Sand Lake Rec
Guided trips.
Some outings want a guide: because the paperwork is annoying (the Boundary Waters), because the timing is everything (the full moon), or because the whole point is that you don't have to do anything (the sunset sail). Trips are small, member-discounted, and led by our instructors. Book early — the seats are real and so are the sellouts.
June – September, Saturdays
Boundary Waters Day Trip
One perfect BWCA day — permits, portages, and shore lunch handled.
The Boundary Waters is forty minutes up the Echo Trail, and a first trip is much better with someone who knows the entry points. We handle the permit, the canoes, the shuttle, and a proper shore lunch (walleye when the lake cooperates, excellent regardless); you handle a paddle and one modest portage. Expect eight to ten miles of paddling, granite shorelines, and a respectable chance of moose.
Graduates of the February navigation seminar get first crack at registration, and it matters — these run eight seats and sell out.
- Length
- Full day (6:30 am – 6 pm)
- Group
- 8 paddlers + 2 guides
- Member / guest
- $95 / $125
Included
- BWCA entry permit
- Canoe, paddle, PFD
- Shuttle from our dock
- Shore lunch & filter coffee
- Two guides
June – September, one departure monthly
Boundary Waters Four-Day Expedition
Four days beyond the roads, with the route, food, permits, and portages handled.
This is enough time to cross the first portage and keep going. We travel a compact loop of quiet lakes, camp on granite points, cook well, and build each day around the weather rather than a mileage contest. Expect three to five hours of paddling, one or two portages most days, and long evenings with nowhere else to be.
No wilderness experience is required, but you should be comfortable sleeping outside and carrying part of a canoe or pack over uneven ground. A deposit holds your place; the remaining balance is due thirty days before departure. If conditions force us to cancel, you may move the full amount to another departure or receive a refund.
- Length
- 4 days / 3 nights
- Group
- 6 paddlers + 2 guides
- Member / guest
- $725 / $845
- Deposit
- $200 / $250
Payment schedule: Remaining balance due 30 days before departure.
Included
- BWCA overnight permit
- Wenonah canoe, paddle, and PFD
- Tents, packs, kitchen, and group gear
- All meals from first lunch through final lunch
- Shuttle from Sand Lake
- Two wilderness guides
Every full moon, May – October
Full Moon Paddle
The lake by moonlight, with hot chocolate at the turn.
Once a month the moon does the work and we just show up. We launch as it clears the tamaracks on the east shore, paddle the glass in loose formation — kayaks, canoes, and the brave on SUPs — and raft up in the north bay for hot chocolate while the loons do the thing loons do at night, which no recording has ever done justice.
Headlamps and glow sticks provided; silence encouraged but not enforced.
- Length
- Evening (moonrise-dependent, ~2.5 hours)
- Group
- 16 paddlers + 2 guides
- Member / guest
- $15 / $30
Included
- Boat of your choice
- Glow sticks & lights
- Hot chocolate
- Loons (not guaranteed, never absent yet)
Nightly by reservation, June – September
Skippered Sunset Sail
You bring people you like. We bring the boat and the skipper.
The no-experience-necessary option: a rated skipper takes you and up to four guests out on a Capri 22 for the last two hours of light. Take the helm if you'd like, or don't lift a finger. Anniversaries, visiting in-laws, and marriage proposals are all well-precedented; we're told our record on the latter is unblemished.
Priced per boat, not per person. Bring snacks; we provide everything else.
- Length
- 2 hours before sunset
- Group
- Up to 5 guests per boat
- Member / guest
- $60 / $90
Included
- Capri 22 + rated skipper
- PFDs & blankets
- The good part of the day
Last two weekends of September
Fall Colors Paddle
Late September, when the tamaracks go gold and the crowds go home.
The best-kept secret of the season. The maples turn first along the south shore, the tamarack bog goes gold two weeks later, and the lake is empty, cold-aired, and utterly still. We paddle the full shoreline circuit with a thermos stop on the granite point, and every year somebody says it out loud: this is the best day of the whole summer, and it isn't even summer.
- Length
- Half day (9 am – 1 pm)
- Group
- 12 paddlers + 2 guides
- Member / guest
- $35 / $55
Included
- Canoe or kayak
- Hot cider & pastries from Carol
- Guides & shoreline color commentary