Helicopter pilots are in constant danger of action stars climbing aboard their craft and throwing them out; canoers, however, need only fear falling helicopter pilots. Steer an unstealable vessel with today's Groupon: for $19, you get a weekday canoe rental for up to four people at Foote Brothers Canoe and Kayak in Ipswich (a $40 value). Customers can also use this Groupon for a one-person kayak rental (a $35 value). This Groupon is only valid for the Salem Run trip and includes shuttle service to the drop-off point.

Foote Brothers Canoe and Kayak outfits canoers with the paddle-driven vessels they need to power across the surface of the Ipswich River, charting a downstream course through a wildlife sanctuary and the majestic Wenham wetlands. After a shuttle bus drops them off at Salem Road in Topsfield, up to four adventurers strap on lifejackets and step into a sturdy 15- or 17-foot Grumman canoe to commence their waterborne odyssey. Paddlers adjust to the natural rhythms of the wetlands surrounding them, lifting their oars in musical unison with the warbling birds and beat-boxing brown trout that populate the river’s forested wildlife sanctuary.

The Salem Run trip takes about four hours to complete, during which groups can occasionally pause to take in scenery or reenact canoe battles deleted from the final reel of Waterworld. Though canoeing can be quickly learned and requires no prior experience, a group of splash-tested instructors will acquaint newcomers with the basics of paddling before shuttling them upstream.