National Scenic Rivers North | SouthernPaddler.com

National Scenic Rivers North

canoecrafter

Member
Jan 24, 2011
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If you're planning to travel north to paddle this summer—way north like to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota—stop in Spooner, Wisconsin on your way to tour the brand new Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum. This non-profit canoe museum and workshop is the nation's only museum dedicated purely to canoeing and wooden canoebuilding. You'll find an amazing display of restored and original wooden canoes dating from pre-1900 to the present, along with a busy canoebuilding workshop with as many as six new wood canoes or historic restorations going on at one time. Check out the website at : http://www.wisconsincanoeheritagemuseum.com/index.html

And the best part of visiting this part of northwest Wisconsin is that you're in the backyard of America's first two National Wild and Scenic Rivers, the Namekagon and St. Croix, established in 1969 by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson. Both rivers are less that 30 minutes away from the museum, and the St. Croix/Namekagon Waterway Vistor's Center for the rivers is only five minutes away in Trego, WI. There you'll find interactive displays, films, detailed river maps, lists of outfitters, and everything needed to get you on the water and paddling two of the prettiest and most pristine rivers in the nation. A third wild and scenic river in the Spooner area, the Totagatic, was just designated as such by the Wisconsin DNR, who purchased critical undeveloped sections of the river in 2009.

Hey, where else can you find a canoe museum to tour, and three Wild and Scenic Rivers to paddle within 30 minutes of each oher?
 

canoecrafter

Member
Jan 24, 2011
5
0
Re: Canoecopia

Jack,
The canoe museum in Spooner will have a booth at Canoecopia in Madison. Stop in and say Hi. And get on our mailing list for newsletters and announcements for upcoming canoebuilding classes.

You may want to become a member of the non-profit canoe museum/workshop to help us grow. Someday, we hope to be as comprehensive as the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough. You can become a member on the website.

http://www.wisconsincanoeheritagemuseum.com/index.html

We welcome paddlers and wooden canoe lovers from both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line! And we don't yet have an authentic southern-Louisiana pirogue in our collection, but we do welcome donations.

Gary

When people finally figure out what's important in Life, there's gonna be a big shortage of canoes.
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
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Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
Gary, on the first Saturday of March, come to East Lansing MI. The Quiet Water Symposium hosts builders of canoes & kayaks, campers, and other outdoor enthusiasts. There are about 100-200 exhibitors, all family oriented, and lots of great folks.
Gary & Joannie McGuffin will be there, and so will Cliff Jacobson. (I'll be there too, sighing autographs - for FREE! :wink: )
If you are interested, contact me at [email protected]