Events

Featured Event

Spring Rendezvous

Register now for the Spring Rendezvous and paddle the Apostles!

Join us for our annual season kick-off. We car camp on the mainland and paddle to our heart’s content in the Apostle Islands! All skill levels welcome. See details and save your campsite now.

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Friday, May 23 - Monday, May 26, 2025

Spring Rendezvous 2025

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1 - 31

November – March

Pool Sessions

Come on in, the water is warm at the Brooklyn Center pool! Winter is no excuse for letting your kayak hang in the garage. Practice old skills and learn new ones.

Sundays – check the event details for location and time.

All skill levels.

1 - 31

May – October

Social Paddles

Social paddles happen on metro lakes throughout the season.

Wednesdays and Sundays – check the event details for location and time.

Non-members welcome. Come paddle with us!

All skill levels.

8

January

REI Bloomington, 6:30

Yoga for Paddlers

Tired of being stiff and creaky every time you climb out of your cockpit?

ISK member and long-time yoga instructor, Alida, will lead a class of yoga poses suitable for everyone. Wear comfortable clothing suitable for yoga postures. Bring your own yoga mat. A smaller towel is recommended for positioning under knees for added comfort.

Variations will be given for beginner and intermediate options.

 

Off-water education meetings are free and open to all, member or not.

 

All skill levels.

11

January

10:00 – 3:00

Kayak cleaning & repair

3rd Annual Clean Your Boat Day!

We invite you to addend our Third Annual Clean Your Boat Saturday. Another Edge and Sweep event. Offering you a nice warm, indoor environment to remove river crud, mud, sand, small scratched and replace them with a squeaky clean shine.

Bring cleaning materials and stands if you got’m. We have limited supplies but always willing share. Some stands, buffing tools for wax application and removal are available but BYO if you have one. Let’s Make’m Sparkle!

Small lunch provided about noon 1301 E Cliff Road (NW overhead door).
We are asking folks to register so plans can be made. No registration fee.

All skill levels.

12

February

REI Bloomington, 6:30

No Refuge Alone: 1300 miles from Saint Paul to Montreal

Join us at REI for ISK member, Sam Johnson’s talk, No Refuge Alone.

A “fairly intermediate kayaker,” Sam paddled solo from St. Paul to Hudson Bay for the adventure of a lifetime. He credits the local paddling community with keeping him alive!

All Minnesotan: Sam was born in Minneapolis, raised in Hutchinson, educated in Saint Paul. Went to Saint Thomas for philosophy and music and the U of MN for a masters in nonprofit management. Now he manages community development grants for the City of Minneapolis.

 

Off-water education meetings are free and open to all, member or not.

 

All skill levels.

12

March

Folklore of Lake Superior

with Mike Bass

 

Mike Bass, folklorist, storyteller, and print maker will regale us with tales of Lake Superior!

Serendipity connected me with Mike Bass when I bumped into his stall at the Madison, WI farmer’s market. When I saw he had a book…a folklore book!…it took me about 2 seconds to dig a business card out of my purse and invite him on my podcast to talk folklore.

We had so much fun, I was like, “Dude! I’m in a sea kayaking club and we LOVE Lake Superior. You have to tell us some stories!”

All off-water ed presentations are open to the public, so bring your friends! Spread the word!

Mike will have prints and copies of his book available for purchase and signing. Check out his art on Instagram, @wiscomythos

Please RSVP.

Everyone welcome

23-26

May

Spring Rendezvous

Car camp with us in Little Sand Bay campground. Join club-led paddles in the Apostle Islands. We’ve got something for everyone. Details about camping, paddles, gear, and skill levels at registration page.

ISK Level 4 Trip

2024 Events

Browse past events. Get an idea of what’s coming in the new paddling season.

28

April

Cold Water Immersion

Join Inland Sea Kayakers’ annual cold water immersion event. Start your paddling season with an icy plunge and test your gear and your cold water preparedness in a safe environment with club support!

All levels

20-24

June

Apostle Islands Camping

A perfect trip for intermediate + paddlers!

Ready to get off the mainland? See some other islands? Put on some more miles over 4 days of paddling? Want to put that ultralight stove and tent to use?

  • This trip will begin with an overnight on the mainland at Little Sand Bay. Come up after work on Thursday and prepare for a morning launch on Friday.
  • We’ll paddle to Stockton Island, where we’ll camp for 2 nights. On Saturday, paddle, hike, or rest.
  • On Sunday, we’ll paddle from Stockton to Basswood.
  • On Monday, we paddle back to Little Sand Bay early enough to drive back to the Cities the same day.

Details and trip requirements are on the event calendar. Click the Register button for all the info!

Intermediate +

26

June

NC Boat Demos

Pacific Northwest Style Touring Kayaks

4:30 – 8:00 West Bush Lake
At NC Kayaks we build a unique style of touring kayak, we call it Pacific Northwest
Style. Our kayaks are soft chined for a smooth transition edging, have an upswept
bow for better handling in rough water, a low aft deck to better facilitate rolling, a narrow
bow and long narrow stern for exceptional tracking, forward and aft bulkheads for
flotation, and a 1/2″ flange surrounding the entire perimeter of the kayak that deflects
water away from the cockpit, provides bow lift in heavy seas, and is an excellent handle
to control the kayak or help re-enter the kayak in deep water. All of these features
combined with our efficient hull and unique manufacturing technique produce a kayak
with very little flex, this allows you to get the most out of every paddle stroke

Everyone

29

June

ISKool

One of the core missions of ISK is to provide sea kayaking education to help our current and future members grow in the sport we love. This is a free workshop to help you grow your skills on the water. Spend a day on Bush Lake for a special coaching opportunity!

Beginner – Intermediate

30-2

August – September

Fall Rendezvous

Car camp with us in Little Sand Bay campground. Join club-led paddles in the Apostle Islands. We’ve got something for everyone. Details about camping, paddles, gear, and skill levels at registration page.

All skill levels

21

September

ISKool

One of the core missions of ISK is to provide sea kayaking education to help our current members, and future members, grow in the sport we love. This is a free workshop to help you grow your skills on the water. Spend a day on Bush Lake for a special coaching opportunity!

Beginner – Intermediate

15

September

ISK Annual Picnic

Join us for a picnic in a park! We’ll have food, fun, a playground for the kids, and of course paddling! This year we’re bringing the picnic back into the heart of the Twin Cities, but across the river. We’ll paddle and picnic on the Mississippi at Hidden Falls Park in St. Paul.

The paddle launches at 9:30. Gather for the picnic at 11:30, lunch at noon.

Have fun on and off the water, and bring your family for a day that’s all about celebrating our paddling community!

Everyone

There are even more events on the club calendar.

A Sampling of Past Events

TBD

St. Louis River Estuary

A perfect trip for beginners! Fun for all levels!

Join us for two glorious nights in Jay Cooke State Park. We’ll have a full day of paddling on the estuary, below the dam and before the mouth of Lake Superior. With shoreline on the MN and WI sides, lots of bays to explore, and sunny, open water, you’re sure to enjoy this trip.

Last year’s group loved the traffic-free paddling on a week day and easy parking at launch sites. Come on Sunday, paddle all day Monday, possible morning paddle on Tuesday before departing.

Want to know more about this trip? See the trip report from last year.

All skill levels.

TBD

Spring

ISK Service Trip: Mississippi

Let’s show some love to our home waters!

Inland Sea Kayakers is dedicated to giving back to our beautiful water ways. This spring we’ll host a day paddle on the Mississippi and clean up as we go. Enjoy a leisurely paddle as we weave along the shoreline, collecting all the flotsam and jetsam we can.

 

All skill levels

29-1

July

Voyageurs National Park

Join us on Lake Namakan in Voyageurs National Park July 29 – August 1st. We have the Namakan Island Northeast site (N55) for 3 beautiful remote nights in the wilderness with plenty of time to explore the many interesting and historical sites of Namakan Lake.

Intermediate +

28-1

September

Voyageurs National Park

Join us on a trip in Voyageurs National Park’s forgotten lake, Sand Point. Thursday September 28th. to Sunday October 1st. We have the Ingersoll Cove (S30) campsite for 3 beautiful remote nights in the wilderness with plenty of time to explore the many interesting sites and fantastic paddling of Sand Point Lake. From this site we will have access to many great day trips including the Grassy Bay Cliffs.

Intermediate +

FAQ

I want to go. Now what?

Where do I sign up?
All Register buttons will take you to our members-only site where you can register for trips, events, and workshops.

You’re on our main site. It’s fun and user friendly, but it doesn’t handle administrative duties, like membership dues, trip registrations, and forum communications.

If you have questions about navigating registrations, feel free to reach out to any board member. Our email is below, at the bottom of every page.

Is this trip/event/workshop for me?
Every trip/event/workshop is different. Check the full description on the registration page.

Be honest with yourself about your paddling and/or camping abilities. Descriptions should give you an idea of time, distance, and conditions. If you aren’t sure, email the trip leader or organizer. Contact information is listed on the registration page.

I don't see how to register on the member site.
Once you get to the event on the member site calendar, make sure you sign in. The event calendar is for members only. Look at the top-right. It will either say “Member Login” or your name. If it says “Member Login,” you know what to do, and snag that spot!
I have other questions.
Visit the Resources page for even more information.

Need a packing list or Leave No Trace guide? Go to the Member Library and check out our downloadable PDFs.