The Northern Forest Canoe Trail is a long-distance paddling trail connecting the major watersheds across the Adirondacks and Northern New England. In the 740-mile traverse across New York, Vermont, Quebec, New Hampshire, and Maine, the Trail links communities and wild places, offering canoeists and kayakers a lifetime of paddling destinations and adventures.
Trail Facts:
Rivers and Streams: 22
Lakes and Ponds: 56
Carries or Portages: 62, totaling 55 miles.
Skills Needed: Novice to expert, canoes and kayaks welcome. The route includes flat and whitewater paddling, poling, lining, portaging.
National Wildlife Refuges: 3
Communities: 45
Flow of the Trail: Downstream and upstream. Water levels fluctuate due to spring runoff, drought, and dam releases.
Direction to Paddle: Through paddlers should paddle west to east to minimize upstream paddling.
Lodging options: From primitive campsites, to lovely inns, with overnight options roughly every 15 miles.
Landscape: Passing through hills and mountains, forests, farmlands and village centers.
Trail History: The idea for the Northern Forest Canoe Trail was brought to life in the 1990's when Mike Krepner, Ron Canter, and Randy Mardres of Native Trails, Inc. researched the traditional east-west water routes used by Native Americans and early settlers in the Northern Forest Region, from the Adirondacks to Northern Maine. In 2000, Kay Henry and Rob Center - former principals of Mad River Canoe Company - incorporated the Northern Forest Canoe Trail organization as a way to translate this research into a recreational, community, and regional resource.
Lakes and Ponds: 56
Carries or Portages: 62, totaling 55 miles.
Skills Needed: Novice to expert, canoes and kayaks welcome. The route includes flat and whitewater paddling, poling, lining, portaging.
National Wildlife Refuges: 3
Communities: 45
Flow of the Trail: Downstream and upstream. Water levels fluctuate due to spring runoff, drought, and dam releases.
Direction to Paddle: Through paddlers should paddle west to east to minimize upstream paddling.
Lodging options: From primitive campsites, to lovely inns, with overnight options roughly every 15 miles.
Landscape: Passing through hills and mountains, forests, farmlands and village centers.
Trail History: The idea for the Northern Forest Canoe Trail was brought to life in the 1990's when Mike Krepner, Ron Canter, and Randy Mardres of Native Trails, Inc. researched the traditional east-west water routes used by Native Americans and early settlers in the Northern Forest Region, from the Adirondacks to Northern Maine. In 2000, Kay Henry and Rob Center - former principals of Mad River Canoe Company - incorporated the Northern Forest Canoe Trail organization as a way to translate this research into a recreational, community, and regional resource.
More information about the route can be found at the organization's web site: www.northernforestcanoetrail.org
