Maine is canoe country, and it has the pedigree to prove it. Old Town Canoe has built boats in Old Town, Maine, since 1898, and the brand is still headquartered there today. The waterways match the heritage. The Allagash Wilderness Waterway, the Moose River Bow Trip, the Maine stretch of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, and the St. Croix are the kind of long, linked lakes and slow rivers a canoe was made for. If there is one boat where buying the local brand is also buying the right tool, this is it.
The boat is the big decision, but the gear around it is what makes a trip work or wear you out. Here is the short answer. For a tough do-everything canoe, the Old Town Discovery is the easy call and it is built in Maine. For the paddle, a wood beavertail blade like the Bending Branches is quiet and comfortable for hours of lake cruising. And if you are tripping with portages, a Granite Gear portage pack carries the load low in the boat and up the carries on your back.
| Gear | Price | Best For | Key Spec | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Town Discovery 119 | Premium | Tough solo canoe | 49 lb, 500 lb cap | Polyethylene canoe |
| Bending Branches Beavertail | Mid-range | Quiet lake paddle | Basswood, 22 oz | Wood paddle |
| Carlisle Beavertail | Budget | Budget or spare paddle | Wood, 54-63 in | Wood paddle |
| Granite Gear Traditional | Premium | Portaging gear | 57 L, 210D Cordura | Portage pack |
| Therm-a-Rest Trekker Chair | Mid-range | Backrest for the boat | Uses your own pad | Pad chair kit |
| Airhead Grapnel Anchor | Budget | Anchoring to fish | 3.5 lb, 25 ft rope | Folding anchor |
Why Buy an Old Town Canoe in Maine?
Because the boat that defined the type is still made an hour north of Bangor. Old Town started building canvas-covered wooden canoes in Old Town, Maine, in 1898, was the biggest canoe maker in the world for decades, and moved to fiberglass and then tough molded polyethylene as the materials changed. The company is part of Johnson Outdoors now, but the boats are still built in the same town that gave them the name.
The Discovery 119 is the practical pick for one person. It is a short solo boat at 11 feet 9 inches and 49 pounds, light enough to throw on a roof rack and carry to the water alone, with a three-layer polyethylene hull that you can drag over gravel and bump off a ledge without flinching. The 500-pound capacity handles a paddler plus a weekend of gear, and the hull carries a lifetime warranty.
If you want a budget boat for a pond or a calm cove and do not care about brand heritage, a basic recreational canoe from a maker like Lifetime will float and is cheaper. But for a Maine boat that will take a beating on rocky shallow rivers and last for years, the locally built Old Town is the one we point people to first.
A tough, do-everything solo canoe for Maine lakes and slow rivers
What Paddle Should You Use for Maine Canoe Tripping?
For the long, flat lake miles that make up most Maine canoe routes, a wood beavertail blade is hard to beat.
Bending Branches Beavertail - Best Lake Paddle
The beavertail shape is a long, narrow blade, and it is the classic for deepwater lake paddling because it enters the water quietly and pulls smoothly without slapping or fluttering. The Bending Branches version has a solid basswood shaft and a blade of basswood and red alder, weighs 22 ounces, and uses a freestyle palm grip that is comfortable to hold for hours. The blade tip has a Rockguard projection and is sealed with fiberglass, so it survives the gravel pushes and ledge prys a real trip demands. Bending Branches builds these in Osceola, Wisconsin.
A wood paddle asks for a little care. Re-oil or re-varnish it now and then to keep the wood sealed, and it is heavier than a carbon blade on a long day. The payoff is a paddle that feels alive in the water and is quiet enough not to spook a moose feeding in the shallows.
A quiet, comfortable lake and flatwater paddle
Carlisle Beavertail - Best Budget Paddle and Spare
You always want a spare paddle in the canoe, because a lost paddle a day’s paddle from the takeout is a real problem. The Carlisle Beavertail is a solid wood paddle at a budget price, smooth and quiet in the water without the eddies a stiff plastic blade kicks up, and it comes in 54, 57, 60, and 63 inch lengths so you can size it to the paddler. The finish is basic varnish rather than a refined premium job, but it paddles well and it is cheap enough to lash in as a backup without a second thought.
Treat it like any wood paddle: dry it out after a trip and store it out of the weather so it does not crack. As a first paddle or a spare, it does the job.
A budget wood paddle or a spare to keep in the canoe
How Do You Carry Gear on a Canoe Trip with Portages?
This is where the trip is won or lost, because Maine canoe routes link their lakes with carries, and how you pack determines how many trips you make across each one.
Granite Gear Traditional #3.5 - Best Portage Pack
A portage pack is a tall, wide, flat soft pack built to drop low into the bottom of a canoe for stability and then ride on your back across the carry. The Granite Gear Traditional refines the old Duluth pack design with a real harness. The #3.5 holds 57 liters in a 210-denier Cordura body, with a padded shoulder harness and hip belt to carry the load, compression straps to cinch it down, and a drawcord overflow collar for the days you overstuff it.
The point of a wide flat pack is that it sits low and does not make the canoe tippy the way a tall framed backpack would, and one or two of these hold a tripping load better than a pile of loose bags. Pack the heavy items low and centered. It is a frameless pack, so careful loading is what makes it ride well, and it is more bag than a single overnight needs. For a real trip on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, it earns its place.
Hauling and portaging gear on a canoe trip
Seats, Anchors, and the Small Stuff
Therm-a-Rest Trekker Chair Kit - Best Backrest
Sitting low in a canoe all day is hard on your back, and a backrest changes how a long day feels. The Trekker Chair Kit is a sleeve that turns a sleeping pad into a chair with a backrest. There is no hard frame, so it stows flat and weighs almost nothing, and you slip your own sleeping pad inside it to give it shape. In the boat it props you up off the hull, and at camp it becomes a chair at the fire. You supply the pad, and it gives less support than a rigid-frame seat, but for a packable backrest that does double duty it is the smart pick.
A packable backrest for the canoe and for camp
Airhead Complete Grapnel Anchor - Best for Fishing
If you fish from the canoe, an anchor holds you over a drop-off or a weed edge instead of drifting off it. The Airhead grapnel is a 3.5-pound four-fluke folding anchor that holds in mud, sand, gravel, and rock, and it folds flat into a padded nylon case that slides under a seat. The kit includes 25 feet of rope, a marker buoy, and a snap hook. The 25 feet is short for deep lakes, where you want more scope to set the anchor at an angle, so add a length of rope if you fish deep water. You would not anchor on a moving river anyway, so for lake and pond fishing this covers it. Pair it with the rest of the kit in our fishing gear guide.
Holding a canoe still for fishing on lakes and ponds
Run a painter line, a length of floating rope, off the bow and stern of your canoe. It is how you line the boat through shallow rapids by hand, tie off at a campsite, and grab the canoe if it gets away from you. Eight to ten feet on each end is plenty, and a painter is the most useful piece of cheap gear you can add to a tripping canoe.
Kneel, do not just sit, when the water gets rough or the wind comes up on a big Maine lake. Dropping to your knees and bracing against the seat lowers your center of gravity and gives you far more control than perching up on the seat. A folded foam kneeling pad on the hull saves your knees, and it is the position that keeps you upright when a lake kicks up whitecaps in the afternoon.
Do You Need a Life Jacket in a Canoe in Maine?
Yes. Maine law requires a wearable life jacket on board for every person in a canoe, and children under ten must wear one at all times the boat is underway. Cold water makes it more than a legal box to check. Maine lakes and rivers stay cold well into the summer, and a capsize in cold water can sap your strength fast, so the standard advice is to wear the PFD, not stow it under a thwart. Our PFD guide covers the paddling-cut vests that are comfortable enough that you actually keep them on, and a dry bag keeps your sleeping bag and dry clothes safe if the boat does go over.
Most canoe drownings happen to people who were not wearing a life jacket and capsized in cold water. A PFD stowed under the seat does nothing when you are suddenly in the water. Wear it, dress for the water temperature rather than the air, and treat an unexpected swim in a cold Maine lake or river as the serious thing it is.
What to Bring
- A canoe sized to the trip, with the heavy gear packed low and centered
- A primary paddle plus a spare lashed in the boat
- A wearable PFD for every paddler, worn underway
- A portage pack or two for tripping gear, packed low for stability
- Painter lines off bow and stern for lining and tying off
- A dry bag for the sleeping bag and dry clothes
- A foam kneeling pad for rough water and a backrest for long days
- A bailer or sponge, and an anchor if you plan to fish
Are Old Town canoes really made in Maine?
Yes. Old Town Canoe has built boats in Old Town, Maine, since 1898 and is still headquartered there today as part of Johnson Outdoors. The company started with canvas-covered wooden canoes, was once the largest canoe maker in the world, and now builds tough molded polyethylene boats like the Discovery line in the same town.
What is the best canoe for a Maine wilderness trip?
It depends on the trip and the crew. For one person on lakes and slow rivers, the Old Town Discovery 119 is a tough, affordable, locally built solo boat. For a longer Allagash or Northern Forest Canoe Trail trip with two people and a week of gear, you want a longer two-person tripping canoe that tracks straighter and carries more, but the same polyethylene durability matters on Maine's rocky, shallow rivers.
What kind of paddle is best for canoe tripping?
For the long flatwater lake miles that make up most Maine routes, a wood beavertail blade like the Bending Branches is quiet and comfortable for hours. Carry a spare paddle too, since losing one a day from the takeout is a real problem. A cheaper wood paddle like the Carlisle makes a good backup to lash in the boat.
How do you carry gear over portages on a canoe trip?
Use a portage pack, which is a tall, wide, flat soft pack that drops low into the canoe for stability and rides on your back across the carry. A pack like the Granite Gear Traditional holds a tripping load better and more stably than a pile of loose bags. Pack the heavy items low and centered, and aim to clear each portage in as few trips as you can.
Do I need an anchor for canoe fishing?
Only if you fish on lakes and ponds, where an anchor holds you over a drop-off or weed edge instead of drifting off it. A folding grapnel anchor like the Airhead packs small and holds in most bottoms. You would not anchor on a moving river. For deep lakes, add rope to the 25-foot line that comes with most kits so you have enough scope to set the anchor.
