If a simple plunk around the pond is not enough paddling, then head north to the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, an ever-expanding network that connects waterways in the Eastern United States and Canada. The water moves swiftly and sometimes hardly at all, depending on where you are. So pick a piece or two of the 740-mile route that links 22 rivers and 56 lakes and ponds, then float through forest or past urban shores.

Northern Forest Canoe Trail, Waitsfield, Vt. 802-496-2285. www.northernforestcanoetrail.org.