Amy K.
Yelp
The Canoes are the only ride in all of Disneyland that do not run on a track, through a chute, or in an otherwise controlled fashion. You could park your canoe right in front of the Mark Twain and get slowly mowed down. You could run aground. You could chase ducks. Canoes are weird to call a ride, since they're really just a form of transportation, and it's almost sad that we're so indoorsy as to consider them a ride, but Frontierland used to have mule rides and whatnot, and canoes are frontiersy. These require more physical effort than any other ride, but you spend all day giving your feet and legs exercise, may as well give your upper body a workout too.
The entrance for the Canoes is a bit confusing; it's all the way down by the Hungry Bear restaurant, not near the rafts that go to Tom Sawyer's - uh, Pirate - Island, and it's down a short set of stairs. I like that it's next to the restaurant because you can go wash your hands after your ride very conveniently.
Personally, while I enjoy canoeing, I'd enjoy it more if my canoe wasn't full of strangers who keep their paddles in the canoe and expect us to make up for them not paddling, children dragging their (child-sized) paddles in the water and making things harder, and people who just can't seem to follow along with one single direction: "stroke!" Our coxswain (do you use that term for frontier-themed canoes?) seemed a bit frustrated and kept having to stop everyone because we weren't moving well due to the uncoordinated rowing. Like, badly enough that as my four friends and I were leaving, he actually thanked us for being the only ones to follow directions (about 20 people fit in the canoe and only five of us understood paddling?).
I actually wouldn't have minded going even more slowly and enjoying the view of Tom Sawyer's - er, Pirate - Island; I found myself watching the paddles so I didn't hit my friend's (near the end, I also found myself trying to figure out how to splash the woman behind me whose paddle never went in the water)(expect to get splashed, period. Maybe keep your mouth closed, 'cause I'm sure the Rivers of America are chemically-treated to avoid cholera, but waterfowl spend a lot of time in there, too, ifyouknowwhatImean). We took two breaks to let our arms and shoulders relax, and it happened to be itty-bitty duckling time at Disneyland, and we stopped right next to a group of them, which was squee-worthy. And that's a very cool thing about the canoes: it provides the most quiet of any other ride, because you get to be away from crowds and enjoy ducklings and see actual trees. It's a nice thing to do if you're feeling overstimulated.
I don't always have patience for people who can't follow directions, which I guess is my issue with the Canoes, and is not intrinsically part of the ride (maybe it is). The more of your own trustworthy friends in your canoe, the better.