How Canoes Went From Ancient Exploration to Recreation

Few modes of transportation have endured like canoes. Humans have used these versatile vessels for thousands of years to explore the world and transport goods. Thanks to their lightweight build and sleek design, canoes are perfectly adapted for everything from leisurely paddles down a stream to white-knuckled rides through rapids. And unlike other boats that were transformed by motors, canoes still rely on paddlers, retaining a timeless appeal.

Here’s how canoes crossed the gap between ancient travel and modern recreation.

In 1955, workers building a highway through a peat bog in the Netherlands discovered what is believed to be the world’s oldest boat. Known as the Pesse canoe, the hollowed-out trunk dates back roughly 10,000 years—about 2,000 years older than canoes discovered in Nigeria and China.

Early on, these vessels were vital for transporting goods. In 2024, researchers described a set of five canoes from an underwater archaeology site near Rome, dating back about 7,000 years. Some of the boats, which could stretch up to 32 feet long, were outfitted with T-shaped wooden devices and drilled with holes. Archaeologists say rope once ran through those holes to help tow canoes filled with passengers, animals and goods throughout a local trade network along the Mediterranean Sea.

Native communities throughout North America had a knack for innovating the canoe, transforming the simple vessel into a variety of forms. Indigenous groups in the Northeast preferred birchbark canoes, which were crafted from a wooden skeleton and wrapped in the waterproof bark of a birch tree. Populations in Southern and Western North America adopted dugout canoes.

Indigenous artisans used tools and fire to hollow out the trunks of sturdy trees like cypress and cedar, and expanded the vessels with hot water. In the Arctic, Inuit and Aleut communities stretched sealskin over frames built of driftwood or whalebone, which they propelled with double-bladed paddles. Some Inuit called these vessels qayaq, which was adapted into the word kayak.

Native canoes were so efficient that European explorers and fur traders quickly adopted them as they surveyed rivers, lakes and transported pelts. Explorer Samuel de Champlain remarked that birchbark canoes were “the only craft suitable” for navigating Canada’s wilderness.

The advent of steamships and railroads greatly decreased the canoe’s role in transportation throughout North America and Europe. However, the vessel was quickly co-opted as a mode of recreation.

Beginning in the 1860s, sportsmen started canoe clubs throughout the United Kingdom and America. These organizations championed the boats among fishers, campers and hunters. Some outdoor enthusiasts even reached remote rapids thanks to the rise of small aircraft in the second half of the 20th century. Today, many state and national parks have dedicated canoe trails.

The rise of recreational paddling led to the advent of canoeing. Athletes adopted the fast, lightweight boats to race down rivers and even snake through winding courses. Canoeing eventually reached the pinnacle of athleticism, becoming an Olympic sport for men in 1936 and women in 1948.

However, racing on canoes is nothing new: Native Hawaiians have been racing the vessels for centuries. Using canoes stabilized with structures known as outriggers, Polynesian navigators reached Hawaii around the seventh century. These outrigger canoes became widespread across the archipelago (explorer James Cook was greeted by around 1,500 canoes when he arrived in Karakakooa Bay in 1779) and were often raced as part of a competition known as hei hei wa’a. Some Hawaiian chiefs even placed wagers on which canoe would win.