Paddling and Camping Along America’s Scenic Rivers

These hallowed waterways are pure gold for paddling enthusiasts, and camping along them represents a wild, yet accessible, outdoor experience.

Campsites located along the St. Croix are available on a first-come basis to canoers and boaters. National Park Service

I awoke in my tent, the pre-dawn glow already coming through the screen and the sound of gurgling water a few steps away. I crawled out to place a pot of water on the previous night’s campfire embers to make coffee.

My companions soon joined me and we listened to the chorus of crickets and early birds while we stared out over the Namekagon River, where mists rose ghostlike against the dark forest to dissolve into the first rays of the sun. After breakfast, we broke camp, loaded up the canoes, and continued downstream.