Kananaskis River Rafting

1.5 – 2 hours of river time, taking in the spectacular views of the Rocky Mountain Foothills.

A professional river guide with each boat, who will explain and demonstrate paddle, safety and emergency techniques.

All safety equipment: wetsuits, lifejacket, helmet, rainjacket, wetsuit booties and gloves.

Transportation from our meeting point at Nakoda Lakeside Lodge to and from the river. You will be brought back to your vehicle at the end of the trip.

Nakoda Lakeside Lodge, located at Riverbase, Stoney 142, 143, 144, Alberta, Canada. From Nakoda Lakeside Lodge we do all the driving to and from the river, so you don’t need to provide transportation for that and there is plenty of free parking for all vehicles at Nakoda Lakeside Lodge.

Please wear your swimsuit under your clothes and bring warm clothes and a towel for after the tour.  We also suggest bringing a toque or hat for colder days, to wear under the helmet. Please bring a warm sweater for after your trip if you feel the cold. Your belongings can be stored in your car while you are on the river.

Every guest needs to sign a waiver form. This is a condition of participation before any adventure activity in North America and worldwide. If you would like to review the contents of our waiver form prior to booking, please use the links below to access a read-only version. These versions are for your review only, upon booking, you will receive a fillable version to complete on your confirmation.

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.

Preview Adult Waiver: Here

Preview Parental Consent Form: Here

The Kananaskis River Rafting Tour starts at the Nakoda Lakeside Lodge at 1:30pm (meet time 1:15pm) and runs for 4 hours, which includes 1.5 to 2 hours on the water. You will be back at Nakoda Lakeside Lodge at approximately 5:15pm.

The tour runs daily at 1:30pm, from mid May to mid September.

The minimum age requirement is 5 years. If the guest is unaccompanied by an adult the minimum age is 16 years old, but the parent must be at Nakoda Lakeside Lodge to sign the waiver. The minimum weight is 40lbs and the maximum weight is 350lbs.

No experience is necessary, we do provide a Professional 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.

It is ok to join the tour however on the day please inform your guide that you are a non or weak swimmer too.

All of the staff are employed for their knowledge, local stories, enthusiasm, qualifications and experience and then further trained. All of the rafting guides meet or exceed industry standards, and must be licensed through the Professional River Outfitters Association of Alberta, undergoing a series of practical and written exams. Many of the guides qualify as, or are training on becoming, Trip Leaders, which is the highest level of certification that we as guides can obtain. All of our rafting guides are also trained in Swiftwater Rescue and First Aid & CPR and often spend their Canadian winters working as Professional Rafting Guides in the Southern Hemisphere too. We generally require a minimum of 3-5 seasons of prior rafting experience before we see if new guides are up to our standards. Some of our raft guides have over 10 years of international experience. All of our staff undergo thorough in-house training on the rivers we run; & first aid, river rescue and emergency response scenario training going above and beyond the industry standard, along with on-going safety meetings during the season to improve our emergency response plan and risk management procedures.

There is always a very slim possibility that you could fall out of the raft while on your white water rafting tour. We do everything possible as a company though to keep you inside the raft, providing you with top of the line equipment, including safety lines positioned around the raft, and very thorough, clear and concise safety briefings and demonstrations before the rafting tour. We want you to be prepared and ready to enjoy your tour with us.

If you cannot see without your glasses, please bring them along with a sports band strap or we will provide a piece of string which will help secure the glasses to your head. If you can see without your glasses/sunglasses we recommend leaving them in your car so you do not loose or break them out on the river. Contact lenses are usually OK if you are comfortable swimming in them, please tell your guide.

You should leave it behind and not risk getting your camera lost or ruined on the river. You can take some “before and after” photos while in your river gear. Best just to leave it to our professional photographer who will snap some fantastic shots of you while you get to have fun on the river.

Yes, you can bring your own GoPro for the rafting tour, which can be secured with your own chest harness, or we do have some helmets with GoPro mounts but we are not responsible for loss or damage of your equipment.

No, there is a short bus ride from Nakoda Lakeside Lodge to the river and back again after the tour.

There are male and female change tents at Nakoda Lakeside Lodge.

Yes, port-a-potties are available at Nakoda Lakeside Lodge however not at the rafting site. 

There is a 24 hour cancellation policy for the Horseshoe Canyon and Kananaskis River trips, you can change/cancel or refund your booking 24 hours outside your booked tour (up to 7 days for group bookings of 9 or more participants)