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From: Michael Daly <michaeldaly_at_home.com> subject: [Paddlewise] Two books on Sea Kayaking the Great Lakes Date: Thu, 02 Dec 1999 23:06:07 -0500 · This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:06 PDT

I just did this for my kayak club newsletter and figured some
of you would be interested.  Note the second book includes
a Paddlewiser author!

Mike

Guide to Sea Kayaking Lakes Huron, Erie & Ontario,  Sarah Ohmann and Bill 
Newman, The Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, Conn.  ISBN 0-7627-0417-9

Guide to Sea Kayaking On Lakes Superior & Michigan, Bill Newman, Sarah Ohmann 
and Don Dimond,  The Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, Conn.  ISBN 0-7627-0416-0

These two books are part of a larger set of regional guides on sea kayaking 
published by The Globe Pequot Press.   I purchased the first since it covers the 
areas I kayak in the most (one trip described is only a few minutes from my 
house).  I was impressed enough by the first to go out and buy the second, 
especially now that some friends and I are planning a trip to Lake Superior and 
to Saguenay next summer.  It should be noted that the eastern Great Lakes book 
includes sections of the St. Laurence River, including the Thousand Islands and 
Saguenay regions!  

These books are quite similar; not surprising since they are by the same authors 
and in the same series.  Most of the comments to be made about one apply equally 
to the other.

They are divided into logical sections, by lake and section of the lake.  Some 
of the divisions are based on national boundaries, others on named areas, such 
as Georgian Bay.  Each section is prefaced by some comments specific to the area 
to be described.  These are useful and brief, covering the geography, geology 
and perhaps some history.  As well, practical information about camping practices
in the region, laws and advice about weather, busy seasons and so on is offered.  

Within each section, several trips are described.  These follow a common format,  
starting with a few paragraphs providing a general introduction to the trip, 
then the trip highlights, rating (beginner, intermediate etc), duration, 
navigational aids (charts, maps),  cautions, planning and launch sites.  This 
leads into the Directions section, which includes a map and descriptions of 
highlights and features on a mile by mile basis.  The trip description ends with 
a Where to Eat & Where to Stay section.  As well, many of the trips have side 
bars describing historical, geological or other features of the area in more 
detail. 

The books end with appendices that list kayak clubs in the region, outfitters, 
rental and instruction companies and other sources of general information.

Ok, let's get my dislikes out of the way.  These guides provide distance 
information in statute miles only.  Being the thoroughly metric Canadian that I 
am, I wish the distances were also in metric.  For the eastern Great Lakes book, 
the majority of trips are within Canada, so the metric topographical maps would 
be my first choice.  This would force me to do the math in my head and these old 
brain cells would rather an easy way out.

The maps provided in the book are simple and cannot be relied upon for 
navigation.  That is not an objection, by the way.  They do give you a general 
idea of the trip.  However, there are no indications, on the paddling paths 
superimposed on the maps, of the distance travelled along the route.  Since the 
Directions section offers information by distance along the way, it would be 
helpful if such distances were marked.  

The sidebars often provide fascinating tales and make reference to, say, an 
abandoned mine or historical site.  The maps, however, don't always show where 
these are with respect to the paddling route.  I suppose one could get them from 
local tourist sources or more detailed maps, but I'd prefer to see them 
included.

I did find some minor errors in the books, but nothing that would interfere with 
the successful planning or execution of a trip.  I hadn't highlighted any errors 
and can't remember one example as I write this - they're that minor.

So much for complaints.  Overall, these books are very good.   I've been on a 
number of the trips described, all but one before acquiring the books.  I used 
the book to do a day paddle in an area I'd been curious about and found that the 
kind and quality of the information was just about right.  I think that using 
the books just once improved my opinion of them!   It's nice to have had someone 
work out the details and let you in on the secrets so you can concentrate on the 
trip itself.

The sidebars make for interesting reading and often provide a reason for wanting 
to do, or at least dreaming about doing, the trip.  In fact, while reading the 
western Great Lakes book on the streetcar the other day, I went well past my 
stop before I looked up and realized where I was.  

While the Great Lakes provide more shore line than the east, west and gulf 
coasts of North America combined, only three sets of urban paddle routes are 
found in these books:  Toronto, Detroit/Windsor and Chicago.   I've done the 
Toronto and one of the Detroit/Windsor routes, so I can vouch for the value of 
including them here.  It's interesting, though, that so much wilderness and 
recreational shoreline exists in our Great Lakes.  

If you are a highly experienced paddler in the areas covered by these books, you 
may know more than the authors and can do without them.  For beginners, these 
would provide an excellent introduction to an area.  If you're planning a trip 
to one of these areas, I can think of no better starting point for planning than 
to acquire one of these books.   I'm glad I got them.

Michael Daly
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