RIVER PROFILES

The Athabasca River

The mighty Athabasca River is renowned as the River that opened up Western Canada. People still come every year to retrace the steps of David Thompson, Alexander Mackenzie and other explorers who first paddled the Athabasca. It is one of those wilderness rivers that the wilderness enthusiasts can truly enjoy and we have developed a canoeing program that reflects this: Guided tours with scheduled departures from Edmonton, training on calm water and 3 nights camping on islands or along remote river shores.

We help out the adventurous individuals on unguided trips get outfitted with the proper equipment, before transporting them out to one of the various drop-off points in Jasper, Hinton, Whitecourt, and Ft. McMurray. Trip lengths vary from 3 days, 2 weeks, to 3 months. The trip from Jasper to Athabasca normally takes around 15-20 days. You can stop in Ft. Assinibione if it looks like it is going to take you too long to get to Athabasca (usually around day 14).

The Athabasca River is considered an intermediate canoe trip; the river is rated as an overall Class I - II, with rapids I -III. Paddler skill is Novice Open Canadian (Can effectively use all basic strokes from the bow or stern of a tandem canoe. Knows the basics of reading water and can negotiate Class II rapids with assurance. There are a few tricky spots, however for the most part the river is calm and flat.

The North Saskatchewan River

This "Canadian Classic" is an excellent river trip. It starts out in the mountains and travels through the foothills and finally the Prairies. One of the most appealing aspects of this river is that it has a high degree of safety , which allows paddlers to choose whether or not they want to run the "big" water. There are numerous islands for camping. Moose, deer, bears and other wildlife are common along this stretch of the river.