Packraft Maine

Workshops and Group Trips

Group classes and trips designed to give you the skills and confidence to take your paddling to the next level.

Sign up on your own or with friends.

If you don’t see dates that work for you, we can plan a custom trip that covers the same content.

Introductions

Bikerafting

A one day workshop combining bicycle riding and packraft paddling. This workshop is designed to give you the basic skills to begin bikerafting: loading boats on your bike, attaching your bike to the raft, route planning and safety considerations.

Recap 0f 2023 BCM Rambler workshop.

2024 Dates: April 27 and June 1

Whitewater

An introduction to the skills needed to paddle whitewater in a packraft. This course is designed for beginner to intermediate whitewater paddlers. We will practice: catching eddies, peeling out, S and C turns, ferries, surfing, paddling hydraulics, and more.

2024 Dates: March 30 and June 8

Advanced Skills

Swiftwater Rescue

A two day ACA Swiftwater Rescue Workshop, designed to help personal boaters, river guides, and professional rescuers develop skills to respond to whitewater emergencies. Taught by Alejandro Strong an ACA certified SWR intructor.

2024 Dates: April 13-14 and May 18-19

River Running

A one day workshop for intermediate and experienced boaters. In this workshop we will continue to practice paddling skills, while also working on the skills necessary to run whitewater on expeditions or to lead less experienced friends on day trips.

2024 Dates: June 9

Overnight Trips

Monthly Sub-24

On the third Friday of each month we be hosting an overnight trip. We will pick a location, activities, and route to make the most of the weather. If ski-rafting in March, Bikerafting in December, and using up all of June’s daylight sounds fun these are for you. Join us for 1 or all 12.

Find out about recent trips and news on Instagram

View fullsize Probably saying something about eddy lines. Fun day of whitewater for a group of first time packrafters. . . . #thisispackrafting #mainewhitewater #mainepaddling #maineguide #packraftmaine
View fullsize
View fullsize Getting ready for @teenstotrails Party In The Hills day trip tomorrow. . . . #thisisbikerafting #thisispackrafting #mainebiking #mainepaddling #maineguide #teenstotrails
View fullsize Some more photos and a poorly edited video from this weeks trip with John. I am really excited about this combo of skills practice followed by a short exped! We spent one day on the Penobscot near Bangor working on Bike rafting and Whitewater skill
View fullsize
View fullsize First day of a multi-day bikeraft adventure with John. Day 1 was a whitewater intro. Getting ready for a sub-24 overnight tomorrow. John got an @alpacka_raft Caribou this summer, and is planning a bikepacking and hopefully bikerafting trip in Switze
View fullsize Fun day today exploring Hot Hole Stream, this was a short scouting trip for Bangor Y’s Leaders School. It will be a multi day hiking and paddling trip with off trail travel, tough navigation, adventure, and good challenges.
View fullsize Ice Cream (the dog) trying out the @alpacka_raft Forager, on Sedgunkedunk Stream. She is a fan. . . . #mainepaddling #thisispackrafting #maineguide #registeredmaineguide #mainedogs
View fullsize Fun day of bikerafting with Mackenzie and Matt on the Penobscot in Orono. Matt has had a packraft for a while and wanted to try out bikerafting. Spent some time going over the best ways to attach the bike to the boat, and the boat to the bike, and a
View fullsize Always fun to introduce people to the fun of bikerafting, and even better when it is with one of the people that helped get you started in whitewater paddling. Was a fun day of paddling and biking on the East Outlet of the Kennebec. . . . #mainewhi
View fullsize Fun day of paddling with @teenstotrails staff on the Penobscot. . . . #thisispackrafting #packraftmaine #mainepaddling #maineguide guide #registeredmaineguide
View fullsize Big thanks to everyone who ordered passes, putting them all in the mail Thursday morning. Tomorrow is the last day to buy, and there are still some left if you are interested. link in the bio and all that. . . . #packraftmaine #thisisbikerafting #th
View fullsize Fun #carfree adventure on the Penobscot with @don_beith We met at @westmarketsquarecoffee for a double shot of sports drink and the headed up to the river. The @farfarertrailers worked great carrying boats and gear, making the meet up easy. The buzza
View fullsize One more week to buy 3, 5, and 10 day Packraft Passes. Link in bio. I like to think of it as Community Supported Adventure. A Pass gets you multiple days of paddling this Summer and Fall at a discounted rate and it helps me cover some of my early sea
View fullsize Spent some time this weekend introducing some friends to packrafts, bikerafting and whitewater paddling. The group had a mix of paddling background, with a few people who were experienced hard boaters but had never been in a packraft, and a few that
View fullsize Had the chance earlier in the week to do a car-free overnight bikerafting trip in the Bangor area. Was a fun route with a mix of paved roads, gravel roads, single track, Pushaw stream, moving water and whitewater on the Penobscot river, and even a bi
View fullsize Hike and Paddle day at Fields Pond @maineaudubon Center with my nieces. Was fun to introduce them to packrafting and one of my favorite locations for paddling trips. There is a full description of a Fields Pond day trip on packraftme.com They didn'
View fullsize Trips start in a month! In the mean time I am selling passes that you can use anytime this Summer or Fall, link in the bio. Treat yourself with many days of fun, or bring along some friends for a shared adventure. Either way you will save some money
View fullsize One of the reasons packrafting and bikerafting excite me is the opportunity for adventures without cars. As a canoe guide, I spent countless hours driving around Maine to put ins, take outs, and the shuttle back and forth. This summer with the help o
View fullsize Fun 2 days of whitewater rescue training with Northland College students on their Wilderness May term. This is what it looks like to foot entrapped in the middle of a river (in a scenario). Some great discussions and practice of creating a culture of