Book Review: Paddling Minnesota
by Brand Frentz

Breining, Greg. Paddling Minnesota. Falcon Publishing, Helena, Montana, 1999, 373 pages, $14.95 (paper).

This is a book that every Minnesota paddler should like. It can be useful in choosing and taking the routes described, and it can be enjoyable to read by itself, leaning back in the overstuffed chair and imagining yourself howling through, say, the Vermilion Gorge.

It is an official guidebook, with a stamp on the cover that says, "Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Official State Guide!" The author is Greg Breining, managing editor of the DNR’s Volunteer magazine. Breining, with Linda Watson, also wrote the 1977 classic "A Gathering of Waters." That was an excellent book about Minnesota canoe routes (large-format maps, color pictures), but far smaller in scope. It covered just 18 routes, with brief notes on other paddling possibilities. The new book "Paddling Minnesota" presents thorough information on 125 trips. It is my guess that Breining has included almost all the best routes in the state of Minnesota.

"Paddling Minnesota" is an amazing collection, both for the richness of paddling opportunities in Minnesota it presents and for the depth of factual information the author provides. The format is clear and suitable for skimming if you are looking for a new route to try. Each entry begins with a quick summary of the trip, then gives the "statistics" (length, time, skill level, and so on), followed by narrative paragraphs that tell about the trip itself, access, and shuttle. A map is given for each route. The amount of factual information is staggering. More about that later.

The book is also suitable to read for pleasure. In discussing the routes, Breining often digresses to give a fuller appreciation of the trip. He goes into the human history of the area; after guiding you down the Bigfork River, at the takeout he leads you on a short walk to Grand Mound Indian burial site and tells all about it. The Red River of the North is not exciting paddling, but Breining tells us that it does have an outstanding feature-channel catfish. Then he gives detailed instructions for catching them.

Finally, the book is suitable to take with you on the trip. There are careful explanations of where the rapids are, what they are like, and even in some cases how to run them. Breining also includes a good assortment of flatwater routes on lazy rivers, BWCA lakes, and—not surprising since he just published a book about his sea kayak trip around Lake Superior—along the North Shore.

Paddlers know that no matter how good a guidebook is, however, it cannot tell you everything. Nor can a guidebook be 100 percent accurate. Rivers change course. Highway departments take out bridges. Humans make mistakes. Anyone who has done much canoeing knows that sometimes the takeout (campsite, portage, rapids) is not where the book or map says (and sometimes it is not there at all). When this happens, you have to be experienced enough to realize that the book or map is wrong and smart enough to figure out what the real situation on the water is.

Breining’s fine book is no exception. I checked routes I am familiar with, and found the following example. The Blue Earth River trip ends at the confluence with the Minnesota. In the trip description of the takeout it says: "A boat ramp sits on the west side of the Blue Earth...but a fee is charged for landing there" (p. 330). Well, not exactly. There is no boat ramp on the Blue Earth at all. The landing is a quarter mile upstream on the Minnesota. No fee is charged there. The accompanying map has errors that only make things worse. But this problem is easy to solve. The confused paddler cannot help noticing the long, clean sandy bank on river right, which is part of Mankato’s popular Sibley Park. You just land and ask somebody: "Where am I? Where’s the takeout?" Even with a guide as good as "Paddling Minnesota," sometimes you will have to figure things out for yourself.

The Falcon Guidebook series offers a rich variety of high-quality guides for outdoor activities—hiking, paddling, birding, wildlife viewing, even scenic drives, and much more.