 | Paddling Minnesota by Greg Breining
Buy new: $14.95 / Used from: $6.59 This is the officially recognized book from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Some of the material is sketchy, but after a while it won't bother you. You go and things work out just fine.
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 | Paddling Southern Minnesota (Trails Books Guides) by Lynne and Robert Diebel
Buy new: $15.56 / Used from: $10.00 The Diebels have a good series of books with reasonably good maps and solid advice. They cover pretty much everything that is canoe or kayak-able in the books. I know a lot of people criticize the maps as undetailed, but there's enough on the maps to keep you out of trouble (all of the low-head dams are marked for example) and navigating along nicely. The details you get to find for yourself.
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 | Paddling Northern Minnesota: 86 Great Trips By Canoe And Kayak (A Trails Books Guide) by Lynne Smith Diebel
Buy new: $15.56 / Used from: $12.50 A little bit on the Boundary Waters, and a couple of excellent sea kayaking trips on Lake Superior. See below for more.
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 | Minnesota Atlas and Gazetteer by Delorme
Buy new: $13.57 / Used from: $9.90 The Gazetteers are never completely current, but they're the best resource for trails, roads, paths, and streams outside of towns.
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 | Canoeing The Driftless: A Paddlers Guide for Southeastern Minnesota by David Lind
Buy new: $17.50 / Used from: $19.32 I found this book to be redundant with others here, but your mileage may vary.
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 | The Wild Woods Guide: From Minnesota to Maine, the Nature and Lore of the Great North Woods by Doug Bennet
Buy used from: $5.99 This is fun book on the whole of the north woods.
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 | The Voyageur's Highway: Minnesota's Border Lake Land by Grace Lee Nute
Buy new: $12.95 / Used from: $2.70 There are a ton of Voyageur and Boundary Waters books. I like this one myself, and the James Churchill below, but really, the quality of the books are generally high and other ones are just as usable. Boundary Waters is a major undertaking, the first time you go, and then it becomes second nature.
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 | Paddling the Boundary Waters and Voyageurs National Park (Regional Paddling Series) by James Churchill
Buy new: $11.53 / Used from: $6.74 The basic book.
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 | Paddling Southern Wisconsin: 83 Great Trips by Canoe And Kayak by Mike Svob
Buy used from: $59.50 I swear, I wasn't neglecting Wisconsin! The Mike Svob books have a lot of different editions and some of them are weirdly priced. They're good books, see the Minnesota variety above, but once again do not hit every detail. Which is fine, since they cover the safety issues and the major points. You want some modicum of adventure in there don't you?
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 | Paddling Northern Wisconsin: 85 Great Trips by Canoe and Kayak (Trails Book Guide) by Mike Svob
Buy used from: $59.99 Northern Wisconsin.
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 | Paddling Southern Wisconsin : 82 Great Trips By Canoe & Kayak (Trails Books Guide) by Mike Svob
Buy used from: $79.56 Cheaper!
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 | Paddling Southern Wisconsin: 82 Great Trips by Canoe and Kayak, Revised 2nd Edition (Trails Books Guide) by Mike Svob
More expensive! (In Minnesota, all of these paddling books can be gotten on loan from your library via interlibrary loan.)
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 | Paddling Illinois: 64 Great Trips by Canoe and Kayak (Trails Books Guide) by Mike Svob
Buy new: $18.95 / Used from: $9.74 Svob's legendary Illinois paddling book. I haven't been on many of these.
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 | Wisconsin Atlas and Gazetteer
Buy new: $13.57 / Used from: $8.79 Wisconsin off the beaten path. Well, the beaten paths themselves.
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 | Paddling and Hiking the Georgian Bay Coast by Kas Stone
Buy new: $22.76 / Used from: $16.61 Ontario isn't that far away, and these are amazing trips around the "6th great lake" Lake Huron's Georgian Bay.
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 | Tales of the Great Lakes: Stories from Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin
Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $0.38 Some interesting stories, some filler.
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 | Exploring the Boundary Waters: A Trip Planner and Guide to the BWCAW by Daniel Pauly
Buy new: $15.61 / Used from: $13.61 Boundary Waters. Pauly's book the basic, usual introduction to the BWCAW. Overall the books I've looked at for Voyageur and Boundary Wters are quite good. Hard to go wrong.
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 | Boundary Waters Canoe Area Western Region by Robert Beymer
Buy new: $12.21 / Used from: $10.00 I like this pair of books.
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 | Boundary Waters Canoe Area Eastern Region by Robert Beymer
Buy new: $12.21 / Used from: $10.00 |
 | Boundary Waters Canoe Camping, 2nd Edition by Cliff Jacobson
Buy new: $11.21 / Used from: $4.26 Perhaps a little bit basic, but a good book. Much in tune with the Ely outfitters.
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 | Canoe Country Wildlife: A Field Guide to the North Woods and Boundary Waters by Mark Stensaas
Buy new: $12.71 / Used from: $14.85 I really like this little book. Quite well focused on the wildlife, and plantlife, of the river banks and surrounding forests. My daughters like this book a lot. (Ten years old.)
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 | Trout Streams of Wisconsin and Minnesota: An Angler's Guide to More Than 120 Rivers and Streams, Second Edition by Jim Humphrey
Buy new: $13.57 / Used from: $11.40 I'm not much of a fisher/angler, but this is a well-respected book. If you're interested in fishing the rivers we're talking about paddling, this is our book.
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 | Wild Shore: Exploring Lake Superior by Kayak by Greg Breining
Buy new: $18.95 / Used from: $9.49 Sea keyaking Lake Superior. Very different from the rivers and lakes.
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 | The Complete Sea Kayaker's Handbook by Shelley Johnson
Buy new: $12.89 / Used from: $6.59 A couple of sea kayaking basics books...
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 | Sea Kayaking: A Manual for Long-Distance Touring by John Dowd
Buy new: $12.89 / Used from: $8.00 |
 | Lake Superior Rock Picker's Guide by Kevin Gauthier
Buy new: $10.76 / Used from: $7.78 More fun on Lake Superior!
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 | Sevylor Inflatable Tahiti Hf Kayak
I happen to be a fan of the Sebylor inflatable kayaks. They pack nicely into the truck of a car, inflate quickly, and can take you on all of the non-whitewater described in the books above. Yes, the Boundary Water week-long excursions work better with a canoe, and a dedicated sea kayak is superior for Superior, but these work well. At a low cost.
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