East slope Canadian Rockies river trip advice?

[larry]

I would like some advice on a 3-5 day river trip on the east side of the Rockies in Alberta. I have paddled canoes for years. I would like to do a short trip this summer. I don't want to do anything more than class II. There are so many rivers to choose from, so I thought I would see what rivers are favorites for the paddlers here with more experience in the region. My priorities are mountain scenery and wildlife.

Also, are there canoe clubs in the region that do trips in the summer I might could investigate?

 

[Pook]

Hi Larry,

You have a number of options depending upon what time of year you're thinking and how far you intend to travel in 3-5 days...

Some suggestions: the Athabasca River from Jasper to Hinton, or longer to Whitecourt. This starts in Jasper National Park in the Rockies...
The North Saskartchewan River from Abrahams Lake To Nordegg or from Rocky Mountain House to Drayton Valley.
The Bow River from Lake Louise to Banff. This one is completely within Banff National Park.
Keep in mind that snow melt and highest water is late May to late June depending upon how wet and how quickly Spring arrives.

For Resources: start with Paddle Alberta Website- lots of info there as well as store with maps, guide books, etc. https://paddlealberta.org/

A good start for ideas is Paddle AB VP Mark Lunds "Guide for Alberta Paddlers". He includes trips on all of the paddable water bodies in Alberta , breaking them into trips and detailing access, camping, difficulty, etc. ( Full confession: Mark Lund is a friend but I have a well marked up highlighted copy of his book on my bookshelf!)
There are Calgary Canoe Club, Bow Waters Canoe Club, Northwest Voyageurs, Ceyana Canoe Club, etc. All plan river trips amongst fellow paddlers.

I belong to Ceyana in Edmonton and we are having our AGM tonight, with planning the paddling season a high priority. https://ceyanacanoeclub.wildapricot.org/
Some of the trips already planned are listed there.

Hope that this is helpful to you in some measure!

We look forward to you enjoying the paddling in Alberta this summer!

Bruce

 

[larry]

Thanks for all the information, Bruce. I have been doing some research on all 3 of those rivers on myccr.com and other websites. I haven't found information easy to find/understand, but really just getting started. I saw Mark's book mentioned a lot of places and looked on Amazon and found one for $5.99 and one for $250. That was confusing, as well as it seemed there were multiple editions, couldn't figure out what was the newest version. It seems you have to be a member to access most info on the Bow Waters Website. I will look into the specific stretches of the rivers you mentioned.

 

[Pook]

Hi Larry, The latest version of Marks book is Second Edition that was published 2014, with revisions in 2016. He is working on revisions right now. The book contains a wealth of info for anyone paddling in Alberta, but I wouldn't pay$250 for it! Let me know if you have specific questions; as noted earlier, your timing in the summer- and water levels- may be the deciding factor on trip you choose. Cheers! Bruce

 

[larry]

Thanks, Bruce.

 

[wjmc]

You have received some very good input here, and on myccr as well. I might also suggest the Brazeau River, from above the Forestry Trunk Road to the reservoir as a potential option, and the Wildhay River from near Rock Lake as an alternate approach to the Athabasca. It has been some years since I paddled in these areas however.

wjmc

 

[larry]

Thanks for the additional recommendations, wjmc.