think I'd consider a couple short overnight car-camping trips to get some quick easy experience. You can easily bug out if unforeseen issues arise. Then build on that experience as you move to a canoe trip with junior.

Perhaps you've already done that.

Make sure you have a properly fitting life jacket and very very important-one that will float the baby upright. So many people have improper life jackets, especially for young folks.

My daughter's 1st trip was at 2 months old. I've compiled a number of trip reports over the years chronicling much of what we did, how the trip went etc. Trip reports

Her 1st trip was Brule Bay Baby in 2011 so, any prior reports won't give you any of the information you're looking for but, most of the ones after 2011 she came along. I'd particularly recommend Big Moose and a little girl & Nor-western waters.

jbones: "… The purpose for me is that this is the only way my fiancée and I can have an opportunity to get away and enjoy the splendour of the outdoors. Neither of us have any family in the city or province, so if the kiddo doesn’t come with us, we ain’t going anywhere…"

When you become a parent you sacrifice your personal desires. I can think of more responsible ways to enjoy the splendors of the outdoors with your infant.

jbones: "…obviously right now he couldn’t care less where we are… it’s never too early to start. "

That’s an oxymoron. So which is it?

Maybe I’m old school and paranoid, I would never post pictures of my kids on a public forum, or any social media platform. When they’re 18 they can decide for themselves if they want to publish content of themselves permanently to the internet. That’s not for me or their mother to decide, and seems unfair to them. It’s funny how choices I made 5,10,20 years ago come around in ways I couldn’t have imagined at the time. 7 billion people have access to view this site, that’s too many weirdos I don’t want seeing pictures of my kids.

YaMarVa: "

jbones: "… The purpose for me is that this is the only way my fiancée and I can have an opportunity to get away and enjoy the splendour of the outdoors. Neither of us have any family in the city or province, so if the kiddo doesn’t come with us, we ain’t going anywhere…"

When you become a parent you sacrifice your personal desires. I can think of more responsible ways to enjoy the splendors of the outdoors with your infant. "

I appreciate your concern, but it’s been pretty clearly established within this thread and elsewhere that I’m not the only one to do this. I’m looking for advice from those who have taken their kids out on the water. So if you’ve got nothing else to offer…

Cheers, bud.

jbones: "…So if you’ve got nothing else to offer…

Cheers, bud. "

As a parent I offered advice about life jackets on infants as well as having you consider other options to enjoy the splendors of nature. You might not like my advice but no need to be snappy. You posted this on a public Internet forum, expect people to post things you don’t like or disagree with Bud.

I did reread your op and see you’re not specific to going to the bwca, just canoeing. So I’ll take back some of my concern. But I have a general concern with dunking a canoe with anyone who cannot swim, regardless of if they are wearing a life jacket. When the canoe dunks you can only rely on yourself. That’s why I have concern canoeing with an infant. My kids could swim well enough by age five, it was worth the wait for me.

jbones: "Hey everyone!
I’m a first time dad with a 11-month old son and I’m trying to think of the best way to get him onto the water with me. Looking for any advice from other moms and dads out there for how you’ve managed it, specifically the logistics of overnight trips (Sleeping in a tent, food and diapers, seating in the canoe).

Thanks!

Not specific to BWCA, just canoe trips in general. "

I don't have any specific advice, but it sounds like you are preparing for it well. A canoe tripper that is greatly admired in these circles, Bear Paulsen, took his 22 month child on a 600 mile canoe trip from International Falls down to Chisago City. You can read about it here: 600 Mile trip with Child

Also, this family has been bringing their children in for a long time and set up a blog about tips to do so: Canoeing with Babies

Good luck. I think bringing in children, babies, toddlers as soon as you feel comfortable to the outdoors is a great move. They become in tune with the rhythms and patterns of nature so quickly.

On the back and forth with young ones in the canoe, maybe I can offer a slightly different perspective:
When I was young with young kids, we were footloose and fancy free. We lived in Costa Rica - our two daughters were born there and our son was just over a year old. We dragged our kids on many an adventure. I remember my dad giving me a stern talking to about teaching Grant to surf without a life jacket. We were on a very safe, sand beach, just little bubble waves, he was a water bug and I was right with him. We have pictures and memories of my wife, my son and I on a dirtbike riding the gravel road to our home. Our youngest was 3 when we took her into the BWCA, we took turns playing "chase the baby" to keep her safe on Ensign. We did a lot of things with our young kids, and they are all hooked on adventure and the outdoors as a result.

With age, I'm 47 now, I find myself worrying a lot more, I'm a lot more careful, and I do look back and cringe now at some of those situations, would likely do it differently now. Why? Because I've seen some shit the last 20 years. I got stung by a stingray surfing with my wife, it could have just as easily been my son. My middle kid cut herself badly on Ogish, and that's a long way to haul young kids out. A few weeks ago (look up my post "nightmare on Beth" in General Discussion) one of the adults, at 54, had an unexpected seizure and had to be emergency evacuated. I couldn't help but think about what could have happened if she was paddling with her kid in the front and that happened, if she fell into the water and our canoe was a couple hundred feet away...or if *I* were in the canoe, that happened to me, with my youngest in the front of the boat as usual.

I think too often we quickly peg people into one of two camps, "lay off and let me be you worrywort" vs "I can't believe you would take that risk with your baby." Both sides have valid points, but it's more complicated than that. I think as we get older, hopefully wiser - it's because we see more and more examples of what COULD go wrong. Even if the odds of those things going wrong are low, as the years go by we see more examples of things going sideways that are not in our control. And another absolute truth: had my kids not been THAT experienced in the BWCA, they would have been terrified, not known what to do or be calm, and it certainly would have been much harder to get out of the situation we were in. So all that experience that we put them through is paying dividends now. My older two teens (17 and 19) are taking trips into the BWCA without us, one this weekend, and the other one end of July. Am I worried? Yes. Are they adequately prepared? Yes. Could things go sideways? Yes. Are they prepared for that? Yes. I'm at that point in parenting where letting go is really hard but really necessary.

So, my advice is - just be as safe as possible when going on adventures with the little ones. Talk through emergency plans with your partner and someone who isn't coming. Consider bringing a Zoleo or InReach with you in case the worst of the worst happens (or to appease the grandparents, lol). We firmly believe that teens have an inherent need for adventure and taking risks - so you have an opportunity when they are young to do it as safe as possible and teach by example. Our teens have avoided a lot of the common pitfalls their knucklehead teen friends have gotten into. To them, adventure comes along with safety and paying attention to whats going on around you...and that only comes with years of experience. And they only get that experience if you bring them along. My 2cents.

Minnesotian: "

jbones: "Hey everyone!
I’m a first time dad with a 11-month old son and I’m trying to think of the best way to get him onto the water with me. Looking for any advice from other moms and dads out there for how you’ve managed it, specifically the logistics of overnight trips (Sleeping in a tent, food and diapers, seating in the canoe).


Thanks!


Not specific to BWCA, just canoe trips in general. "

I don't have any specific advice, but it sounds like you are preparing for it well. A canoe tripper that is greatly admired in these circles, Bear Paulsen, took his 22 month child on a 600 mile canoe trip from International Falls down to Chisago City. You can read about it here: 600 Mile trip with Child


Also, this family has been bringing their children in for a long time and set up a blog about tips to do so: Canoeing with Babies


Good luck. I think bringing in children, babies, toddlers as soon as you feel comfortable to the outdoors is a great move. They become in tune with the rhythms and patterns of nature so quickly. "

Not only that, their son had already spent 40 days in a canoe. The previous summer Bear and his wife Clair had taken Dawhwa on a 400 mile trip down the Hayes River to Hudson Bay. There is a nice write-up about the International Falls to Chisago trip in the Winter 2021 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine. Bear also gave a nice peresentation about the trip at the 2023 Midwest Mountaineering Spring Expo.

Thanks scotttimm, this is such a great reply. It sounds like you've lived an amazingly adventurous life thus far! I can appreciate that in my relative youth, and without the wisdom of a few more years, I may underestimate the inherent dangers of canoe camping, especially with a young one.

I will definitely reflect on the comments on this post and ensure that I am fully prepared for taking my son out on the water, while understanding that though I may be prepared for every expected outcome, the unexpected is never out of the realm of possibility.

I appreciate everyone's input on what was clearly a complicated inquiry!

In my limited experience with my 4 kids - the earlier you start the better, and it's never too early. Lots of good advise here, few things to add... On trips with our infant kid we used Aleva Naturals Bamboo Baby Wipes - they claim to be biodegradable in less than a month - and some partially washable/reusable diapers (can't remember the brand) - it allows to reduce significantly the bulk to pack out. For a seat, in front of the bow paddler, we made a nest, something like on x2jmorris pictures, plus a rolled foam pad that doubled as a sleeping pad at night. Our youngest, now 8 years old, still uses same foam pads for these purposes. We also carried a sun umbrella with a clamp attaching to a gunwale, but this contraption doesn't work well in a wind. A hat with large brim is a more practical alternative.
I'd also suggest trying different PFDs before the trip - infant size jackets are designed to keep their head up in the water, but it's important to find the most comfortable one, that won't put unnecessary pressure on their chin and neck while seating in the canoe.

EddyTurn: "plus a rolled foam pad that doubled as a sleeping pad at night. Our youngest, now 8 years old, still uses same foam pads for these purposes. "

Thanks EddyTurn! As far as using the sleeping pad, did you create any sort of barricade around your baby in the tent while you slept?

We used to put some clothing to prevent him from rolling off the pad, sure.

Sounds like you intend to do this. It also sounds like you are conscientious parents. Personally I would not take a one year old in a canoe, but that's just me! I would suggest you start slow. Perhaps a couple of hours on the water, followed by an overnight trip (Baby Steps). This would probably reveal some things you might not have considered. Most likely you will have a great time. Most likely!

jbones: "

I also do want my son to grow up with a good appreciation for nature, and obviously right now he couldn’t care less where we are as long as mom and dad are there, but still, it’s never too early to start.


I’m obviously not taking him to the deep backwoods for 10 nights haha "

This can mean more than you think jbjones. My parents took me from the time I was 6 months old all the way into my teens. Even if I don't recall the first few years of trips I know they happened and how much the woods mean to my father. It has created a bond that we share to this day. If he had waited until I was 7 before taking me I can't say the outcome would have been the same. Maybe and maybe not. I do know I think of how much effort he put into the trips with me though.

As far as the life jackets are concerned. Just read some reviews and then test it once if you are really concerned. I wasn't to concerned cause the reviews were good and it kept her upright and I am a good swimmer and would have been there in an instant and we were in warm weather so freezing was not an issue.

Couple other things popped into my head for you too.

Don't count on the person in front helping much with paddling ;) they will most likely be entertaining. I made sure I was at the lake very early so I didn't have to contend with wind.

I brought an extra old sleeping bag that I lined the front of the canoe with so they were sitting on a very nice cushion.

I picked easy lakes the first couple times. Some examples were Kawishiwi, Brule, Lake 1, etc and I went on like a Wednesday so I was likely able to find a site. This way if anything happened I was fairly close to my car.

Always wear your life jacket too. Before kids I didn't always wear mine, but after it's like a switch flipped and I realized the last thing I want if there's an emergency is to worry about whether or not I'll float. With life jacket on I know all of my attention can be put towards fixing the problem and keeping my kids safe.

And yes, x2jmorris is right -- person in the bow will very often be doing things other than paddling when there's a little one in the boat!

My niece is in the bwca with her 10 month guy. My brother would not let them use his mn2 as he felt it would not be safe for his grandkids. I let them use my gigantic 18’ wood/canvas chestnut prospector, a camp widjiwagen reject. Not sure how they’re trip is going but one of the adults was a guide at camp menogyn, I’m sure she was impressed by my super canoe.

As others have mentioned, Northstar Canoe's Bear Pauslen and his wife Claire have taken their young son Dash on several major canoeing expeditions. Here's a link to a video of a talk he gave at the 2020 Wilderness Canoe Symposium on one such trip paddling the Hayes River to York Factory: https://youtu.be/EEyFOFnUZeA

Agree 100%. Would not even consider a trip with an infant. Too many things can go wrong and few options to correct quickly.

People do bring babies on canoe trips. I have found diapers in the woods and under rocks. So, it can be done.

BearClan: "People do bring babies on canoe trips. I have found diapers in the woods and under rocks. So, it can be done. "

Yes.... but that's NOT how to do it!

Thats my point Bobber. Carrying dirty diapers alone would keep me from bring a baby.

All my kids started canoeing as babies, 12 weeks, eight months, and nine months old. Honestly, babies are super easy; 2-3-year-olds are hard. I posted a lot in the canoeing with kids forum I created. We didn't have babysitters, and I would not give up my BWCA trips. The trips did change a lot, though; we used to see how far we could go in 7 days, and then it became base camping and fishing. Now that they are 19, 17, and 14, they want to swim, cliff jump, fish, and relax. So we try to travel the first and 2nd day, then basecamp the rest. Every kid can paddle a canoe as well as me and have even bought their own boats. Their love of the BWCA is strong, and they have never been afraid of anything I ask them to do. Canoe camping has made them confident in their abilities on the water. My oldest has made 22 trips; the next is 18 trips, and the last is 15 trips.

The key with babies is that they enjoy the trip as well. They won't remember the trip, but they will remember the emotions (I learned this in Child psychology class in college). If they are fed, warm, and happy, then the love of the BWCA will start early and last a lifetime.

On a side note, with the advent of PLB, I would highly recommend bringing one. When my kids were babies, SPOT devices were out of our price range, but they have really come down in price now. We always ensured to be under 12 hours of an exit point with babies, but having a PLB gives you peace of mind and takes a small part of the risk away.

BearClan: "Thats my point Bobber. Carrying dirty diapers alone would keep me from bring a baby."

There are new cloth diapers that are very good. You just wash and dry (they are quick dry), and they are ready to go. There is no need to carry dirty diapers anymore except for a few hours a day when traveling.

prettypaddle: "Always wear your life jacket too. Before kids I didn't always wear mine, but after it's like a switch flipped and I realized the last thing I want if there's an emergency is to worry about whether or not I'll float. With life jacket on I know all of my attention can be put towards fixing the problem and keeping my kids safe.


And yes, x2jmorris is right -- person in the bow will very often be doing things other than paddling when there's a little one in the boat!"

YES once I had kids I always wore my PFD. Then my neighbor's son drowned on a nice sunny calm day and that sealed the deal for me. Life jackets float, you don't!

" We didn't have babysitters, and I would not give up my BWCA trips. "

I think that is the point several have made. My wife and I also didn't have a lot of money when the kids were preschool age and new born. However we also made the decision to alter our lifestyles when they were born. We believed that part of our own growing up and having kids meant giving up some of the things we enjoyed.

Things I enjoy may not be what they like to do. Rather then train them to like/continue our activities, we tried our best to see what they liked and were good at as they grew up. Same with our grandkids. They like the outdoors, but LOVE baseball. So we forego a lot of our trips at this point in life to attend as many of the baseball games as possible. They will probably never go to BWCA or on a canoe trip. But they love traveling with us to the ocean so we take them there every year. No regrets here.

YaMarVa: "

jbones: "…So if you’ve got nothing else to offer…


Cheers, bud. "

As a parent I offered advice about life jackets on infants as well as having you consider other options to enjoy the splendors of nature. You might not like my advice but no need to be snappy. You posted this on a public Internet forum, expect people to post things you don’t like or disagree with Bud.

I did reread your op and see you’re not specific to going to the bwca, just canoeing. So I’ll take back some of my concern. But I have a general concern with dunking a canoe with anyone who cannot swim, regardless of if they are wearing a life jacket. When the canoe dunks you can only rely on yourself. That’s why I have concern canoeing with an infant. My kids could swim well enough by age five, it was worth the wait for me. "

They offer swimming lessons for babies who can hold up their heads. These lessons teach the kids to swim in life jackets. All my kids were swimming in life jackets by 4 months old. It is very possible to teach them to swim in life jackets.

YaMarVa: "Maybe I’m old school and paranoid, I would never post pictures of my kids on a public forum, or any social media platform. When they’re 18 they can decide for themselves if they want to publish content of themselves permanently to the internet. That’s not for me or their mother to decide, and seems unfair to them. It’s funny how choices I made 5,10,20 years ago come around in ways I couldn’t have imagined at the time. 7 billion people have access to view this site, that’s too many weirdos I don’t want seeing pictures of my kids. "

This is why I removed my family pictures from this forum. Someone tried to take one of my kid's canoe pics and use them on their blog so I removed all my pics of canoeing with kids.

YaMarVa: "

jbones: "… The purpose for me is that this is the only way my fiancée and I can have an opportunity to get away and enjoy the splendour of the outdoors. Neither of us have any family in the city or province, so if the kiddo doesn’t come with us, we ain’t going anywhere…"

When you become a parent you sacrifice your personal desires. I can think of more responsible ways to enjoy the splendors of the outdoors with your infant. "

There is a way to do it as safely as you can. I always see kids riding on ATVs with no helmets in the country. Compared to that, when done right, canoeing with babies is fine. People have been having babies in the woods for 1000s of years.

That being said, I recommend a SPOT or similar device when going canoe camping (and even when we do our adventure bike rides). PLB brings an extra layer of safety that we didn't have in the 90s.

ockycamper: "" We didn't have babysitters, and I would not give up my BWCA trips. "


I think that is the point several have made. My wife and I also didn't have a lot of money when the kids were preschool age and new born. However we also made the decision to alter our lifestyles when they were born. We believed that part of our own growing up and having kids meant giving up some of the things we enjoyed.


Things I enjoy may not be what they like to do. Rather then train them to like/continue our activities, we tried our best to see what they liked and were good at as they grew up. Same with our grandkids. They like the outdoors, but LOVE baseball. So we forego a lot of our trips at this point in life to attend as many of the baseball games as possible. They will probably never go to BWCA or on a canoe trip. But they love traveling with us to the ocean so we take them there every year. No regrets here."

Yes every family needs to do what feels right to them. We did drastically change our bwca trips. The key is to gear the trip for the youngest member, put safety first (even be willing to leave early if its going to rain the entire trip), wear PFDs and bring PLBs. Also go in August when the water is warm, May and June can be risky for little ones.

You need to get this book. It is very very helpful

Canoearoo: "

YaMarVa: "

jbones: "…So if you’ve got nothing else to offer…



Cheers, bud. "

As a parent I offered advice about life jackets on infants as well as having you consider other options to enjoy the splendors of nature. You might not like my advice but no need to be snappy. You posted this on a public Internet forum, expect people to post things you don’t like or disagree with Bud.


I did reread your op and see you’re not specific to going to the bwca, just canoeing. So I’ll take back some of my concern. But I have a general concern with dunking a canoe with anyone who cannot swim, regardless of if they are wearing a life jacket. When the canoe dunks you can only rely on yourself. That’s why I have concern canoeing with an infant. My kids could swim well enough by age five, it was worth the wait for me. "

They offer swimming lessons for babies who can hold up their heads. These lessons teach the kids to swim in life jackets. All my kids were swimming in life jackets by 4 months old. It is very possible to teach them to swim in life jackets."

My kids started swimming lessons while toddlers in lifejackets too. Its amazing how quickly they can pick-it-up. Though, I wanted to ensure they were strong swimmers w/o a jacket before I took them into the BWCA. That was my preference.

Canoearoo: "

YaMarVa: "Maybe I’m old school and paranoid, I would never post pictures of my kids on a public forum, or any social media platform. When they’re 18 they can decide for themselves if they want to publish content of themselves permanently to the internet. That’s not for me or their mother to decide, and seems unfair to them. It’s funny how choices I made 5,10,20 years ago come around in ways I couldn’t have imagined at the time. 7 billion people have access to view this site, that’s too many weirdos I don’t want seeing pictures of my kids. "

This is why I removed my family pictures from this forum. Someone tried to take one of my kid's canoe pics and use them on their blog so I removed all my pics of canoeing with kids."

I see a lot of Trip Reports on this site that are littered with pictures of kids but have no pictures of the parents. Its like the parents don't want to post pictures of themselves to keep their identify private, but don't give their kids that curtesy. I also know a family who had their children's pictures used without their consent so I am more cautious.

No big advice per se. I have two kiddos (9 and 4). I took them both on a three nighter before, about 5 portages into a wilderness area when my youngest was 2. I was with my brother and his two kids so six of us total in my Northwind 19 three seater. Some quick thoughts about my trip and experiences:

-I would never do it without a SPOT device
-bring a hanging bug net and rain fly
-expect triple the amount of work you expect at home
-the drive in the car for the trip was probably statistically more dangerous than literally anything else I did with the kids
-always bring more socks
-always bring more deet
-always bring more snacks (for every age)
-when kids can sit up, potty training stools make great extra canoe seats
-LNT was still very easy to abide by but those are my ethics anyways
-it’s still in my top 3 greatest trips ever taken
-stop worrying so much, everything will likely turn out fine

Happy paddling.

My wife in the day was eight months pregnant in ‘88… didn’t stop us from dragging our three other kids and our dog to Fourtown that Memorial weekend. Great trip! Kids do very well is my experience. But I’d probably not take an infant unless I was in your situation. I can’t paddle enough myself now and I’m unable to swim or be considered a strong swimmer so my grandkids will have to depend on their parents. But like life, there are risks… just be smart about everything and you should be fine!