Our Journey Down the North Saskatchewan

Last year we sailed down the North Saskatchew with Edmonton Canoe on their leisure Sunday PM canoe ride. If you're curious about our last years trip, click here. It was so much fun, that we booked again for this summer. Same company, same Sunday afternoon event. 

Date selected, we eagerly watched the weather. Unless it's storming, it's a go. Thankfully for us that Sunday, it was a beautiful 30C, and we had a light breeze on the water. 

Our starting point was Capilano Park, where we parked our vehicle and received some quick instructions from the leader of Edmonton Canoe. We boarded the bus and headed to our starting destination. This year, due to construction on the Groat Rode bridge, we were unable to start at Emily Murphy park. Instead, as a bonus, we got to start further upstream at Sir Wilfred Laurier Park. 

Leaving Sir Wilfred Laurier Park - the Hawrelak Park-Laurier Park Bridge in the distance. 

 As we paddled down the river, we passed Government Hill park on the left and came within sight of the High Level Bridge, which just happened to have a Streetcar crossing on the top. The LRT bridge is just below.

The High Level Bridge. At night, it lights up and is quite the sight. 

 We paddled more downstream, enjoying the fresh air, the laughs, the views and the heat. We approached Edmonton's newest bridge - the Walterdale - a true beauty to be seen. 

It was quite warm, so we 'docked' underneath the Walterdale in the shade and had a late lunch. There are year markers underside the bridge. One was 1985 and the other was 1915. We speculated that these might be how high the river was on those years, but we could be wrong. Anyone know?

Looking to the north side of Walterdale. 

Continuing on, we passed this quaint little wooden bridge. 

It's somewhere in the Irene Parlby park area. 

Yay! As luck would have it the Edmonton Queen was heading upstream with a group of party-goers. We floated on by and waved! A few guests even waved back. Adding this to my #summerbucketlist

Approaching the 98 ave Bridge, with Downtown in the background. 

This is a magnificent view of the Hotel MacDonald, the Funicular Viewpoint, the Courtyard by Marriot, Canada Place and the Shaw Conference Centre (on the far right)

Accidental Beach

We passed by Accidental Beach, and looked westward at downtown. Lots of construction going on in the core of our city, as you can see by the cranes. Accidental beach wasn't as appealing as we thought or hoped. However, it could be because the water levels are still high because the beach are wasn't that expanse? 

The Rowland Road Bridge. We're approaching the end, and because it's been such a lovely and peaceful trek, we're not wanting it to end. So we lifted our paddles and simply floated downstream. 

Here I am!

I travelled with my two children and two other adults. 

We split the five of us into two canoes (so we bought the additional seat for the canoe). 

It was an enjoyable ride. Already my kids are asking when we're going to go next year. 

We couldn't have asked for better weather and better travelling companions. 

According to my estimate, it was about 16 km worth of river we paddled down. 

Edmonton Canoe was waiting for us as we 'landed' at Capilano and they took care of loading the canoe onto the trailer. They had also unloaded them at Laurier Park boat launch, so everything was ready to go. 

Life jackets are provided, and they have kid sizes, but I brought my kids' anyway as I know they fit properly. They provide you with a dry bag to keep your personal effects in, but I used a baggie and carabiner clip to secure it to my lifejacket. Trust me, you'll want to take a lot of pictures and won't want to fiddle with wrapping/rewrapping the dry bag. I didn't post the pictures that had our faces in it but between the 3 adults, we took over 100 pictures. 

The trip itself took us just over three hours. 

Enjoyability factor - HIGH! Everyone wants to do it again. 

Five stars all the way!