In a review for AllMusic, critic Brian Beatty wrote:
Hartford's most even Flying Fish album, with equal measures of songwriting whimsy and expert musicianship, Gum Tree Canoe includes a number of tunes that would remain concert staples for the length of his career... there's not a clinker to be heard. Hartford's banjo playing is exceptional, as is the accompaniment provided by a host of fine country, bluegrass, and new grass pickers... Riverboat tales, an R&B staple, and the Rolling Stones couldn't sound more at home together than they do on this fine album from one of roots music's genuine originals.[1]
John Lupton of Country Standard Time wrote "this is Hartford at his entertaining best, a bittersweet reminder of how much was lost to us when he passed away".[2]
Track listing
"I'm Still Here" (John Hartford) – 3:26
"Way Down the River Road" (Hartford) – 2:18
"Gum Tree Canoe" (S. S. Steele) – 4:07
"Your Long Journey" (Doc Watson, Rosa Lee Watson) – 2:27