Canoe tripping offers campers the opportunity for individual challenges and a collective sense of accomplishment, team building, adventure, and an unparalleled appreciation of nature. Canoe tripping is the bedrock of the Tamakwa experience. Canoe tripping and Tamakwa go hand in hand. Algonquin Park is Canada’s oldest provincial park and one of its national treasures, consisting of 3000 square miles of pristine lakes with over 2100km of canoe routes and all in Tamakwa’s own backyard. The fundamental principles of learning about the natural world and habitat, learning how to live in the simplicity and comfort of the wilderness, “leaving the campsite better than you found it” and learning how to “paddle in unison”, are only a few of the derivatives of canoe tripping. A canoe trip at Tamakwa powerfully impacts your camper(s) summer as well as their development and lives long after their camp days are over. Although Tamakwa offers 20 diverse activities, history has proven time and time again the trip experience is the most beneficial activity we offer. This is the primary reason the cabin trips, ranging from 2 – 5 days are mandatory. Longer trips generally consisting of 6 to 15 days are optional, in Algonquin, Temagami, or another destinations. “Trip anxiety” is sometimes normal for campers and even staff. For some, the thought of being out in the woods can be unsettling. Others can perceive the trip to be physically challenging. A core value of Tamakwa, is in a nurturing way, pushing our campers out of their comfort zone, instilling a much stronger sense of independence and confidence which bodes well for them long after their camp days in meeting life’s challenges. It will likely be the one experience at camp they will talk about more than any other camp activity and experience over their lifetime. There is simply nothing like completing a trip day with unplanned events and humorous moments, sitting around the crackle of the evening campfire and stargazing in the beautiful Algonquin setting. The same camper who is anxious of going on their first overnight will likely be the same camper who years later will be terribly disappointed if not able to go on one of Tamakwa’s famed long trips as older campers.