I've been thinking about flying somewhere in the US or Canada to kayak. It seems to me a hassle to rent a car and try to find the necessary racks, and rent kayaks and other equipment, and carry these around in a rental car.
I plan to rent a car (most likely), but am looking for places where you can stay in a motel or lodge, and also rent kayaks nearby, and be able to basically carry your rental kayaks to the water, without using a car. Of course, from that spot there should be some nice spots to paddle over at least 3 days. Any recommendations?
David
Barrier Island Kayaks www.barrierislandkayaks.com it is right on the IntraCoastal Waterway at Swansboro, NC. It shares a lawn and parking area with the Water Way Inn.
The folks at BIK are world class guides and instructors, plus they are super nice and helpful. The area offers a wide range of paddling options for any skill level and any length of time (including overnight trips).
Second that. BIK meets your requirements and has some great paddling near by. Depending on how many miles you’re willing to put in you’ve got open ocean paddling, cruising salt marshes in the sound and even some black water river paddling.
I have to go out for the day now, and don’t have time to look for links to other places that I know of, but a bit of googling will probably yield these and many more. Perhaps I’ll come back tonight and find more (there’s one in particular that I’m thinking of, but I have to find the article I have on it; very similar to the place I’ve given a link to above).
Appalachian Mountain Club has a cabin for rent on Knubble Bay in Maine and Seaspray will deliver rental kayaks.
You do need a car to go grocery shopping and the well is hand pump and there is no running water.
But there are plenty of places to paddle for three or more days… Some are secluded and some out in the open ocean. Tides rule…the currents can get over five knots.
Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe is nice. Tahoe City kayaks and maybe enviro-rents in Kings beach will deliver to Sand Harbor and maybe elsewhere for kayaking along more interesting shorelines. I recommend kayaking from D.L. Bliss State park into Emerald Bay.
I’m not sure if this is really a great kayaking destination but it’s a nice place to vacation (or live).
Thousand Islands Done that a few years back. The rental place is on the water, outside of Kingston.
You can paddle out to many of the islands. Even camp on a few of the public islands.
It’s not that big of a deal to put a plastic kayak on a rental car either. Many kayak shops that are NOT on the water supply foam blocks as part of the rental package.
Florida Keys There are many, many hotels in the Keys on the water, both ocean and bay side. Best bets are Key Largo or Islamorada. Many rent kayaks, and if the hotel doesn’t, there are many outfitters who will bring one over to you.
Kayak Lodging If you want a nice quiet place to stay where you are treated like royalty, try Wheeler on the Bay Lodge in Wheeler, Oregon. They have their own dock right on the Nehalem River. You can head down the river into the bay and ocean, or you can head up the river to the community of Nehalem. Heading up provides many miles of wonderfully scenic, calm water. My wife and I just got back and we had the time of our lives. With a 2 night stay, you get free kayak usage too. The site is wheeleronthebay.com.
It’s not that difficult to travel with your own foam blocks and straps either. It takes up a bit of room but it weights nothing.
When I travel to kayak, I already bring my own PFD and paddle. Add water shoes, wetsuit, paddle jacket, etc. I’m not exactly “traveling light” to begin with either…
Just throw the whole pile of things into one big bag, whatever the size limit of airlines…
I've seen and heard many times...either Cessna's or some make of prop-shuttle planes from Bangor International. Would get you to Greenville and then up to Chesuncook Lakehouse. Chesuncook's a great lake to explore, is pretty much in the middle of inland Maine. *I don't know their situation with regards to brand/models of kayaks for rent...so! With some wind...not a wussy flat piece of water. Tons of water in every direction. This isn't the Ogunquit-seacoast-atmosphere though...fwiw. Folsom used to be one company, located in Greenville on the lake(Moosehead). Could shuttle you both legs of the journey. Just the easiest found from name-memory, no affiliation...
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