Suggestions for multisport camping trip: Kayaking, Climbing, Camping

In addition to climbing, my family loves kayaking. For a while now, I've had this itch to do a multisport trip where we pick a river that has climbing along it at some point, and do a combined paddling/camping/climbing trip.

Our first effort will likely only be one or 2 nights, so that we can ease into the idea (we're not ready to go all-in on a week-long paddling trip).

I'm looking for ideas on where we might be able to make this idea a reality. So far, I've come up with: 

• The St. Croix River (norther section of the border between WI and MN). It has multiple options for established primitive campsites, and Taylors Falls has climbing right on the river. (Unfortunately, the portage for the dam at Taylors Falls is a mile through town, so if we do this one, TF would likely be our starting point. A mile is a long slog with loaded boats.)
• The Big River in Missouri. This one just popped up on my radar yesterday with the announcement of the upcoming opening of Robinson Bluff in Missouri, which appears to be right on the Big River. Not sure if there are primitive camping options here, but there are some state parks both up- and downstream of the bluff, so we may be able to figure something out. (I'm also wondering if we can speak to the Robinson Bluff owners about camping there.)

What other rivers offer paddling, climbing, and camping? I haven't found the right search string to get good info out of google. We're not looking for strenuous whitewater (we'll be paddling in recreational kayaks loaded with camping and climbing gear). Any ideas are appreciated!

The Adirondacks have paddling/camping/climbing all in one place. I'm assuming you'll be doing this sometime warmer than now?

David Kerkeslager wrote:

The Adirondacks have paddling/camping/climbing all in one place. I'm assuming you'll be doing this sometime warmer than now?

Yes. I wanted to do it last year, but ran out of free weekends before I could firm anything up. I'm trying to get a jump-start on the planning this year, so that it doesn't fall through the cracks again.

The Adirondacks is a long haul for us to drive (if we wanted to bring our own boats). Are there kayak rental options in the area as well, if we were to fly in?

Andrew Krajnik wrote:

Yes. I wanted to do it last year, but ran out of free weekends before I could firm anything up. I'm trying to get a jump-start on the planning this year, so that it doesn't fall through the cracks again.

The Adirondacks is a long haul for us to drive (if we wanted to bring our own boats). Are there kayak rental options in the area as well, if we were to fly in?

Yes. I can't recommend one because I've only ever hiked/climbed there, never boated, but I seem to remember driving past a few boat rental places.

New River Gorge/Summersville Lake in WV for climbing, trad, sport and DWS. Then you have close access to the New River and the Gauley for white water. Lots of outdoors adventure type activities down around the New River. Plenty of camping options. Though after checking your location it's about 9 hours drive for you. 

Colorado River (anywhere along it - Grand Canyon), Virgin River, UT,  Jasper, Alberta (Maligne River), Leavenworth WA, Thunder Bay Ontario.  

Since you are in Illinois I'll recommend devils lake for climbing and the Wisconsin River for paddling. They are right next to each other and the Wisconsin is great for overnight or weekend flatwater camping trips.

Edit: I just re-read your post and realized you want to climb from the boats. My idea won't work for that.

Barry M wrote:

New River Gorge/Summersville Lake in WV for climbing, trad, sport and DWS. Then you have close access to the New River and the Gauley for white water. Lots of outdoors adventure type activities down around the New River. Plenty of camping options. Though after checking your location it's about 9 hours drive for you. 

So, I have to admit that the New didn't even cross my mind. It's on my general "to-do" list of climbing destinations, but I've heard it's better if you're climbing 11's and above. We're not there yet, so I've never looked into it further. However, it looks like there are plenty of moderates there for a single day, if we're passing through in our kayaks. Thanks for the suggestion. (And the 9-hour drive isn't terrible. We've driven much farther for vacations, so if the rest of the details align, it could be manageable.)

Chris Small wrote:

Colorado River (anywhere along it - Grand Canyon), Virgin River, UT,  Jasper, Alberta (Maligne River), Leavenworth WA, Thunder Bay Ontario.  

Wow, there's some really enticing stuff here. There are actually multiple launch points along the Virgin River in Zion NP. I'm not at all familiar with the area, never having been there. Is the river pretty tame, or are there a bunch of rapids?

Justin Meyer wrote:

Since you are in Illinois I'll recommend devils lake for climbing and the Wisconsin River for paddling. They are right next to each other and the Wisconsin is great for overnight or weekend flatwater camping trips.

Edit: I just re-read your post and realized you want to climb from the boats. My idea won't work for that.

Yeah, Devil's Lake is our default weekend climbing destination. We typically leave the boats at home when we climb there, though. We prefer river paddling to tooling around on the lake.

Andrew Krajnik wrote:

Wow, there's some really enticing stuff here. There are actually multiple launch points along the Virgin River in Zion NP. I'm not at all familiar with the area, never having been there. Is the river pretty tame, or are there a bunch of rapids?

Some Virgin river info https://paddling.com/paddle/trips/zion-national-park---virgin-river-utah/?lat=37.2432&lng=-112.9668&zoom=12. Snowfall levels have been extremely low in Utah this year. I was visiting there in early January and it was snow free up to 9000 ft in Bryce Canyon NP. Zion had zero snow so may be a very low flow year. Some other possible destinations here in Canada could include Squamish- Whistler - Pemberton, BC. (Squamish, Elaho, Ashlu, Mamquam, Stawamus, Chekamus, Cheekeye, Rivers in Squamish, Chekamus, Callahan creek, Green and Soo rivers in Whistler/Pemberton). The Buckley/Skeena River system between Smithers to Prince Rupert, BC. Some of these are pretty hard core whitewater (Squamish River is pretty chill) and/or wilderness though. The Paddling in Leavenworth, WA looked extremely nice and the climbing is pretty nice as well. 

I too have dreams of such a trip.  How about something international?...nymbodia gorge in eastern Australia.  River looks like a fun class 3 and the climbing right off the river and adventurous.  Not sure about leavonworth..where are the walls off the river and one that's not class 5?

Chris Small wrote:

Some Virgin river info https://paddling.com/paddle/trips/zion-national-park---virgin-river-utah/?lat=37.2432&lng=-112.9668&zoom=12. Snowfall levels have been extremely low in Utah this year. I was visiting there in early January and it was snow free up to 9000 ft in Bryce Canyon NP. Zion had zero snow so may be a very low flow year. Some other possible destinations here in Canada could include Squamish- Whistler - Pemberton, BC. (Squamish, Elaho, Ashlu, Mamquam, Stawamus, Chekamus, Cheekeye, Rivers in Squamish, Chekamus, Callahan creek, Green and Soo rivers in Whistler/Pemberton). The Buckley/Skeena River system between Smithers to Prince Rupert, BC. Some of these are pretty hard core whitewater (Squamish River is pretty chill) and/or wilderness though. The Paddling in Leavenworth, WA looked extremely nice and the climbing is pretty nice as well. 

   

Good info, thanks. With no snow, the Virgin will likely be out, then, from the sounds of it. Given the paddling skills of some of the potential participants, Class III might be a bit much to tackle as well. That said, it's now definitely on my list for future trip ideas!

I'll look into the others you mentioned as well.

rockhard wrote:

I too have dreams of such a trip.  How about something international?...nymbodia gorge in eastern Australia.  River looks like a fun class 3 and the climbing right off the river and adventurous.  Not sure about leavonworth..where are the walls off the river and one that's not class 5?

Man, I'd love to get back to Australia, but that isn't likely to happen soon... Our sons haven't been there yet, so if we go, it'll be a long trip, and will be a big undertaking. (Both financially and logistically.)

There's a couple of good options in Tennessee although they may be more than you want from a whitewater perspective but I'll throw them out there.

First, Big South Fork from Leatherwood Ford to Station Camp or Blue Heron.  About 25 miles of paddling with mostly class II or less water with 2 class III-IV rapids.  There's cliffs all along with various amounts of development.  Also climbing at the take out a Blue Heron.  If you want harder whitewater starting at Burnt Mill or the Confluence adds the main BSF canyon and lots of climbing opportunities.

Second, the Obed Canyon starting on either Daddy's Creek or the Obed.  There's great camping on a beach shortly above the clear creek confluence with a short trail up to Tierrany.  This is harder whitewater with a fair amount of class III and one class IV rapid.

There's also other easier whitewater options in TN if you're looking to paddle near good climbing, but not climb from an on river campsite.  Look into the Clear Fork or White Oak Creek or upper sections of Clear Creek.

This sport combination is definitely one of my favorites.  Hoping to be able to link Linville Gorge climbing plus paddling soon.  Maybe someday I'll be a strong enough climber to link Black Canyon or Clark's Fork Box in this way.  The ultimate would be Middle Kings plus Tehipite Dome or Devil's Postpile plus Balloon Dome.

jimjanney wrote:

There's a couple of good options in Tennessee although they may be more than you want from a whitewater perspective but I'll throw them out there.

First, Big South Fork from Leatherwood Ford to Station Camp or Blue Heron.  About 25 miles of paddling with mostly class II or less water with 2 class III-IV rapids.  There's cliffs all along with various amounts of development.  Also climbing at the take out a Blue Heron.  If you want harder whitewater starting at Burnt Mill or the Confluence adds the main BSF canyon and lots of climbing opportunities.

Second, the Obed Canyon starting on either Daddy's Creek or the Obed.  There's great camping on a beach shortly above the clear creek confluence with a short trail up to Tierrany.  This is harder whitewater with a fair amount of class III and one class IV rapid.

There's also other easier whitewater options in TN if you're looking to paddle near good climbing, but not climb from an on river campsite.  Look into the Clear Fork or White Oak Creek or upper sections of Clear Creek.

This sport combination is definitely one of my favorites.  Hoping to be able to link Linville Gorge climbing plus paddling soon.  Maybe someday I'll be a strong enough climber to link Black Canyon or Clark's Fork Box in this way.  The ultimate would be Middle Kings plus Tehipite Dome or Devil's Postpile plus Balloon Dome.

Yeah, we're definitely looking to keep this class 2 or lower. I've done some class 3 in loaded canoes a couple of times, and my wife did a rafting trip when she was in high school, but that's it; we're far from experienced whitewater paddlers. Couple that with the fact that we'll likely be bringing our 8-year-old sons (who have only done short sections of class 2), and I'm really looking to take it easy on the paddling for this first trip.

That being said, Big South Fork definitely looks like a good potential option for a future trip. Thanks for the suggestions!

Labyrinth Canyon on the Green River And Ruby/Horsethief on the Colorado are class I or II 2-3 day trips with climbing along the river.  The climbing starts at desert 5.10 for the most part, but you won't find more spectacular flat water climbing trips.

Not much of a river but have you considered deep water soloing at Lake Powell? You can forget the gear, grab a boat and find some really neat hidden beaches throughout the isolated canyon. 

Paddle the saco, climb n.conway, cant quite climb  from  the boats, but could do both  in one trip. Boat rentals available and easy climbing also

Ontario, Canada, Lion's Head, Bruce peninsula.

Big River is defintiely a good destination for this. It goes right through both St. Francis State Park and Washington State Park which have climbing and camping, as well as Robinson Bluff, which is located between the two. There is definitely adequate camping at Robinson Bluff, I've spent a few weekends there myself!