Find Your New Favorite Place to Paddle with Paddling Maps

packrafting new zealand
Okarito Lagoon in New Zealand (Photo courtesy of Meander The World)

“With your help, we hope that this will rapidly become a worldwide paddlesports resource that we will all benefit from.”

Powered by Aquabatics Calgary and Paddling Magazine, Paddling Maps is a newer website looking to grow as it draws more paddlers to:

Use it as a resource when looking for new paddle spots in a specific location
Upload their own suggestions for paddle trips that others can use

Regions Covered in Paddling Maps

As of this writing, Paddling Maps has suggested routes in eight Canadian provinces, four US states, Costa Rica, Kenya and New Zealand.

The sponsors’ goal is for worldwide use by kayakers, canoeists, stand-up paddleboarders and packrafters. It’s a true crowd-sourced website that can benefit paddlers of all skill levels.

How to Use Paddling Maps

We’ll take Aquabatics’ home province of Alberta to show you a sample of how this service works. (You don’t need to log in to use this part of the site.)

This trip is on the Bow River, in the beautiful mountainous valley between Banff and Canmore:

sample of paddling maps

You can see, right on the top, the paddling style for this trip, which watercrafts will work and the level of difficulty. Then you’ll see the interactive map and, directly below, its geolocation.

Next you’ll have a description of what to expect. In this specific case, the trip was logged in by a local kayak club, so the description is detailed. It goes so far as telling where the three most likely hazards are located on the route.

Not all descriptions will be this involved, since different people upload different routes—but you can see how helpful this one is to paddlers new to this location.

Below that are the basics: nearest city, best times of year to paddle, how long it’ll take and directions.

How to Add a Trip

To add a trip to Paddling Maps, go to this page for the step-by-step instructions. (You’ll need to log in to use this part of the site.)

Or watch this video (just under 9 minutes):

The more folks who take advantage of this resource—and who add their favorite paddle trips onto it—the bigger and better it will get.

So check out Paddling Maps and tell your friends!

Contact our Wisconsin-based Customer Service team with your paddle questions today: 715-755-3405 • [email protected]

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