Headwater
Headwater app icon: a mint kayak cutting across navy water

Every paddle, logged.

Headwater is a logbook for kayakers and canoeists, on iPhone and Apple Watch. Record every paddle, keep your photos and crew with it, and find your next water.

Coming soon to the App Store Get help

Built for time on the water

Leave the phone in the dry bag. Headwater records from your wrist, works without a signal, and keeps your logbook on your own devices.

  • Record anywhere

    • GPS route recording on iPhone, with a Live Activity on the lock screen
    • A full Apple Watch app with Watch GPS and heart rate that syncs to your phone
    • Optional saving of paddle workouts and routes to Apple Health
    • Pause, resume, and recovery if the app is interrupted mid-paddle
    • Import past trips from GPX files

  • Paddle with your crew

    • Invite nearby paddlers from your phone or Watch over Bluetooth, with no cell signal or account needed
    • Photos and videos from a shared paddle sync between verified crew at the take-out
    • Library photos stay private until you choose to share them

  • Find your next water

    • 950+ researched guides plus public launch locations across New York and New England
    • Each guide covers the put-in, carry, motor rules, outing length and cautions, with links to the managing agency
    • Guidebooks are stored on your device, so they work offline
    • Wind and weather forecasts from Apple Weather, plus a paddle-day planner and wishlist

  • Private by design

    • Your logbook lives on your devices
    • No Headwater account, no ads and no tracking
    • Export everything or delete it from Settings at any time

    Read the privacy policy

Where the guides cover

Recording and your logbook work anywhere. Guidebooks currently cover New York and New England, and more regions are on the way.

  • Adirondacks
  • Finger Lakes
  • Hudson Valley
  • Long Island
  • Vermont
  • New Hampshire
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • Connecticut
  • Rhode Island

Paddle somewhere else? Tell us where. Requests from paddlers decide which guidebooks we build next.

How to request a region

Always check conditions, local rules and your own skills before heading out. Headwater's forecasts and guides are planning aids, not safety guarantees.