About Hawkes Canoe
Rent Canoes in style at a price you can afford!
Hawkes Canoe Rentals is located in the heart of scenic Idaho. Near Rexburg, Idaho and 30 minutes from Idaho Falls you can find the Jeff Hawkes home. Rexburg, Idaho is a hub to the waters of Island Park, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in Wyoming. Within minutes we will have you canoeing on your favorite lake, river, or stream in southeastern Idaho.
Our family business has rented canoes to individuals, church groups, scouts, BYU Idaho students, and to family reunions for over 30 years. We know how to make your water experience fun, enjoyable and safe. We know the favorite rivers and lakes in southeast Idaho. We can give you suggestions or maps of other paddling locations.
Hawkes Canoe Story
As my dad said, "Now, this is a real canoe...it's what a canoe is suppose to feel like!" -Jeff HawkesMy Heart Attack Canoe
I’ve been a canoe enthusiast ever since my dad introduced me to the sport 30 years ago. He had a fleet of six, aluminum, Smoker Craft canoes that he rented on a regular basis. Each year we would go on a three-day canoe trip to Shoshone Lake in Yellowstone National Park, first portaging up the Shoshone River for four miles. Unpredictable, pristine, and spiritual, the lake is backcountry to the hilt.
I’ve made the trip to Shoshone Lake many times in our Smoker Craft canoes, but I’ve always wanted to do it in a homemade cedar strip canoe. So, I found a book entitled Building a Strip Canoe by Gil Gilpatrick that tells you how to build one.
It was a major undertaking and took me 13 months to build. Afterward, while elk hunting in Idaho, I suffered a heart attack. I walked nearly a mile and drove myself to safety. Part of my heart had been blocked 100 percent for more than six hours. Three weeks later I was diagnosed with hair celled leukemia. Another three weeks later I returned to the hospital for additional heart problems.
While recuperating and lying on my back at home, I heard a terrible noise from the garage- the paint shelves had collapsed onto my new canoe, creating a huge hole in it. My first chore after recovering was to rebuild it. I soon repaired the hull, finished seats and applied the final varnish.
I’m now waiting for summer to launch it onto Shoshone Lake rather than paddling the old aluminum Smoker Craft. I know my Hawkes heart attack canoe can carry this broken heart of mine to and from Shoshone Lake through those rough waters and four miles. Now both the canoe and I are repaired. My cedar strip is a cross between the 18.5-foot White Guide in Gil Gilpatrick’s book and Mad River’s Revelation with a touch of Old Town Discovery 169& 174 and the 1970 Smoker Craft. It measures 16 feet 8 inches and I call it the Hawkes 168. My maiden voyage came last August on Leigh Lake in Grand Teton National Park. The canoe was responsive, obedient, and predictable.
As my dad said, “Now, this is a real canoe…it’s what a canoe is suppose to feel like!”
-Jeff Hawkes
–This story was published in the May/June 2001 issue of Paddler Magazine
Testimonials
Great place to rent canoes
My family and I just returned from the paddle trip from Lewis to Shoshone in Yellowstone. We called Hawkes because it was close and we wouldn’t have to haul the canoes from home. Jeff was great and was extremely helpful — not only with the canoes (and paddles, life-jackets, bailing buckets, etc) but also with planning. He helped us figure out expected paddle times, what to bring and do while we were there, and even fishing lures that have worked well for him. Very convenient and easy to work with. We will plan on using him again.
Just finished a trip to Lewis-Shoshone lakes. Best place to get canoes! Yellowstone Ranger said these were some of the cleanest canoes they have seen and that they’d put Jeff Hawkes on the “good list”.
Friendly people and generous pricing. They had excellent communication with me as a customer and were willing to work with my schedule.
I’ve got to confess, our family LOVES to go canoeing together. In fact, we used to own a 14 foot fishing boat, but seldom used it because the family preferred canoeing. We looked at buying canoes, but the good ones (like Jeff rents) are expensive, and since we often take 3 or 4 canoes at a time, we just couldn’t justify the expense. Thus, we have been so deeply appreciate of Jeff’s canoe rental service, which we have been using every year for the past 8 years. It is so convenient. Jeff always has the canoes loaded on the trailer, with the life jackets and paddles and all I have to do is back in, hook on, and drive away. The canoes are great quality, stable enough for our little ones, and always in excellent condition. And the best part of this arrangement is his rental prices are more than reasonable. Basically we have access to as many canoes as we need – even for a large group, but I never have the worry and hassle of storing and maintaining them. It is the best of both worlds.
Thank you Jeff!! We so grateful for your service.