Ride the thrilling rapids through Horseshoe Canyon. Experience exhilarating whitewater on the Bow River, with an optional cliff jump.
A half-day whitewater tour is for adventure lovers who want rafting thrills and excitement close to Banff, Canmore, and Calgary. The Horseshoe Canyon section offers spectacular scenery, big waves and up to class IV whitewater. Experience a sense of remoteness while you raft through shale canyons and awesome whitewater.
The Horseshoe Canyon rafting experience:
- Predominantly class 3 and 4
- Three major rapids
- Your trip finishes with a short stretch of calm and relaxing Class 1-2 rapids
- This finishing section will become a class 3+ or 3 by the end of the season when the water level drops due to reduced snowmelt
- Intensity Level: Moderate
Wondering what the class levels mean? Check out our Whitewater Rafting Rapids Classification Guide.
See this Banff area raft trip for yourself in the video below!

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Adam's Pick
"The Horseshoe Canyon is an amazing mix of challenging Canyon rapids, beautiful scenery, and exciting cliff jump options for everyone, with plenty of exhilarating river features to play on at all river levels. Truly one of the best river sections in Alberta." - Adam , Senior Raft Guide, Chinook Rafting
The best parts of the tour for most people include the following:
1.5 - 2 Hours on the Bow River
Optional cliff jump and swim
Free photos
Everything is provided!
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Adam's Pick
"The Horseshoe Canyon is an amazing mix of challenging Canyon rapids, beautiful scenery, and exciting cliff jump options for everyone, with plenty of exhilarating river features to play on at all river levels. Truly one of the best river sections in Alberta." - Adam , Senior Raft Guide, Chinook Rafting
The Nakoda Lakeside Lodge has clean port-a-potties, male and female change tents and ample free parking.
You can wear sunglasses/glasses as long as these are secured with a strap or piece of string, and contact lenses are usually okay if you are comfortable swimming with them and tell your guide. Sunscreen is great on a hot day for any areas not covered by the wetsuit, but avoid putting it above or near your eyes. You can bring your own waterproof camera or GoPro which can be secured with your own chest harness or on a helmet with a GoPro mount, but we are not responsible for loss or damage of your equipment.
Participants must read and agree to the terms and conditions of the waiver, before we can take you on our white water rafting trip. Please complete the waiver 24 hours before your trip starts.
If you choose not to sign the waiver, you can contact us to receive a full refund.
Preview Adult Waiver: Here
Preview Child Waiver: Here
Guests should be physically fit and have a reasonable swimming ability. If you have never rafted before or do not know how to swim, we recommend the Kananaskis Whitewater Rafting Tour, as the rapids and river are not as strong as the other tours.
The tour is run by Chinook Rafting who have been operating whitewater rafting tours as a licensed company in the province of Alberta since 1983 and all of the rafting guides are trained in Swiftwater Rescue and First Aid & CPR. What this means for you is that they are confident that they can manage, not eliminate, the risks today to offer you an exciting and fun day on the river, creating as safe a framework as they can, given what we are doing. However, it is important to remember that we are not on a track, this isn’t Disneyland! The fact that we’re not on a track adds excitement to what we’re doing, but it also adds inherent risks.
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Trip Starting Point |
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Adam's Pick
"The Horseshoe Canyon is an amazing mix of challenging Canyon rapids, beautiful scenery, and exciting cliff jump options for everyone, with plenty of exhilarating river features to play on at all river levels. Truly one of the best river sections in Alberta." - Adam , Senior Raft Guide, Chinook Rafting
- The minimum age is 12 years and the minimum weight per person is 90 lbs. If the guest is unaccompanied by an adult then the minimum age is 16 years old.
- The maximum weight per person is 350 lbs.
- A waiver must be completed prior to the trip and is a condition of participation, this will be sent through upon booking. In addition, a Parental Consent form must be completed by the parent or legal guardian of any child under the age of 18 years prior to arrival at the riverbase. This is especially important if you are bringing someone else’s child (under 18 years old) rafting.
- Photo ID may be required for identity verification.
- Please note that this tour requires a minimum of 8 participants, please call the day prior to confirm the tour.
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Trip Starting Point |
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Adam's Pick
"The Horseshoe Canyon is an amazing mix of challenging Canyon rapids, beautiful scenery, and exciting cliff jump options for everyone, with plenty of exhilarating river features to play on at all river levels. Truly one of the best river sections in Alberta." - Adam , Senior Raft Guide, Chinook Rafting

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Trip Starting Point |
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