Last April, I watched the sun rise over the ACE Basin while paddling through glass-calm waters, surrounded by nothing but cypress trees and the occasional gator eyeing me from the banks. That moment – coffee still warm in my thermos, mist rising off the water – reminded me why South Carolina has become my favorite […]

Last August, I was paddling through the morning mist near Bar Harbor when a seal popped up right next to my kayak. We locked eyes for maybe three seconds before it disappeared beneath the glassy water. That moment - just me, the seal, and the silence broken only by water dripping off my paddle - […]

Last spring at the Cuyahoga River boat ramp, I watched a game warden write three tickets in 20 minutes - all for unregistered kayaks. The paddlers had no idea Ohio requires kayak registration, and their perfect morning turned into $150 fines and a ruined trip. After helping dozens of confused paddlers navigate Ohio's registration process […]

Last summer, I watched the sunrise paint the sandstone cliffs of Wisconsin Dells orange while floating in my kayak, completely alone except for a curious bald eagle overhead. That moment perfectly captured why Wisconsin has become my favorite paddling destination – over 15,000 lakes, 84,000 miles of rivers, and enough variety to keep you exploring […]

I'll never forget my first morning paddling Flathead Lake - the water so clear I could count individual pebbles 20 feet below my kayak. A bald eagle circled overhead while the Mission Mountains reflected perfectly in the glassy surface. After two decades of kayaking from Texas to Alaska, Montana still takes my breath away every […]

I'll never forget my first time kayaking in Nevada. There I was, sweating in 105-degree Vegas heat, when my buddy Dave convinced me to drive an hour to paddle below Hoover Dam. "Trust me," he said, "you haven't lived until you've soaked in hot springs after paddling through Black Canyon." Three hours later, I was […]

Last spring, I found myself squeezing through a narrow passage 50 feet underground, lying flat in my kayak with nothing but a headlamp and the echo of dripping water for company. Welcome to underground kayaking in Missouri – just one of the mind-blowing paddling experiences the Show-Me State has to offer. After paddling Missouri's waters […]

The morning mist was still clinging to the Rio Grande when I pushed off from the Orilla Verde launch last May. My buddy Jake had been pestering me for months about paddling New Mexico, swearing the Land of Enchantment had some of the best-kept kayaking secrets west of the Mississippi. Turns out, he was dead […]

After paddling upstate New York's waterways for the past 12 years - from the glacier-carved Finger Lakes to the wild Adirondack wilderness - I've discovered that this region offers some of the most diverse kayaking experiences in the entire country. Last weekend, while watching sunrise paint the Catskill peaks orange from my kayak on Pepacton […]

The first time I paddled through the narrow channels of Ninigret Pond, a harbor seal popped up just 10 feet from my kayak. My heart raced, but the curious creature simply watched me for a moment before disappearing beneath the emerald waters. That's when I knew Rhode Island would become my favorite East Coast paddling […]