Every Level 2 grad has one: the trip you think about in February. Superior's cliffs, Georgian Bay's islands, the Bruce Peninsula from the water. Here's how to pick one you're ready for, and plan it so it actually happens.
The short version
Choose by exposure and the distance between landings. The view comes second.
Know every landing, bailout and backstop before you launch, and who's expecting you back.
The Great Lakes decide when you paddle. Spare days keep a forecast from turning into a bad decision.
Five questions before you pick a trip
- How far between landings? On a cliff coast it can be kilometres with nowhere to get out. That number matters more than the total distance.
- How long are the open crossings? And what's the fetch: how much open water can the wind build waves across before they reach you?
- What's a day's distance? Your Level 2 cruising pace is about 3 knots. Work out the moving time, then add breaks, landings and lunch. The calculator below does the first part.
- Can everyone rescue everyone? In a loaded boat, in waves, a little tired. If one person in the group can't, that's the group's limit.
- Who knows your plan? Leave a float plan with someone on shore: route, campsites, check-in times, and when to call for help if they don't hear from you. Our float plan tool builds one and emails it for you.
Start with the Trip Map
Our Trip Map pulls together ten years of routes we've paddled, photographed and logged across Ontario: Georgian Bay, Lake Superior, Niagara, Muskoka and more. Click a pin for the trip name, a photo and the write-up. The colours group trips by paddling style, not difficulty, so use it alongside your chart and the forecast.
Daily distance check
Put in the route and the days you have. It shows the paddling you're signing up for each day, against the Level 2 route plan you already did: at least 9 nautical miles, about three hours at 3 knots.
Is it a holiday or a slog?
moving time only1 knot is 1.852 km/h, so 3 knots is about 5.6 km/h. Real days are longer than moving time: add breaks, landings, scouting and setting up camp. Paddling into wind is slower too.
Let the lake have a vote
Our Level 2 limit is about 15 knots of wind where you're actually paddling. Not the open-lake number, the water under your boat. The marine forecast covers the whole open lake, so we put Windy's high-resolution layer on top to see what the wind does along your stretch of coast.
On a cliff coast, a forecast that builds through the afternoon means getting off the water before it does, and that depends on knowing where you can land. On a big lake, a no-go day isn't a failure. It's what the spare day is for. And on Superior the water stays cold all summer, so dress for a swim every day, not just in May.
Book the campsites early
Much of the best Great Lakes coast is inside a national or provincial park, and backcountry camping there needs a permit or reservation. Popular sites go early in the season, so book when you set the dates, not when you pack.
What a week on the coast looks like
Long days, short landings, caves you'd never see from a trail, and a lot of skill practice that doesn't feel like practice.
Find your trip
Five Great Lakes trips we run with coaches, from island-hopping to remote open coast. Tell it what you've got and what you want, and the trips that fit stay lit up.
Go with coaches, and make it count
Every instructional expedition works two ways. Come for the trip: expert coaching, a remarkable coastline, nothing to pass. Or add the matching online module and the expedition becomes the field component of an ORCKA Kayak Tripping certification. Tour now and certify later works too: the kilometres and nights you log still count.
Check yourself
Put a date on it.
Bucket-list trips happen when there's a date on the calendar and people expecting you. Our instructional expeditions travel as a small pod with coaches at 1:4 or better, with meals and permits sorted, so you can spend the week paddling and learning instead of organizing.
Related: A 20-minute practice circuit for after Level 2 · Aiming off for wind
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