by Michele Devlin
The adventure sport of sea kayaking has long been associated with open-water paddling in the ocean around remote areas such as Channel Islands National Park in Southern California, the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific, or the Galapagos in South America. However, in one of nature’s greatest ironies, some of the best sea kayaking in the world can be found north of the Great Plains in the Central United States, deep in the North Woods of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore along the southeastern edge of Lake Superior is one of the most stunning national parks in the United States, and makes an excellent long-weekend fall getaway from Iowa. The park can be reached in about 12 hours by car from western Iowa. It features more than 70,000 acres of rugged cliffs, waterfalls, pristine white sand beaches, heavily wooded hiking trails full of fall foliage, clear streams, and secluded campsites. However, the park is perhaps best known for its 42 miles of rugged shoreline along Lake Superior with multicolored cliffs and deep, winding caves inside the rock formations just waiting for “spelunking” or caving by sea kayak.
Lake Superior is the world’s largest freshwater body with more than 31,000 square miles. Mariners that are familiar with Lake Superior will quickly tell visitors that it functions much more like an inland ocean than a lake, with its own unique wind currents, waves, and weather events. Pictured Rock’s shoreline caves are therefore best explored by sea kayaking. Unlike smaller kayaks that may be used in Iowa more typically on rivers, sea kayaks are longer, sturdier, and larger. They are designed specifically for open-water kayaking, particularly where waves and currents demand greater stability and maneuverability. Sea kayaks also typically are used with spray skirts around the paddler, in order to keep dry if waves come up over the kayak. They can be used by single or double paddlers, and have ample room to carry food and other gear in waterproof holding areas.
Because sea kayaks can be expensive and also difficult to transport with their weight and size, many visitors to Pictured Rocks choose to rent them from local outfitting companies near the national park in the town of Munising, Michigan. Several outdoor tour groups will provide all the equipment needed, as well as transportation and guides, to adventurous visitors that want to try their hand at sea kayaking while at Pictured Rocks for an unforgettable experience exploring the caves through the waves and currents that wash along the cliffs.
For more information on sea kayaking, please visit https://www.outdoorvisit.com/inspiration/your-complete-guide-to-sea-kayaking/ or https://gopaddling.info/6-top-tips-sea-kayaking/. Tips for touring Pictured Rocks National Seashore can be found at https://www.nps.gov/piro/planyourvisit/index.htm.
