Bottle Lake in Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park
Bottle Lake is admired by canoe campers for its ease of access, sandy beaches, and nearby waterfalls. Join the Urban Paddlers as we set out to explore the lake and the waterfalls at the north end of Bottle, and on Catchacoma Lake as well.
The one thing you need to know to rent a kayak in Vancouver
I recently took a business trip to Vancouver. Upon arriving in my hotel room overlooking the harbour between the city and Stanley Park, I immediately wanted to rent a kayak. Little did I know my aspirations would be foiled because I lakced one crucial piece of knowledge. With a colder-than-usual spring in Toronto pushing back […]
Winter glamping: Celebrating New Year’s Eve in the Silent Lake Provincial Park rustic cabins
Nearly two years after our first winter camping experience at Silent Lake Provincial Park, we still haven’t made much progress toward gearing up to go winter camping on our own. Between buying our first home and paying for our wedding, the idea of dropping thousands of dollars on a decent-quality hot tent and accessories all […]
Wild Toronto: Hiking Crothers Woods in the Don Valley
Wild Toronto is a series about the many wild places you can hike and bike in all four seasons without ever leaving the city. We weren’t sure what to expect when we headed out to Crothers Woods for a winter day hike in the city. But shortly after we embarked on the trail, we could […]
Wild Toronto: Winter hiking in the Rouge National Urban Park
The southernmost end of Toronto’s Rouge River is one of our favourite urban waterways to paddle in the spring, and later in the year too if water levels are high enough to float our canoe. The Rouge River is rarely used by other boaters, and we often see all kinds of wildlife as we paddle […]
Potter’s Creek and Tom Thomson Lake loop in Algonquin Provincial Park
What could be more Canadian than backcountry canoe camping through Tom Thomson Lake over the Canada Day weekend? That’s the question I posed to my friends when I was organizing a four-night trek into the Algonquin backcountry, starting July 1. Though judging from their responses in the negative, I guess it did little to stoke […]
Winter camping at Silent Lake Provincial Park with Cruising Canoes
In the summer, you can find us hitting the road to go camping every other weekend, checking out the best that Ontario’s backcountry has to offer. When the cool weather comes, however, we start to feel a little cooped up. Our last trip into the backcountry was mid-October. As the winter drags on, we long […]
Bell-David Lake Loop and Silver Peak hike in Killarney Provincial Park
Interactive map | How to do it Urban Paddler has returned! After a brief three years in dry dock, we’re packing up our food barrels, strapping the canoe to the car, and getting ready to dip our paddles into the waters of some exciting outdoor adventures once again. Stay tuned for some new posts detailing […]
Kayaking the Wisla River in Krakow, Poland
Kayaking down the Wisla River immediately to the south of the old town isn’t the most popular activity in Krakow, Poland in the middle of May – but it is possible. After asking a few locals who spoke English about where I could rent a kayak and eliciting some strange looks, I was eventually helpfully […]
Paddle The Don, 2012
In the five years that I’ve participated in Paddle the Don event, I often get a reaction of mock-horror whenever I explain it to someone. “What if you tip into the water?” they exclaim, as if this would be tantamount to plunging headfirst into a nuclear waste pool without a HazMat suit. Well two years […]