8:15am, 1:30pm
Departure Time
4 Hrs
Duration
5+
Age
2-3
River Class
May-Sep
Season
Fabulous Family Fun on the Kananaskis River.
This river offers everyone from 5 to 95 years an exciting, splashy Rocky Mountain whitewater rafting adventure.
Winding through the picturesque landscape of Kananaskis Country, the Kananaskis River is a great whitewater experience for families or as a group outing. Conveniently located just 45 minutes west of Calgary in the front ranges of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
The Kananaskis River experience:
- The Kananaskis River is predominantly a class 3 in the first half of the river
- The second half of the river is a stretch of calm and relaxing class 2 and some class 1 rapids.
- This river is dam controlled and has reasonably stable water levels all year round.
- Intensity Level: Easy and Fun
Learn more about what each river class means in our Whitewater Rafting Rapids Classification Guide.
See this Banff area rafting trip for yourself in the video below!
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Richard's Pick
"This Banff area rafting trip is a fun ride with lively, playful rapids on the first half, and stunning scenery around every corner on the second half." - Richard van der Ploeg, Operations Manager
The best parts of the tour for most people include the following:
1
1.5 - 2 Hours on the Kananaskis River
A ride you won’t forget. Surrounded by the magnificent Rocky Mountains.
2
Free Photos
Professional photos of you white water rafting are posted for free on our website.
3
Optional river swim
Our trip includes a scenic float to the finish where you can swim and splash in the water.
4
Everything is provided!
The tour includes your professional Rocky Mountain river guide, instruction, equipment, practice as well as use of our facilities.
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Richard's Pick
"This Banff area rafting trip is a fun ride with lively, playful rapids on the first half, and stunning scenery around every corner on the second half." - Richard van der Ploeg, Operations Manager
The tour is approximately 4 hours. It starts at the Nakoda Lakeside Lodge at 1:30pm (meet time 1:15pm) and finishes at 5:30pm. During some peak summer months, there is also an 8:15am tour (meet time 8:10am) that finishes at 12:15pm. Your tour includes a short drive to the river and 1.5 to 2 hours on the water.
For those taking transport from Banff, the pickup time is 12:45pm from behind the Mt Royal Hotel in Banff (hotel address: 138 Banff Ave) and in Canmore, the pickup time is time is 1:10pm from the Coast Canmore Hotel (hotel address: 511 Bow Valley Trail). Please allow 5 hours for those taking transport from Canmore and 5.5 hours for those taking transport from Banff.
The tour includes 1.5 – 2 hours on the river (including a 20-minute river float to finish up), a professional river guide with each boat, an optional river swim and free professional photos. All safety equipment, including clean and dry wetsuits, wetsuit booties, fleece, spray jacket, life jacket and a helmet, are provided. The tour winds through scenic views of the front range of the Rocky Mountain Ranges and occasionally, we see wildlife such as osprey, bald eagles, deer and bears. The Nakoda Lakeside Lodge has clean port-a-potties and ample free parking.
The meeting point is at the Nakoda Lakeside Lodge, located on Highway 1A, approximately 25 minutes from Canmore and 45 minutes from Banff and Calgary. Detailed driving directions are included in your booking confirmation. There is ample free parking at the riverbase and you will brought back to your vehicle at the end of the tour.
Transport is available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for an additional fee from behind the Mt Royal Hotel in Banff (hotel address: 138 Banff Ave) and the Coast Canmore Hotel (hotel address: 511 Bow Valley Trail).
Please wear your swimsuit under your clothes and bring warm clothes and a towel in a bag after the tour. We also suggest bringing a toque or hat for colder days, to wear under the helmet. Your belongings can be stored in the bus or your own car while you are on the river. 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.
Anything else! It isn’t recommended to bring your camera and rafters aren’t permitted to wear their own wetsuit or to wear anything that could cause a hazard while on the tour.
When making your reservation please let the agent know and they will check with the rafting team. On the day of your raft trip, please bring any medication you may need and inform your guide of any medical conditions.
No rafting experience is necessary, and we provide a professional, Rocky Mountain river guide with each boat who will explain and demonstrate paddle, safety and emergency techniques. This includes dryland safety instructions and practicing paddling on the river before the waves. This tour is ideal for anyone that has never rafted before or does not know how to swim, as the rapids and river are not as strong as the other tours. On the day of your trip, please inform your guide if you are a non or weak swimmer.
You will go through class 2 & 3 rapids during your tour, which is ideal for families and first-time rafters. Check out our Whitewater Rafting Rapids Classification Guide for more information. The tour is run by Chinook Rafting who have been operating whitewater rafting tours as a licensed business 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 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.
We have a 24-hour cancellation policy, which allows you to change/cancel or refund your booking up to 24 hours outside your booked tour (up to 7 days for group bookings).
Tips are not expected but are certainly appreciated. If you think your guide did a wonderful job and would like to indicate that with a tip, it will be graciously accepted.
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Richard's Pick
"This Banff area rafting trip is a fun ride with lively, playful rapids on the first half, and stunning scenery around every corner on the second half." - Richard van der Ploeg, Operations Manager
- The minimum age is 5 years and the minimum weight per person is 20kgs (40lbs). 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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Richard's Pick
"This Banff area rafting trip is a fun ride with lively, playful rapids on the first half, and stunning scenery around every corner on the second half." - Richard van der Ploeg, Operations Manager
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