A couple years ago, Lisa and I got one of those old Coleman Ram-X polyethylene canoes off of craigslist, for the best $100 we ever spent. $40 or $50 later we were outfitted with reasonable lifejackets and a couple of paddles from Bi-Mart, as well as rubber mats to get the thing home pre-roof-rack. We got the book Basic Canoeing from Stackpole Press, which had some very useful information. You will have more fun in a canoe of any sort if you know a few of the basic corrective steering strokes. They also have a small section on cartopping. We also have the Canoe and Kayak Routes of Northwest Oregon, by Philip N. Jones, which has been quite nice in suggesting trips. We tend to be a little lazier than the average trip length he lists, but have done many up-and-backs to avoid the need for a car shuttle. You do not need an SUV to have a canoe. In fact, car topping is easiest with a small sedan style car or wagon. We did get a good rack from Yakima racks... after doing a wee bit of roof damage with cardboard and foam.

Sparks Lake, near Bend, Oregon

A few of the trips I can think of:

• Willamette River, in at Wilsonville, up to Champoeg Park (and back in the dark, freezing under the stars.)
• Willamette River, in at Wilsonville, down to park near Canby Ferry
• Willamette River, in and around Hebb Park
• Willamette River, in at Portland Eastbank Esplanade, down to Saturday Market and back.  A little scary, what with the jetboat tour wakes.
  
• Willamette River, into  and around Ross Island
• Trillium Lake, on Mt. Hood
• Camping on Sparks Lake near Bend.  (you can take all of your crap, just like a car, and not have to carry it! The canoe allows you to use uber-cheap/heavy car-camping style gear to be comfy in the woods, away from car noise.)
• Horseshoe Lake in Woodland
• Tualatin River, Shipley Bridge to Browns Ferry Park and back
• Tualatin River, Brown's Ferry Park to Cook Park and back
• Tualatin River, Cook Park to Schaumberg Bridge, (left canoe in bushes, got ride home from Fred)
• Tualatin River, Schaumberg Bridge to Cook Park (next day)
• Tualatin River, Eagle Landing to Scholls Ferry Bridge.
• Tualatin River, Eagle Landing upstream a bit.

Lisa and I have a little experience in rental Kayaks... mostly very flat water.. around Galliano Island, down near Yachats, and on the Coquille, from Bandon.

The Coquille was an exciting experience.. we rented a very nice double boat from the little town area just inside the jetty. The rental guy told us not to stay out too late.. becuase the wind and chop kick up in the afternoon. It sure did. Flat calm and beautiful in the morning.. then a howling (thankfully tail) wind over a clear reach of water maybe a mile long. Spray was blowing off the tops of the waves so hard it stung. It felt like the wind was pushing up very peaky swell against the tide.. these would rise up very close to the cockpit, in fact, I got a little wet.. not just from spray but from a little slosh. We didn't have spray skirts as the shop owner said they don't rent in conditions that require them. Never used a spray skirt, but I sure wanted one then... the boat itself felt beautifully stable. I am sure the guys in the Coast Guard cutter tied up at the dock were watching us with binoculars and rolling with laughter.

Kayaks are beautiful for performance and stability, but the Canoe is unbeatable for just being totally lazy. Also, my back seems to get sore stuck in one spot for too long.