Last September, I was paddling the Upper Iowa River when a fellow kayaker from Chicago pulled up beside me at Chimney Rock. "I had no idea Iowa looked like this," he said, staring up at the 300-foot limestone palisades. "I thought it was all corn fields." I hear that a lot. After 20 years of […]

Introduction Last summer, I paddled the Pembina River just as the sun broke through the morning mist, and I'll never forget how the water looked like liquid glass between those towering valley walls. North Dakota might not be the first place that comes to mind for kayaking adventures, but after spending three months exploring every […]

I'll never forget the first time I tried kayaking upstream on the Shenandoah River. My buddy Jake laughed as I fought the current head-on like a salmon trying to spawn, burning through energy faster than a teenager's phone battery. Twenty minutes in, I was gassed and had barely made it past the first bend. That's […]

The morning mist was still clinging to the Susquehanna River when I launched my kayak from the Shady Nook access point last October. As my paddle cut through the glass-smooth water, a bald eagle soared overhead – just another typical morning of kayaking in Pennsylvania. After 15 years of paddling every major waterway from Lake […]

I'll never forget the first time my tabby, Captain Whiskers, jumped into my kayak at the boat launch on Lake Travis. There I was, trying to load my fishing gear, when this furry little adventurer decided the cockpit looked like the perfect napping spot. That spontaneous moment launched a three-year journey of paddling together that's […]

Last July, I paddled out from Edgewater Beach just as the sun was painting Cleveland's skyline gold. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame gleamed in the distance while freighters cruised past, their wakes gently rocking my kayak. That's when it hit me – Cleveland might just be one of the most underrated kayaking destinations […]

Last Saturday morning on Lake Travis, I watched my friend Sarah, seven months pregnant, gracefully paddle her sit-on-top kayak across glass-calm water. "I feel more comfortable here than walking on land," she laughed, patting her bump. That moment perfectly captured what I've learned after talking with dozens of pregnant paddlers – yes, you can kayak […]

Last summer on Lake Travis, I watched a paddler's sit-in kayak slowly disappear beneath the surface after he forgot to replace his drain plug. As he treaded water in his PFD, waiting for his buddy to paddle over, I couldn't help but think about all the misconceptions surrounding kayak flotation. That incident sparked countless conversations […]

Last April, I was paddling across Lake Fork in Texas just as the sun cracked the horizon. The water temp had just hit 62°F, and I knew the big females would be moving up. Twenty minutes later, my drop shot got crushed by a 7-pound largemouth in 8 feet of water. That's when the light […]

Last spring, I watched a friend struggle for hours in his brand-new 17-foot sea kayak on our local lake. He'd bought it because it looked "professional" and cost twice as much as the recreational models. Problem was, he couldn't turn the thing to save his life – spent more time doing three-point turns than actually […]