I am planning on bringing my 6 year old daughter next year with me for the first time and I am looking for any advice on what the best canoe setup would be? Is he will obviously not be a huge help paddling so it will just be me doing the work. Is a standard 2 person canoe the best option?

It is your best option. Make sure you get the weight balanced correctly and you will do just fine.

When my kids were under 10 I had no problem with them in a 16 foot prospector. I sat in the bow and had them in the stern with no problems, even in wind. I use a Bell Morningstar as my solo canoe, and it works great with kids as well.

Just plan a simple one portage trip and your six year old will think you’re in the middle of the Yukon. A tandem canoe properly trimmed will get you there.

My first trip was a tandem with an 8 year old son, worked out just fine. I had him in the bow, with as much of the gear packed up front as I could to trim the canoe properly. Make a note, if canoe is not trimmed right and the bow is up higher than the stern, you will have significant problems paddling if there's any decent wind blowing. (and it's always blowing in the BWCA)

I'd also suggest a trip trying to avoid any big water lakes, (Saganaga, Seagull, etc., ), when the wind is up on the big lakes it might ground you in camp. Try and find a route with smaller lakes offering some wind protection, and you'll be just fine.

My 7-year-old 1st and 2nd trip was in the bow of a Minnesota II. Slide the seat forward and packed the bags behind him. Trimmed out great! Hard to turn in any wind, but I was a success both times. I love that boat!

We used aluminum canoes and went to Hog Creek entry point. We camped on an island. We had fun in the twisty curves of the creek. My daughter had no paddling experience.

If you find yourself in a situation where no matter what the wind is turning the canoe how it wants, try changing positions in the canoe and paddle the boat backwards.... ie: she sits in the stern seat facing the stern which would get her closer to the end of the boat, and you sit in the bow seat facing backwards. Yes, you'd probably have to deal with the thwart under your knees but you will be sitting further towards the center of the boat and shifting the effective load a little more towards the front. This will help the bow to dig further in to the water and resist "weathervaning".

My oldest was 10 when we went on his first canoe trip. In retrospect I wish I had done it earlier.

Thank you everyone! This is all great advice and it sounds like it will work out just fine. I think my daughter will have a blast.

Those are all good suggestions. When my son was small we found the perfect sized rock to stash under his seat in the bow to level the boat off. We even portaged it on daytrips to go fishing, bringing minimal gear for the weight. Great idea talking your young daughter. It will really broaden her horizons. Have fun.

Took my six year old on her first real trip this past summer. She LOVED it, although it took her some time to settle into the idea. First morning we woke up and she asked if we were going to a restaurant for breakfast like we did the morning we entered. Had to break it to her that the nearest restaurant was a few hours of traveling away. Once she figured out what the BWCA was all about she settled in a soaked it all in. She loved sunning herself on the rocks, playing along the shoreline (goggles or a snorkel was a lot of fun for her), watching the baby loons swim by camp each afternoon, catching fish, exploring, etc.

It was my wife, daughter and me on the trip so my daughter sat in the middle on the floor and that worked. Would have worked just fine to go one adult and her in a seat as well, just need to adjust the pack weight accordingly.

Have fun on the trip and take a lot of pictures. We're giving my daughter a photo book of photos from the trip for a Christmas gift this year.