Planning and Preparation
Taking on the Great Glen Canoe Trail and paddling across Scotland coast to coast is an awesome adventure for those who love the great outdoors and have a spirit of adventure. However, due to the open waters of Loch Lochy and Loch Ness, care should always be taken.
From my own personal experience as a professional paddlesport coach and paddling/guiding the Great Glen Canoe Trail well over 70 times in the last 20 years, using a variety of crafts with varying group skill/experience, Canoeing Top Tips – Part 1 brings you 5 great tips to help make your self-guided Great Glen Canoe Trail adventure successful.
1/ Get a copy of the Great Glen Canoe Trail Guidebook
For only £13 including postage, you can get yourself a copy of the Great Glen Canoe Trail guidebook (2nd edition). At 96 pages, packed full of useful advice, a route guide, and local information, it is the main source for self-guiding groups and group leaders. You can get a copy directly from Pesda Press.
Although I am the author of the guidebook, all royalties do go to Scottish Canals to help support the trail long term.
2/ Online Support Session
Even qualified canoe coaches and leaders benefit from some professional support to gain firsthand knowledge of the route, portage points, and local information. Since 2020, Explore Highland has offered some online support sessions each year, preseason, and at the start of the canoe hire season to allow booked hire & shuttle clients to sign up for FREE and join the 90-minute sessions.
With information offered covering the full adventure, everything from planning, hire kit, canal facility keys, shuttle service, complete route explained, plus best places to stay, wild camping, and locations to visit, making your trip completely bespoke.
3/ Access to the Scottish Canals facility
As 22 miles of the Great Glen Canoe Trail follow the Caledonian Canal sections of the canal, for those who wish to make the experience a little easier, there is the option of gaining access to the canal facilities en route. Some groups do wish to gain the wild camp experience, though, as you still can take on the trail without. The keys allow access to many benefits, including the option of camping at canal sites which also offer toilets and shower facilities, drinking water taps to fill up your water containers, regular commercial refuse bins to dispose of your rubbish, plus at some sites the ability to use some electrical sockets to help keep your mobile, cameras, and other electronic devices topped up.
You can call (+44) 1463 725500 or email caledonian@scottishcanals.co.uk the Caledonian Canal office team to book and pay for your facility key access. And if you aren’t around Inverness during office hours to collect your keys, Explore Highland can pop in and collect them on your behalf with advanced notice.
4/ Book your Canoe Hire & Shuttle early
As a unique personal experience, Explore Highland only accepts one canoe shuttle and hire booking per day. For all multi-day canoe hires, it requires two separate days to be available, including on the first day of the hire to drop off and the final day to collect the canoes. So to get your preferred Canoe Trail dates, book early!
By booking early, Explore Highland can forward all the signposts to where all the information and advice is. This ensures planning is completed as early as possible, making for a well-planned, organised canoe adventure.
5/ Joining the Canoe Shuttle from Inverness
Explore Highland is an Inverness-based company. So, for most groups taking on the Great Glen Canoe Trail, we meet them at the Inverness end/main finish point of the Canoe Trail. This means we transport both the canoes, kit, and paddlers from Inverness to the official start point. The full shuttle takes around 1 hr 40 mins to 2 hrs, depending on the time of day and the levels of traffic on the road. During this time, you are taken through the Great Glen in reverse with many features, route options, and local facilities pointed out.
During this time, groups and leaders can ask any outstanding questions they may have before immediately starting on their 65-mile canoeing adventure.
Watch out for Canoeing Top Tips – Part 2, Sea Kayaking Top Tips, and SUP Top Tips, all coming soon!
2026 Canoe Shuttle & Hire Bookings
Please see the links below for more information on each service:
Do email for more details or to make your canoe hire booking!