- Most Popular
- Ages 8+ Ages Ages 8+
- 4 Hours Duration 4 Hours
Fun rapids and stunning scenery in the Sulphur Gates Canyon just outside Grande Cache
Quick Details
Trip Information
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Due to Covid restrictions, this trip is currently closed.
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Full payment is required to book all trips.
You must cancel at least 72 hours before the start time for a refund.
Refunds are less a 10% administration fee.
Before you book a trip, you will be required to read our Covid Safety Policies and answer a few short questions. When you book, we email you a link to our digital Waiver (read here). Each person in your group needs to sign a waiver before you arrive.
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WHAT TO BRING
- Closed shoes that can get wet: water shoes, sports sandals or old runners
- Swimsuit or lightweight underclothes for under the wetsuit
- Towel and dry shoes for after
- Sunglasses, a tie-on for prescription glasses
- Extra medication, EpiPen for deadly allergies
WHAT’S INCLUDED
- Neoprene wet suits & socks
- Wind-resistant jackets
- High-performance water helmets
- US Coast Guard approved Type V lifejackets
- Facebook trip photos
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MEET US AT: 11113 97 Avenue, Grande Cache, AB T0E 0Y0
There is street parking across the street from our Rafting House.
Large vehicles or trailers can be accommodated.
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How safe is rafting?
We have an extensive Risk Management program, and have been rafting without serious incident since 1998. Check out our Is Rafting Safe? page for more information.
What if it rains?
In some ways, rafting is the BEST outdoor activity to do in the rain — you are set up to get soaked! We have a few layers of gear and will equip you for the current weather. We do not cancel for rain, or even snow.
Do I need to know how to swim?
Many of our guests can’t swim and some are even afraid of water. Our lifejackets are designed for safely rafting in a white water river and also teach you what to do if you fall out of the raft.
Do you have a wetsuit big (or small) enough?
We haven’t met anyone yet we couldn’t fit. Adult suits go as large as 4XL, and kids as small as size 4.
The Experience
I’m walking down a steep trail into this canyon and the view is… just Wow! I want to share the moment so I look over at my friend, but instead I burst out laughing. The wetsuit, helmet and lifejacket… it’s quite the look. She grins, lifts her paddle in the air and says. “Let’s do this!” I can’t wipe the smile off my face. We’re about to go rafting – for the first time!
It’s a bit of a process actually getting to the river with the safety talks and all the gear, but I feel well prepared. After a bit of jostling and a few nervous giggles we’re in a raft headed downstream. The current is strong and the shore is whizzing past – this is a rush, and it’s FUN! They said almost anyone can do it and they’re right, this is a pretty friendly river, and this scenery is nuts. Plants are clinging to sheer cliff walls you can almost touch, and there are rapids and headwalls and my friends are laughing and screaming at the same time! This is freaking unreal, and we’re doing it!!
Before you know it we’ve conquered the first river and are headed to lunch. Then it’s straight into the second river. It’s like we’ve completed basic training and now this is the real thing! The trail down is dense and winding, and we hear the roar of the falls long before we get there. I don’t want to let on I’m a bit nervous, but I think maybe my friends are too.
This river is definitely more serious – narrow and fast, lots of turns, lots of big rocks. We don’t have time to think about it ‘cause right away we’re IN it.
“Left side paddle hard! Right side paddle two! ALL PADDLE HARD!!”, the guide bellows over the rush of white water. Suddenly I’m engulfed in water as the raft hits a massive wave and just as I’m ready to dig my paddle in deep, the bow lifts up and I’m paddling air. The raft drops back down and on the next stroke, I catch water again and somehow this feels normal, and good! It’s intense, but we’re doing it and I have never felt more alive!
As we get to the end, we’re all pumped and grinning like fools. From the moment we got into that raft, we had to pull together. It was relentless and kind of scary at times, but we all feel superhuman now. Invincible! My friends, guides, the other group; we all did this, and now I feel like we’re all part of this wild river family.