Canoe Club Explores Lake Nokomis

November 14, 2025

In October 2025, students from the new Canoe Club went to Lake Nokomis to go canoeing. “Student leaders and presidents of the club, Aurora Gallagher (Visual Arts 2026) and Wilder Stinson (Visual Arts 2026), did an excellent job educating their peers on how to canoe, safety of canoeing, respecting the gear, and ultimately providing a fun experience for others outside!” said Lindsey Schmitt, Visual Arts Instructor and Canoe Club Advisor.

Participants in Canoe Club pose at Lake Nokomis in October, 2025

Aurora Gallagher shared, “It was really fun to be able to go with a group of both experienced and inexperienced paddlers. It felt like a really good way to connect with other students and I really enjoyed being able to share my passion with others.”

Aurora grew up next to the Boundary Waters and was given a lot of opportunities to be on the water. “My family always went out for fishing opener and tried to do canoeing trips as much as we could,” she said. At the age of 12, Aurora attended YMCA Camp Menogyn in Grand Marais, MN. “I did an eight-day Boundary Waters trip and loved it. It helped me feel more connected to nature and to myself. Since then I’ve done several other trips including a 35-day canoe trip on the Bloodvein and Gammon rivers in Manitoba, Canada, in summer of 2024.” Those experiences on the water have helped Aurora create deeper connections with others. “I got to connect with my group and become closer to them in a way I hadn’t with any other group of people before. The feeling of being able to get out and be in the water is like none other to me and helps me clear my mind. I’ve taken friends who hadn’t been canoeing before and getting to see them enjoy it and get to experience the new feeling and new activity was really incredible.”

“So, when Wilder brought up the idea of starting a canoe club I thought it was an incredible idea; getting to go out with peers and share such peaceful and bonding experiences sounded awesome to me.” Both students with experience and students without experience came to the first Canoe Club outing. “Being able to see people paired up in boats [with others] they’d never really talked to before and to see them become closer was really cool to see,” shared Aurora. “Everyone was really enthusiastic to learn and overall it was a really positive experience.”

Wilder Stinson added, “I am very honored and proud to be able to give my peers the opportunity to learn, improve, and experience canoeing. It was lit.”

“Seeing students canoe together was so delightful,” said Lindsey Schmitt. “I was impressed by the student leadership of Wilder and Aurora. They formed a community that was created from this event; a group of people who love the outdoors, silly canoe memes, and people willing to take a chance with something new. We are seeking more opportunities to canoe this spring and looking for a canoe rental partnership to use for more canoeing in the future.”

Lake Nokomis is one of several lakes in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and part of the city’s Chain of Lakes. In 1819, Captain George Gooding named it Lake Amelia in honor of his daughter. In 1910, it was renamed after Nokomis, the fictional grandmother of Hiawatha, from Longfellow’s 1855 epic poem “The Song of Hiawatha”. It is located in the southern part of the city, west of the Mississippi River and south of Lake Hiawatha. The lake has an area of 204 acres and a maximum depth of 33 feet.