Just joining this Private Group Forum, and I'm going to start reading the back log of threads. Thanks in advance for all the valuable info.

good ages to start them!

Welcome! Look forward to tales of their trips. Hope you've got two adults to make a 1-1 ratio!!

We are covered. We will be going with my wife, my brother, his wife, and 13yr old son. Along with my wife's sister and her husband. Nine.

I am unsure of what to plan for canoes for the group, we will be renting. Any suggestions? We will have 4 proficient adult paddlers, the proficiency of the other two I cannot speak to at this point. A 23' We-no-nah MN IV, III and a II would be obvious choices for numbers, any thoughts in that regard? Route: no rivers, 2-3 portages Bald Eagle Lake from EP 33 would be the biggest water I imagine for wind. (Sorry for rambling but the details will help to "weigh-in" and they do not have to be Wenonah's) Thank you

we put our family of 5 and our dog and 5 packs in a mn3.

the longer the canoe the harder it is to steer; expically in the wind. I would think a mn3 (20 foot) would be more than big enough for a family of 4.

So - 4 adult paddlers, 2 adult maybe paddlers, 1 13 yo, 1 4 yo and a toddler.

I think you would be good with two 3-seaters and a tandem, though the littler kids could get by sitting on packs or standing in the bow of a tandem and probably wouldn't mandate a 3rd seat, etc. My very large-for-her-age 8 year old still picks the canoe by the people paddling it and last May spent the entire trip on top of packs in a Coleman tandem because she wanted to be near her 17 year old buddy. That worked fine.

Our Souris River Quetico 18.5 did well for a family of five for a long time. Kids could sit three across on the very wide 3rd seat. The boat is wide and stable and as long as you have two adult paddlers, will track well and no worries in wind. Does well unloaded too.

So if I was taking my pick, I'd get either 2 SR Q18.5s, or 2 Bell Northwoods 3 seaters. Add one more tandem of your choice for two adults (Souris River Quetico 17 or Bell Northwind) and you'd be set. 13 yo can alternate with adult if he/she wants bow/stern experience.

Toddlers do really well in the bow, standing between parent's legs and holding on and looking out, or sitting down facing parent... but there has to be enough room in the bow for that and IMO the MN series is pretty small up there compared to the other models.

Sounds like a fun trip!

You are right, my daughter at 17 mo most likely would not stay near her seat as mentioned and really wouldn't need her own anyway. Thanks for the pointers and the real life applications of what has worked for you.

I know this much, we will not be going this route...

My toddler drove me insane in front of me in the bow, but then again, she's extremely active. She did better back in front of the stern paddler. I think maybe this was mostly because she wasn't bumping my husband's strokes, whereas she was mine...because I have short arms and he doesn't? Or he had more room because she was in front of his long legs and farther away from him than she was when she sat in front of me? Both? I dunno...

Good luck!

We have a 5 and 3 year old and a SR Quetico 18.5. The canoe is very stable and awesome with little kids. Even when it's unloaded for day trips. The couple of times they've moved around to much it wasn't a problem at all. Rock solid canoe. They sit next to each other in the middle seat. Hint: since we got them their own paddles they stay put in their seat but your youngest is probably still to young for that.

Just a heads up on Bald Eagle. It has a reputation for being bad on a windy day. When we entered (just my wife and I)at Little Gabbro EP 33 we couldn't cross Bald Eagle and were lucky that the campsite in the narrows entering B.E. from Gabbro was open and we turned around and took it. Ended up being a great campsite. Were able to catch fish from shore and not too far away in the canoe. Personally, I would choose smaller water with kids. That being said, we probably have a lower tolerance for waves than others. We're chickens :)



Have fun! Nothing better than time in the BW w/ your kids. Keep the questions coming.

I'd have done the same ducks - maybe even without kids. I just like smaller water period.

Good info, the trip is coming together!

Can't remember her age exactly, but probably 18 months:



This was not a BW trip; just a day trip. She sat on a towel in the bow. After about 45 minutes, we transferred her over to my husband's canoe, where she sat right in front of him in the stern. That was okay because it was just another 45 minutes, but it was getting hairy. ;-) It would have been better to have had a loaded canoe (and thus less room for her to move around).

I'm in complete agreement about Bald Eagle. It really gets rolling quickly. It's shallow and that somehow makes it get kicked up easier. When we were there, had my kids been in the canoe with us...I would have hated it even more. As it was we just took the first campsite that was open, even though it was not a great one. I was done with those waves. The winds were 10-15mph.

After considering the wind/waves and looking at the available sites on that chain I have a feeling we will stick to the Gabbros'. Some of the posted pictures of the sites on Bald Eagle do indicate the waves/wind factor. One in particular you can see the chop and the "bubble" lines that accompany the chop in the back ground. Also, correct me if I am wrong it looks like the water has a dark tint to it. How does one make that appealing to a 4 yr old? I'm not sure just calling it ice tea will work. Ewwww! Hmm sounds like a worthy thread. I'll start another in that regard.

I think you are referring to a picture of mine that I posted there (the one with the foamy water). That was after the wind had calmed a little bit. It was better closer to the shore but crossing over to that campsite was a bit hair-raising. ;-)

I don't remember the water being particularly stained in Bald Eagle.

Sounds like a good plan sinking3. I would like to go back and camp on Gabbro instead of Bald Eagle sometime. It is supposed to have good fishing and the waves were a lot smaller on Gabbro the day we decided not to continue on Bald Eagle.

Look forward to hearing how the trip goes.