Hello!

Our family of 6 (4 kids ages 3-10) are hoping to take a multi-day (maybe 3-4) trip this fall (mid-September). We usually camp/dayhike or backpack but after taking several canoeing day trips in the past few years (and now that we are diaper-free!), we think we would like to try a longer trip.

My husband has been to BWCA while in college and loved it. He feels pretty confident about going. It's certainly a plus for us that there are so many outfitters. We need to rent a canoe as we live in the city and cannot keep large recreational equipment.

Here are my concerns: can we all fit into 1 canoe? We have in the past, but with no gear. I am a good assistant canoer but am not very confident about navigating a canoe with 2 kids all by myself. I suppose I'll never get better until I try, but maybe this isn't the best place to start. :)

We also canoe on rivers. It's pretty easy to see where you need to go when the current is pulling you down the path. I am worried about getting disoriented on the lakes and getting lost. But I've never been there so maybe I am worried about nothing?

We are also debating between a loop, or camping in one spot and doing day trips. Both seem equally fun to me! Thoughts?

And as far as resources go, if anyone has a book they recommend for route planning, I'd appreciate a recommendation. (I hope these questions are not too redundant, I am sure I am not the only newbie to ask these questions and I can't find a effective way to search the forum.)

PS: Thanks to all of you who have shared your trip reviews, pictures, and blogs! So inspiring for people like me!

Best,

Venessa

Venessa -

By all means, go! Sounds like your family is already primed for a canoe trip. A 3 person boat like a Wenonah Seneca or Souris River Quetico 18.5 would accomidate your kiddos just fine. You could have two sidding side by side on the seat and the other two on packs. Depending on your route you'll likely be spending a couple hours between portages and other breaks so the kids can rotate who sits where.

I think it's BWPaddler that has some smaller sized paddles for her kids - maybe give the two in the seat a 'job' to help paddle, each on their own side. That way nobody's fighting over the paddle.

Books.... Beymer books are good for helping to identify potential routes and loops, he has two books - one for the Eastern and Western halves of the BWCA.

Getting disoriented on lakes is a valid concern but as long as you or your husband is good with a map & compass (or GPS but bring maps as backup) you should be fine once you're oriented. I know my first trip with buddies we got turned around on Seagull, but once I correlated our location on the GPS to the map it was smooth paddling from that point on.

For your first trip I'd suggest either an easy loop or base camping. Really, plan the trip around your kids likes and staminas and go from there. If you pick up the Beymer books maybe take a 2-3 day loop, for example, and throw in an extra day or two.
Also, I'd suggest staying off of the bigger lakes for your first trip as wind and waves can become a factor. You're already going to be stressing out a little just by virtue of the whole family being in the same boat, why add to it?

For route planning and visualation I suggest you take a look at Voyageur Maps' online maps of the BWCA to get a sense of what entry points lead to which lakes. If you use Google Earth there's an excellent BWCA overlay for it that has entry points, boundaries, portages, campsites, etc on it. Lastly, I like to use Map My Run to plot out routes to get approximate mileages.

To search the forum you should see a search box on the left column of the site.... below the login box & my.bwca.com button. That should do the trick. Otherwise, if you go to Google and type in the box your query followed by site:bwca.com it'll only include results from this site - ie: easy route site:bwca.com

Hope this helps!

Welcome aboard!

Go Go Go. The family will love it. Especially with your families outdoor experience.

Another good trip planning book is the Daniel Pauly book. Very similar to the Beymer books but that one covers all of the BWCA in one book. I think the "books" link on the left side of the screen has info about those books. I've used and like both the Pauly and Beymer books.

There are also 4 seat canoes that you could rent. The Bell Northshore and the Wenonah MN IV. There are some threads talking about the Bell Northshore if you can find them using the "search" function. On a trip 2 years ago we saw a family with the same dynamics as yours in a Bell Northshore.

Giving our kiddos their own little paddles was a life saver for us. Keeps them in their seat.

We prefer basecamping both with and without our kids and then doing day trips. For us we find it easier with kids, but others enjoy moving everyday better. Either way is great and just personal preference.

The advice of staying on smaller lakes is very good. Plan a general area you want to go to and "Go with the flow" and stop and take a campsite when weather or kiddos dictate.

Have fun! and keep the questions coming.

Here's our 2 kiddos (5 and 3 at the time) enjoying a paddle in our SR Quetico 18.5.

Wow - not much to add to mirth and ducks, they covered it!

Here's my personal thoughts:

If you can rent the Bell 4 seater I think you'll be happy with it. Four kids is one more than I have, and although they are small, that's still a lot of people. Definitely one canoe though until you're comfortable in the stern with a capable child up front. Second choice would be Souris River Quetico 18.5. Slightly (very slight) more stable than the Bell, but a bit shorter and only 3 seats (note the "middle" seats are much wider due to where they are in the canoe and thus can easily hold 2 or three children across).

When my kids were very young (toddler) they did OK in the canoe, now that they're older (9/11/12), they do OK in the canoe, but in the middle it was just like a car trip "are we there yet?" "he's on my side!!"... Yours span the ages, but I guess I'd plan for no more than about 2 hours paddling/tripping at a time. Surprisingly (or maybe not) my kids like the portages as much or more than the paddling...

That would still let you get in to a lake to camp on, move daily if it works for you, or play around in camp with day trips and avoid the setup/takedowns.

I got my kids each a waterproof backpack to carry their own clothes (and sometimes sleeping bags). Had them be part of the whole thing from the beginning.

There's lots of routes you can take that will not get you lost, or wind-bound, and you'll still feel like you're away from it all.

I can't wait to read your first trip report!

Venessa-

Welcome! Like others stated...take the leap and go!

I agree, rent a four-seater canoe. Two kids can double up and fit on one seat or sit on packs. We've used one for our family of 5 and it.

Bring easy to grab snacks to hand out while paddling-like tootsie pops.

We bring an inexpensive, second camera for the kids to use.

Layering clothing is key. Have good rain jackets and bottoms for everyone...they double as a warm layer too.

Be flexible. We've had to adjust our routes because of weather, kids endurance, etc.

Let us know where you plan to go! Books suggested are easy to follow and offer good, clear advice.

Thanks so much for all of the encouragement!

I am going to grab those books and make a plan. We now know which week in September we can take off and just need to figure out the permit situation. I'll let you know what we decide!

Thanks again for all your advice and experience. I am much more excited now than I was when I posted!

Venessa

Venessa-

When you ask people in this forum if you should take your family canoe camping in the BWCA, you should expect an enthusiastic yes!

We all can relate to the hesitation that you might feel in making such a decision, but we've all seen tremendous fruits come from our time with our kids in canoe country.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should confess that I haven't taken all of my kids up yet. I have four children as well, but they are a few years younger -- ages 1.5 to 7. I hope that in a couple of years, when we've caught up to the current ages of your brood, that we'll be there too.

On kid-friendly paddles, I bought a couple of these telescoping paddles for the kids to use -- or not. They adjust easily to a convenient length and they stow easily. They'd also do as emergency spare paddles, too.

And to loop or to basecamp -- that is the question. It's difficult to make a recommendation as there is so much personal preference involved. On my own, I am a hardcore trekker -- I like to make a lot of distance and see a lot of lakes. But with my kids I've really enjoyed basecamping. Next summer I'm going to do a little of both -- one base camp trip and one not-too-ambitious loop. If you are flexible and aware of how people are holding up -- or not -- you can make adjustments on the fly to assure everyone has a reasonable experience.

I've found everyone here absolutely helpful and encouraging, so I hope you'll hit us with more questions as you continue to plan and prepare!

A mn 4 should fit you all no problem. My family of 5 fit in a mn 3 easly

I wouldn't put 6 people in a Souris River 18.5. I would go for a 4-seater.