Canoeing
Learn to canoe this summer
Take a beginner canoeing lesson, then progress to more advanced lake and river skills.
Our seasoned canoe instructors will help build your skills as you explore a variety of local waterways.
Tandem Canoeing
Learn to canoe with a partner this summer. Our Tandem Canoe programs will start you out on the calm waters of Bowness Lagoon, then progress to more advanced skills on a variety of waterways. Start with the Beginner Tandem Canoe Lesson, then progress through Intermediate and Advanced courses in your choice of Lake Canoeing or Moving Water Canoeing.
First time in a boat and not sure? The Intro to Tandem Canoeing program is a great first-try experiential class to start with.
Intro to Tandem Canoeing
This experiential 1-hour program will give you a chance to try tandem canoeing for the first time in the sheltered waters of Bowness Lagoon. This is a great start for first-timers to give canoeing a try and develop some comfort in a boat.
Beginner Tandem Canoeing
This lesson covers the basic flatwater canoe skills to get started paddling, taught on the calm waters of Bowness Lagoon. Learn basic canoeing skills including boat control, tracking, turns, bracing, and efficiently working together with a partner.
Intermediate Tandem Lake Canoeing
Build your flatwater skills and knowledge to enjoy day tours or easy overnight lake canoe trips. This course focuses on boat control and stroke refinement to smoothly travel across open water, as well as introducing the basics of water reading and risk management for different bodies of water.
Intermediate Tandem Moving Water Canoeing
Get ready to join the exciting world of river canoeing with this intermediate moving water course. Build skills for boat control and water reading to smoothly move across currents and in and out of eddies. Learn turns, ferries, and additional strokes in the morning on the Bowness Eddies, then put those skills into action on a short river run.
Advanced Tandem Lake Canoeing
This advanced course builds on all previous flatwater canoeing experience to build your confidence and capabilities. Learn high-level canoe manoeuvres and efficient strokes to prepare for extended lake canoe trips. Instructors will provide tips and tricks to further your skills.
Advanced Tandem Moving Water Canoeing
Enjoy a full-day river trip and develop additional skills and knowledge, focusing on canoe stability and control, using water features and paddling techniques to manoeuvre safely and efficiently. Building on intermediate moving water skills, this course will provide opportunities to further develop tracking, turns, and ferries in more challenging river waters.
Solo Canoeing
Solo Canoeing is a great additional skill to add to your paddling quiver. Start with learning to manage a full-length canoe on your own, then try out a whitewater solo canoe and build your river skills, building towards playing in fast-moving whitewater.
Intro to Solo Canoeing
Give solo canoeing a try for the first time in this experiential course intended to teach you how to balance and paddle a canoe on your own.
Beginner Solo Canoeing
The Beginner Solo lesson is intended for paddlers with some previous experience in a canoe, whether tandem or solo. Learn basic flatwater skills and knowledge for calm-water paddling alone in a boat, including turns, bracing, and tracking in a straight line.
Intermediate Solo Canoeing
Build on the Beginner Solo Canoeing skills and start solo-paddling a canoe in moving water. Try out whitewater solo boats for the first time, and develop paddling strokes to increase stability and control in moving water and in and out of eddies. This course will also introduce reading water to spot potential hazards and assess efficient lines while navigating the Bow River.
Advanced Solo Canoeing
This advanced course will introduce the exciting world of whitewater solo canoeing, using the rapids at Harvie Passage in Calgary. Take the next step into more technical water and build the necessary canoe-handling skills through stroke development and river reading. This course will develop the basic skills to try other entry-level rivers and encourage future skill development.
