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The Canadian Canoe Museum Launches a New Era

Three canoes in medium closeup; the top is made of bark, the middle is painted with Indigenous designs, and the bottom is green canvas

Jump to Video “Canoes as far as the eye can see” might be an exaggeration, but only slightly. The Canadian Canoe Museum’s expansive new collection hall is home to over 500 canoes, carefully arranged from floor to ceiling in a climate-controlled storage space. Turn down one aisle and you might see a selection of traditional … Read more

Paddling Through History: A Visit to the Canadian Canoe Museum

North Canoe at The Canadian Canoe Museum

The canoe is absolutely central to Canadian identity — so much so many of us haven’t stopped to reflect on how deep those roots go. I’m an avid canoeist myself (my canoe, the affectionately named Swamp Bullet, is a regular fixture of the waters around Peterborough), but even so I hadn’t taken the time to … Read more

Paddle the Trent-Severn Waterway: Presqu’ile Provincial Park

Drone view of a kayak and canoe paddling through clear, shallow water

Most paddlers can attest that, as soon as you push off and feel your weight buoyed by the boat, you leave behind the weight of your worries on the land. Like the weight of a canoe after a long portage trail, my day-to-day concerns remain mostly onshore and I leave them ever-further behind with each paddle stroke.

Paddle the Trent-Severn Waterway: Peterborough

Aerial view of Little Lake in Peterborough

From the globe-traversing outriggers of the South Pacific to Amazonian dugouts to the birchbark craft of Turtle Island, the canoe is a fascinating example of convergent cultural evolution: in many isolated cases around the world a very similar design of craft has emerged to answer the question of the most beautiful and efficient way to navigate the regional waterscapes.