Teamswiftwater: Whitewater Paddling Adventures

Whitewater rafting on the St. Louis River near Duluth, Minnesota is our passion and our bread and butter. We love the St. Louis River and its whiskey colored water, its beautiful rocky shorelines, tall pines and amazing rapids. We also love to take our skills and our friends on adventures elsewhere too. This is what Teamswiftwater is about: skilled paddlers and those with a penchant for adventure chasing whitewater across the Lake Superior watershed and beyond!

There are two divisions to our Teamswiftwater program: expert whitewater kayakers AND our friends and frequent customers that have proven their paddling proficiency to take on more challenging adventures.

Expert whitewater paddlers from Minnesota and Wisconsin that are sponsored by us (some are also Swiftwater guides and instructors) share their paddling adventures with you. Their stories are all unique yet they all share a passion for paddling. For example, Ryan Zimny is a high school physics and chemistry teacher, an alpine ski coach, and a whitewater kayaker for over 20 years. Before he starts guiding on the St. Louis River in the summer, Zimny chases the spring melt of the nearly 20 streams that plunge into Lake Superior’s north shore.

John McConville is another longtime whitewater paddler who has traveled the country and the globe to chase amazing whitewater. A specialized farmer in southern Wisconsin, John takes time off from tilling and planting to chase the streams of the Lake Superior basin. John also won the 2018 Lester River kayak race on April 28th this year: a fast, steep and rocky stream that sports class IV and V rapids.

Look for these guys and gals, and other Teamswiftwater paddlers like Clint Massy, Brian Robin, Cory Mooney, Joerg Steinbach, and Joel Decker and more to share their paddling adventures with you on Facebook and Instagram using #Teamswiftwater.

A sweet video featuring some Teamswiftwater paddlers at the 2018 Lester River Race by Blue Forest films: https://www.facebook.com/BlueForestFilms/videos/2079884252294567/

Our Friends and Frequent Customers #Teamswiftwater program works a little bit different. Those that have whitewater rafted or paddled with us on the St. Louis River enough to have honed their paddling skills and merit basically you have proven to be a strong and proficient paddler and can mentally handle chaotic situations…we take on new adventures.

Teamswiftwater trips are generally in late April to early June or in September or early October when we have more rain falling in the region, so more rivers are on the whitewater menu. These trips are generally short notice, involve more effort and or time, and generally cost more than a traditional rafting trip because of all the logistics involved. They are never dull, to say the least!

In addition to special/customized St. Louis River whitewater rafting trips, we have guided trips on the Knife River several times, Kettle River, and the Temperance River on Lake Superior’s north shore. We are always planning and exploring new adventures to share with you!

If you haven’t experienced an adventure with us yet book a whitewater rafting trip with us on the St. Louis River, just 15 minutes south of Duluth, MN and let’s see where things go from there! See you on the river!

Category(s): Blog Posts