The Wilderness Canoe Association

Sharing the Wilderness Experience since 1973

Welcome to the home of the Wilderness Canoe Association. The WCA is a non-profit community of outdoors individuals and families with a passion for canoeing and wilderness canoe travel.

The Wilderness Canoe Association is where you will find friends with whom to share your passion for the outdoors. With first-class paddling adventure stories to enjoy in our quarterly journal, “Nastawgan”, dozens of trips to participate in every year, and hundreds of experienced members to help you take your skills to the next level, you’ll be living your paddling dreams in no time.

We have around 500 members in the club, made up mostly of Canadians (from 9 provinces and 2 territories), about 80 from USA (from ~30 states), about 10 from Europe and one member as far away as New Zealand.

We invite you to have a look at the list of club trips and events that members can participate in on our Outings Page, as well as our Calendar of Events, and Nastawgan back-issues.

If you share our love for wild places and the canoe as a means of exploring them, then we invite you to join us.

Fall Gathering Every September, we get together for an active weekend at a venue in southern or central Ontario. It’s a celebration of the past paddling season where we reconnect with old friends, swap tales of our latest adventures, do some local paddling and hiking, enjoy presentations of member’s summer trips, and learn at skill-building educational workshops. The 2023 Fall Gathering was at the Minden Wild Water Preserve; which has world-class whitewater paddling on a Pan-Am course, outstanding flatwater options in Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park, and Haliburton Highlands Water Trails. See our YouTube channel video of the Sept 22-24, 2023 outing. Check our Calendar of Events for next Fall Gathering
Canoe Trips and Other Outings Flatwater and whitewater canoe trips and other outings are organized by members for members, including day trips to local rivers, multi-day canoeing & camping, and wilderness expeditions. They represent one of our core values. Love to paddle but need company? Not sure about going down that river by yourself? Never been wilderness camping? You've come to the right place! Experienced members will help you fit right in. You can view the list of scheduled trips on the Outings Page. Outing participants must: Follow club guidelines. Sign an event Release of Liability and Waiver of Claims.
Nastawgan: The Journal of the WCA Members share their experiences from canoe trips or extended expeditions by publishing their stories in the renowned journal of the WCA, the best canoeing journal worldwide! Learn more about Nastawgan by viewing the Journal page. Also, see the provided sample article. Membership in the WCA grants you access to the online journals. Click here to download the latest issue. Note; Non-members are granted access to older issues only.
Canadian Canoe Routes — “MyCCR” The Wilderness Canoe Association owns, finances, and operates the website “MyCCR”, a free publicly accessible website that is one of the largest single repositories of information on everything related to canoe tripping in Canada. Here you will find extensive, detailed descriptions of canoe routes, gear, trip planning, discussion forums, and so much more. The WCA has been pleased to make this site available to all as our contribution to the canoe tripping community. Check out the website at: www.myccr.com
Mentorship and Education Outdoor education for our members is another core value: paddling and camping skills workshops, whitewater clinics, river safety & rescue, and wilderness first aid all enhance safety, competence, and enjoyment. Younger members enjoy opportunities to learn new skills and their experiences of many wilderness trips from our seasoned members.
Virtual Trip Presentations and Educational Workshops The WCA hosts a regular program of on-line virtual meetings via Zoom hosting. These feature presentations of major trips all over Canada with detailed technical information about the route. Learn more about the trips you have been dreaming about and chat with those who have done the trip. We also include educational workshops on such topics as route planning, food, and cooking ideas, navigation, and trip logistics. These virtual events allow members from all over North America and beyond to come together, learn and socialize. Wherever you live, you can participate in the WCA community.
The Mike Wevrick Lecture and Wine & Cheese Social Every November the WCA organizes a social event in the Toronto area. An end of season celebration and renewing of acquaintances topped off with a great presentation by a guest speaker. In 2022, we also televised the event live via Zoom to allow our out of town members to join in. This annual event is held in memory of friend to the WCA; Mike Wevrick. Click here for more information.
Annual General Meeting The 2023 Annual General Meeting was held on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 at 7 PM over Zoom. This virtual meeting format is actually beneficial in a way because it opens the meeting up to WCA members outside the general Toronto area. See you next year.

The Wilderness and Canoe Symposium

The Wilderness Canoe Association is a proud founding and continuing supporter of the Wilderness and Canoeing Symposium which each winter brings together a roster of experienced wilderness travellers to provide presentations on various wild rivers and areas across Canada.

The first "Wilderness & Canoeing Symposium" took place in 1986. It was a small gathering of kindred spirits who came together to view each other's trip presentations in the Toronto living room of George Luste, one of Canada’s wilderness expedition canoeing icons. Due to the event’s popularity, it was subsequently moved to more spacious locations, and it has been a highlight of wilderness paddlers’ calendars for over three decades now.

Since the pandemic, the Symposium has moved to a virtual environment, streaming the event live on Zoom, making this outstanding experience accessible to canoeists everywhere.

For the most current information about the dates, times, and program of the Symposium; Please visit the website:

www.wcsymposium.com

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