by Allyson Saunders

Late fall and early spring are the perfect times to explore your local waterways. Water levels are typically higher, and the summer crowds have dispersed for the most part. Don’t let the threat of screaming barfies deter you from paddling in the shoulder seasons. With some intentional planning and gear, you too will be excited to paddle year-round.

In this video, Ken Whiting of PaddleTV talks about the different pains associated with kayaking, and ways you can make paddling a more comfortable and enjoyable experience.

by Adrian Meissner

The Dutch oven is the most versatile cooking pot imaginable. You can use it to roast, fry, boil, stew and bake. If you enjoy camp cooking, you will love camp baking your favorite casseroles, as well as breads and desserts. All it takes is a bit of prep and a simple set up. Here are some tips for perfecting the process and baking five-star meals and treats in your Dutch oven at your campsite.

It is rare to find the combination of mountains and beaches that California has to offer, and the variety of paddling adventures is just as enticing! Find kayaking trips in California for every level of kayaker.

by Tom Gaffey

Inflatable SUP boards are lightweight and easy to transport, but they still require basic maintenance and particular care when it comes to cleaning and storage. After reading our step by step guide on how to clean your inflatable SUP board and understanding tips on how to roll and store your board, you should have no problem maintaining your inflatable SUP board and enjoying it for many seasons to come.

Kayak Hipster demonstrates and shares 3 things to try next time you're working on your low brace. The low brace is a great way to keep your kayak upright.

by Adrian Meissner

Every year we do a family and friends canoe trip. This year, we decided to venture further from home. We wanted deep wilderness, continuous flow and mountain scenery. In order to make it affordable for our party of 10, we needed a river that did not require fly-in access. We did some research and discovered the Lower Stikine fit the bill. We learned a lot along the way…

Chuck von Yamashita - Homer, AK

Action cameras are everywhere in the outdoors community, and paddling adventures are an obvious match for these tiny tech marvels. However, nowadays there’s so many options on the market and they keep improving so quickly that it’s hard to tell if one is right for us. And if so, which one?

by Tom Watson

Attempting to re-enter your kayak after a capsize can be a very exhausting effort, even with the aid of a paddle float or stirrup and despite the support of a second paddler alongside as a rescuer. Rather than trying to jump up vertically, better to get horizontal with the water’s surface and kick/swim up onto your boat.

Dan of Headwaters Kayak shares the 5 most common mistakes new paddlers make, and how to fix them to make your time better on the water.

• Win a $100 REI eGift Card

All July Sweepstakes winners have been contacted and will be posted on the Sweepstakes Winners page.

by Adrian Meissner

Remember when you bought your first car? Or maybe it was a bike. You may have chosen it for its color, or other non-functional features and realized later that you bought it for all the wrong reasons. Don’t make the same mistake with your first canoe. Before you go shopping, there are a few things you need to figure out.

You may have seen the tagline of “Instagram vs. Reality” circulating on the internet. People post two photos simultaneously: a flawless photo and a blooper photo, to show the truth of what we perceive to be real. Here is the “Instagram vs. Reality” of paddling with dogs.

Unlikely hero credits kayak safety training for rescue of two non-swimmers from South Carolina Lake. Allen Hutto was having one of those days. The wind was whipping when he finally got to the boat launch at Lake Murray near Columbia, South Carolina, and most of the boat traffic had already called it a day....

Any experienced SUP paddler will tell you the same thing: once you've inflated it even a time or two with the manual pump, you're over it. It's the most exhausting part of the day! So unless you're really in it for the cardio and shoulder workout, it would be a big step up to consider an Electric Paddle Board Pump.

Amazon Prime Day is here! Take advantage of exclusive deals available to Amazon Prime members. There’s something there for everyone, including lightning deals that only last for a short time. Check out our top deal picks - updated regularly all day on July 12 and 13!

The key to tandem canoeing is to understand your role at whichever end of the boat you are paddling in. A canoe is essentially an elongated oval with a lever on each end. The cool thing is those levers can work at an infinite number of angles, their speed and strength can change on a dime and their reach can be adjusted for maximum efficiency.