Ideas?

I am from Ontario. Have paddled (kayak) mostly in central, northern and sw Ontario. Did a few trips on the East coast. Anyways, I read a few articles about paddling thru cities; Chicago etc that intrigued me. There are several Americn cities I would lik to visit & if I could paddle there as well…bonus. Any suggestions?

?
Not sure what you mean “paddle thru”.



Paddle through the heart of the city? Around? Paddle by as part of a trip?



Anyway, the top of my head list.



Canada: Montreal, Toronto



US: New York (around Manhattan), Boston (down Charles River into Boston harbor). San Francisco (the bay, not exactly “thru” and you don’t see the city that well)


Seattle
San Juan Islands are nearby too.


If you have to be in a city for other
reasons, it can be fun to find an outfitter and follow waterways through the city, if they exist.



I paddled all the way across Atlanta on South Peachtree and Peachtree Creek, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I paddled into Asheville, NC, recently on the French Broad. Boston has the Charles which runs for miles. I once rowed in an eight oared shell in the East River opposite Manhattan. Philadelphia has the Schuylkill River. The list goes on and on. You can scout city water routes on Google Earth.



But if you don’t have to be in a particular city for a meeting or whatever, I’d look for lakes and rivers elsewhere. Or, stay in Ontario. We just got back from Lake Superior Provincial Park, and could have spent another week there.

San Francisco Bay Area
Plenty of paddling in and around a dozen cities, plus open Bay, open ocean, Sacramento river, sloughs, lakes - we have lots to do here on the water.

Thanks
for the responses and suggestions. I m thinking Chicago or Boston. Appreciate the comment about “staying in Ontario”. Yes, we have beautiful paddling spots…all over. North Superior is a pleasure I have had visiting many times.

you can’t paddle thru it
but you can paddle around Manhattan.



Lyn

there’s always the sewer system

Portland Maine
easy kayak launching and camping offered on several of the many islands that dot Casco Bay.

Pittsburgh
Nice city to visit (museums, restaurants, nightlife, National Aviary, fantastic botanical conservatory) and three big rivers (Ohio, Allegheny, Monongahela) that meet downtown that are interesting to paddle – a mix of industrial “archaeology” and greenways along the banks.

Victoria
We just got back from a vacation trip in Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC. Fantastic waterfront and we had planned to do an urban kayak tour – there are multiple rental outlets along the harbor. Unfortunately I broke my arm the second day before we were able to (kudos to your National Health Care system, by the way – very efficient, humane and reasonably priced, belying all the BS that people in the US blather about the supposed hassles of “socialized medicine”.)



If you can get out to Victoria it would be a great place to kayak, both around the urban harbors and inlets and along the coasts, Strait of Juan de Fuca and the San Juan Islands.

Jacksonville FL, St Johns River?
I have wondered about the St. Johns at Jax…but have no idea on it’s conditions.