Summer Canoe Camps for Trippers in Training

Want to help your kids grow into lifelong canoe trippers? Sign them up for an Ontario summer canoe camp. They’ll learn from the best, paddling into a rich tradition that’s steeped in over a century of history across much of central and Northern Ontario. Summer camp is an antidote to screen time and puts children in a face-to-face setting that supports responsibility and good communication—ultimately fostering lifelong friendships. Most important of all, they’ll have a ton of fun.

Although I didn't have the chance to go to a canoe camp, I can appreciate the confidence and self-reliance time in the outdoors builds in youngsters. I’ve witnessed first-hand how quickly friends’ youngsters develop into capable trippers and responsible low-impact campers after a summer or two at camp. Surrounded by friends and guided by cool, caring and capable young adults, kids flourish in the wilderness.

There are a multitude of summer canoe camps for kids across Ontario, each with its own calling card—such as a focus on hard-core expeditions, traditional gear or multisport itineraries—to help you choose an option that’s convenient for you and most appealing to your child. The Ontario Camps Association is a great resource to find an Ontario summer canoe camp that meets the needs of parents and kids alike, including a search tool that allows you to choose specific criteria.

Best for Leadership Development: Camp Wanapitei

Despite its seemingly remote location, tucked away in Lake Temagami’s Ferguson Bay, Camp Wanapitei is the only Temagami-area summer canoe camp that’s accessible by road. The camp’s nearly 100-year-old facilities are about a 45-minute drive north of the town of Temagami, on Red Squirrel Road. Camp Wanapitei welcomes all kids and young adults between ages 7 and 18, and offers convenient bus transportation for campers from Toronto and Ottawa.

Programs at Camp Wanapitei revolve around canoe tripping, including a one-month Leaders in Training program for 17-year-olds that’s designed to prepare the next generation of outdoors professionals. The course includes training in wilderness first aid, conflict resolution, communication skills and leadership, along with a three-day solo, six-day whitewater trip and a five-day flatwater trip. Participants can follow up the leadership course with a monthlong northern canoe expedition.

Best for Inclusive Programming: Rainbow Camp

This camp for 2SLGBTQ+ youth and friends, siblings and children in queer families is located in Northern Ontario, near Sault Ste. Marie. Rainbow Camp delivers outdoor programs for kids ages 12 to 18, including a leader-in-training program for 17- and 18-year-olds, with transportation provided to the camp from Toronto and Thunder Bay.

Rainbow Camp focuses in three areas: education and activism, artistic endeavours and active outdoors. Adventure Week integrates all three core elements into a backcountry canoe trip, suitable for first-time paddlers and campers.

Best for Expedition Paddlers in Training: Camp Keewaydin

Lake Temagami in northeastern Ontario is the epicentre of Canadian canoe camps and Keewaydin is the original, established 130 years ago. Canoe tripping is the main focus at Camp Keewaydin. Youngsters develop solid wilderness skills starting at age 10, starting with multiday trips in the Temagami wilderness and progressing to increasingly remote locations, culminating with epic seven-week expeditions for 16- to 18-year-olds on wild rivers to Hudson Bay. With such a long history, it’s no surprise that Keewaydin is steeped in tradition: the camp prides itself on maintaining the world’s largest fleet of wood-canvas canoes, which are used exclusively on trips.

Programs are available for boys, girls, families and adults, as well as a special “outpost” section that’s based on a remote lake in Northwestern Ontario’s Wabakimi Provincial Park. Keewaydin’s base camp on Devil’s Island in Lake Temagami includes great accommodations and meals for parents at Ojibway Lodge.

Best for Little Kids: Camp Kandalore

Located about two hours north of Toronto near Haliburton, Camp Kandalore has a long history as an Ontario summer canoe camp. In fact, previous owner and director Kirk Wipper kept an ever growing collection of historic canoes at Kandalore, which ultimately evolved into the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough.

Today, Kandalore offers over 30 activities on water and land, including sailing, mountain biking, standup paddleboarding, climbing and a variety of arts and crafts, making it a great spot to introduce your youngster to more than just canoe tripping. Kandalore is open to kids as young as 6, with five-day and weeklong programs meant to pique little ones’ interest for outdoor adventures.

Best for Traditional Tripping: Camp Temagami

It’s hard to find better alternatives to cell phones and screen time than wooden wannigan food boxes, leather tumplines and cedar-canvas canoes for wilderness trips. Camp Temagami is dedicated to going old-school on all its canoe expeditions, ranging from short outings for youngsters starting from its island base on Lake Temagami’s Southwest Arm to monthlong expeditions for teenagers in far-flung areas like northwestern Ontario’s Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, Labrador and northern Quebec.

Along with its focus on maintaining canoeing traditions, Camp Temagami is known for its close-knit community and friendly vibe. It offers two- to six-week boys, girls and co-ed canoe tripping programs for kids and youth ages 8 to 18, as well as wilderness leadership training, family and adult trips.

Best for a Budget: YMCA John Island Camp

Ontario is home to several YMCA overnight summer camps, which offer more budget-friendly outdoor programs for parents. In particular, YMCA John Island Camp is especially alluring for its remote location on an island in Lake Huron’s North Channel, between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.

YMCA John Island offers a range of multi-activity, residential camps for ages 6 to 14, as well as a series of leadership and tripping programs for 13- to 17-year-olds, aimed at developing interpersonal skills and teamwork, perseverance and technical backcountry skills, on wilderness trips of up to one month in length—all at lower costs than most other summer camps.

Best for Empowerment: Project Canoe

Project Canoe has provided canoe trips for youth aged 13 to 18 who face barriers to the outdoors, to help them reap the rewards of time spent in nature, for over 20 years. Under the guidance of outdoor professionals, five- and eight-day canoe tripping programs in Algonquin Provincial Park support beginners in learning the basics of paddling and camping, at the same time forming positive relationships with their peers. A leadership program allows returning participants to take their skills to the next level.

Ultimately, Project Canoe’s programs empower youth to develop strategies and gain confidence to deal with other challenges in their lives. Prospective participants must enroll through an application process. Project Canoe is a registered charity that accepts donations to support its programs.

Best in Algonquin: Taylor Statten Camps

It makes sense that Canada’s most popular paddling destination is also a hub for summer canoe camps. Central Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park is home to Taylor Statten Camps, featuring distinctive programs for boys (Ahmek) and girls (Wapomeo), both located on Canoe Lake, off Highway 60. Both draw on rich, 100-year-old histories and have a long list of influential alumni, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Canoe tripping at Taylor Statten Camps is available for kids ages 6 to 17, beginning with introductory “Park Trips” in Algonquin, starting with an overnight for first-timers and culminating in an 11-day expedition for more experienced youth. Programs are designed for participants to develop experience and skills, venturing beyond Algonquin to more remote areas like Temagami and Quetico Provincial Park and ultimately to an epic 50-day wilderness expedition for senior campers, starting and ending at Canoe Lake.

Best for Outdoor Education: Canadian Ecology Centre

Located on the shores of the historic Mattawa River, east of North Bay in Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park, the Canadian Ecology Centre is a unique retreat that’s focused on outdoor education. Residential two-week summer high school credit programs are offered in subjects like geography, biology and earth sciences for Ontario students in grades 9 through 12, placing a priority on outdoor learning.

The Canadian Ecology Centre also offers a variety of outdoor programming for families, groups, individuals and children, including summer day camps for kids aged 6 to 8 and 9 to 12, in both the city of North Bay and at the centre. On-site accommodations and meals, along with plenty of activities, including paddling on the Mattawa River, make it a great destination for a family learning vacation, too.

Best for Free Play: Camp Tawingo

Located in Muskoka, Camp Tawingo offers a classic summer camp experience (complete with fun counsellors, cozy bunkhouses, campfire games and plenty of watersports), allowing kids to discover canoe tripping in nearby Algonquin Provincial Park as well. Tawingo accommodates all kids and youth ages 7 to 16, with overnight camp sessions ranging from 16 to 20 days, along with shorter partial-session options for kids who are nervous about being away from home.

Tawingo prioritizes supervised free play, where kids can interact with their peers in safe and unstructured forms. Each camp session includes a two- to three-day canoe trip. Later on, those bitten with the canoe tripping bug can sign up for two-week wilderness canoe trips at age 15 and 16, as well as progressing to a comprehensive leadership training program that spans the entire camp season. 

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