Good route planning is one complement of a successful paddling trip.The elements to consider are:

Scenery: waterfalls, lakes with high cliffs, and vegetation. Good scenery can help make a trip memorable.

Fishing Prospects: Know what the fishing regulations are wherever you are planning to take your trip. If you fish for recreation only, it is recommended that you use hooks without barbs. A word of warning: never depend on catching fish to provide for your meals - weather and luck may foil those plans.

Solitude: The easier routes will be more popular. Popular routes will have more congestion on the portages and there will be more competition for campsites and, besides, are you not seeking the wilderness? Some trailheads are much more popular to start from than others are and all are quieter on weekdays.

Route Difficulty: Consider the number of portages, their condition and length and match those routes with your ambition and ability. Routes with long, steep or swampy portages will be less popular and, of course, more difficult to do. Therefore, consult a topographic map to evaluate how hilly the portages are and, sometimes more important, how swampy they are. Routes with many small lakes will have more portages and will take much longer to travel, so allow more time for these routes. Conversely, you will travel faster on routes with large lakes. As a rule about one-fourth of the distance traveled on an average trip will be on land. Note that routes with large lakes could cause you to become wind-bound. The solutions to this problem: a) try to finish paddling large lakes near their ends so if the next day is stormy you may make a quick exit, or b) early morning paddles are usually less windy than midday travels so paddle large lakes early in the day, or c) paddle large lakes during moonlit nights being mindful that navigation is difficult in this low light.

Time Allowed For The Trip: Do not attempt being too ambitious with the number of miles you can cover given the time allotted for your trip. In general (depending on the paddlers’ strengths and the prevailing wind direction [trips going west to east often are faster]) you can travel roughly three miles per hour on the water and from less than one to as much as three miles per hour on land, depending on: a) whether you take the portages in one trip at a trot or two trips leisurely and b) the length, steepness and water on the portages. You will travel slower on long portages because of the greater need for rests. Thus calculate water miles and land miles on a prospective route to decide if sufficient time is available for that route selection. In general you may roughly calculate a rate of two miles per hour including portages and lunch stop on routes with large lakes with few portages or a little over a mile an hour for routes with many portages.

Check with the US Forest Service or a local outfitter before leaving for the trailhead to learn of any potential problems you may encounter on your route. Plan for a layover day on any trip to allow for a welcomed rest or for catch-up time for any wind-bound or other problem-plagued days. It is a good idea that the first days be easier to condition the muscles. Another hint: try to fit the longest portages of the trip towards the end of the journey when the food pack is lighter and muscles are better conditioned.

Cost: Of course the cost of a paddling trip on many variables such as how deluxe you outfit, the length of your trip, where you are planning to go, where it is cheaper, or whether you outfit yourself or go through an outfitter. For beginners it is highly recommended that they seek the services of an outfitter.

As a rough calculator, a five-day trip through an outfitter will be about $325 per adult at the cheapest rate. Note that outfitters will offer discounts up to 50% for non-profit groups. It is recommended that trip leaders get non-refundable deposits from participants to help lock-in your group list.