ACA-Recommended Water Trails
Each summer since 2005, the American Canoe Association has selected twelve water trails from the U.S. and Canada as ACA-Recommended Water Trails. ACA-Recommended Water Trails meet a set of basic criteria and stand out as particular good destinations for paddlers. To be eligible, a trail must meet the following requirements:
- The trail must be a contiguous or semi-contiguous waterway or series of waterways that is open to recreational use by paddlers;
- The trail must have public access points for paddlers;
- The trail must be covered by a map, guide, signage or a web site that is of reasonable quality and detail and available to the public;
- Published or printed materials for the trail (e.g. guidebook, map, signs, website) must communicate low-impact ethics to trail users; and
- The trail must be supported and/or managed by one or more organizations.
In 2005 and 2006, the ACA designated the trails listed below as ACA-Recommended Water Trails. For a description of these trails and a list of contact information, you can follow the links below, or you can click here to download the list in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. (You can also view separate pages listing the trails selected in 2005 and 2006.)
- Apalachicola Paddling Trail System --Florida
- Bartram Canoe Trails -- Alabama
- Big Bend Saltwater Paddling Trail -- Florida
- Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Paddling Trails -- Maryland
- Cascadia Marine Trail -- Washington
- Conodoguinet Creek Water Trail -- Pennsylvania
- French Broad River Blueway -- Tennessee
- Hudson River Water Trail -- New York
- Janes Island Water Trail -- Maryland
- Lake Superior Water Trail -- Minnesota
- Lake Tahoe Water Trail -- California and Nevada
- Lower Mattaponi and Pamunkey Canoe Trail -- Virginia
- Maine Island Trail -- Maine
- Middle Allegheny River Water Trail -- Pennsylvania
- Milwaukee Urban Water Trail -- Wisconsin
- Muskingum River Water Trail -- Ohio
- Northern Forest Canoe Trail -- New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Quebec
- Ohio River Water Trail - Markland Pool Section -- Ohio and Kentucky
- Potomac River Water Trail -- West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia.
- West Virginia listing -- Upper Section
- Maryland listing -- Upper Section
- Maryland listing -- Lower Section
- Virginia listing -- Lower Section
- Schuylkill River Water Trail -- Eastern Pennsylvania.
- Susquehanna Water Trail -- New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. .
- Thousand Islands Water Trail -- Ontario, Canada
- Tilghman Island Water Trail -- Maryland
- Willamette River Water Trail -- Oregon















