Best City for a Packrafter

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Hello All,

A bit of fun perhaps. Whenever I let my mind wander to the various trips I’d like to make, I end up thinking about where best in the world to live to have that perfect access to the great outdoors whilst keeping myself in an urban or semi-urban lifestyle.

So, the question is this: What do you think would be the best city in the world in which to live, from the packrafter/outdoor person’s perspective?

I’'ll start us off by suggesting somewhere like Santiago, Chile. The Andes are the morning newspaper, there are rivers galore and nearly the whole population of Chile is centered in the central region - meaning that the great expanses in the south of the country and in Patagonia and Magallanes are, for now, still pristine, stunning wilderness. Add to that the absence of a significant predator in the native fauna. As a packrafter, there really must be pretty much everything you’ve ever wanted in close reach, and as a city dweller you are in a major, modern capital.

I’m looking forward to some alternative suggestions!

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Somewhere in the south island of New Zealand?

Amazing trails, very few people and squillions of rivers. The sand flies are horrendous though. Are there sandflies in Patagonia or Alaska?

Somewhere in Nepal could also be good (no sandflies but lots of other nasty parasites), though it is way overcrowded.

Somewhere in Norway could be good, but too cold.

What about Mexico or somewhere else tropical, all of those tropical packrafting runs look pretty amazing.

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I went to Iceland last March. I didn’t have my boat for that trip. It was very, very cold but I couldn’t help but think that I wanted to come back in the summertime with my Alpacka! May be too hardcore for small boats but such an amazing place. Water everywhere. My vote would be still be New Zealand, just from the stories I have heard.

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I’m in Bozeman, MT and it’s packraft heaven. Rivers abound (both flat and white), not too many people, modern amenities. Cost of living is a little higher though.