Canoeing Down the North Saskatchewan

Crossed off a major #summerbucketlist item - we went canoeing on the North Saskatchewan.

We had originally booked our trip for a leisurely Sunday afternoon paddling adventure on July 16th. We checked in with Edmonton Canoe at our starting/end point - Capilano Park (CP), signed the waiver, boarded the bus and arrived at our canoe starting point -- Emily Murphy Park (EMP). However, the weather had changed drastically between CP and EMP, and they cancelled. A little bit of a let down, but safety first. I didn't want my boys and I's first canoe trip to be disastrous due to poor weather, high winds and smoke.
It was easy enough to rebook, and Bianca slotted us in for the following Sunday.

My canoeing partners, my kids and I arrived to beautifully sunny weather, and light winds. Perfect! (Again) Signed waivers and boarded the bus. We knew we were going canoeing. Too perfect to not!
Arrived at EMP, given our life jackets and paddles, and with an inhale of courage (I can act all brave now, but there was a moment I really worried about what I was about to do.) But it was all fine. Split up my children (one with another adult, my youngest with me and another adult -- both the adults joining us had done this before, so we were in great, capable hands).

We set sail (or dropped paddle??) at 2:45 pm, and it wasn't long before we were approaching the LRT bridge - just as the LRT went across (high "cool" factor for my kids).

Even managed to see the High Level Bridge Streetcar head towards Whyte Ave

(also on our bucket list)

The paddling was fairly easy (at least in my canoe - there were two adults paddling). And we approached the old Walterdale Bridge and the beautiful new replacement - the arched Walterdale.

This is looking west, as you can see High Level Bridge below it.

We joined up the two boats and floated peaceful downstream and as we rounded the bend, we got an impressive view of south-east downtown, with the Chateau Lacombe, the Telus building, the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald, and the tip of Canada Place to name a few.

Truly breathtaking to see downtown from the river. 

Here Canada Place in the background, and the 98 Ave bridge

Our halfway point was the Edmonton River Queen. She's now docked, permanently, but having cruised on her before, it would be great if the new owners got her up and going again.

We beached on the east side of the Queen, and my kids swapped boats. My youngest wanted to try paddling, as he'd been a passenger for half the trip. 

We paddled on. 

The downtown view (looking west). 

Hey, it's me! Proof I was there, and not just taking pictures. 

We battled some strong head winds, and the skies to the west of us were started to darken. Time to paddle more and take fewer pictures. As we approached the Wayne Gretzky Drive (75 street) bridge, we knew we were getting closer to the end. This bridge was the 7th one we went under. 

Almost there. Just on the other side of the Capilano Foot Bridge is our docking/end of the adventure point. We're paddling a little more consistently now (and better, once I figured out a rhythm to match my oldest in the bow). 

We docked just after 5 pm. 

Total time paddling/floating/enjoying the view: 2 hours 20 minutes
Distance: between 11 - 12 kilometres
Enjoyability factor: HIGH
Ease of use: Beginner
only 2 of 5 had done this before, now we all can (2 are children)
Cost: $80 for 2 people; $105 for 3 people
Recommend: YES!! Do it! My youngest wants me to book us so we can go again. :) 

I brought life-jackets for my two kids, but Edmonton Canoe does supply them for children (and adults of all sizes). Because there was three of us in one canoe, we also had an extra seat (thus the higher cost), but it was exceptionally comfortable for the person not paddling and it beat sitting on the bottom of the canoe.
They picked us up from our pickup point, provided transportation to the water entry point, and met up with us at the end point. Aside from the paddling, it was a leisurely way to see the city from a unique viewpoint. I dealt with the company both via the website and over the phone, and Bianca was pleasant and accommodating. Steve (?) at the pickup/drop off/launch site was great too. Informative and helpful, and puts safety first. Highly recommend. 

Next time, we'll be seeing if there is a different water entry point we can start at and see, because -- yeah -- we're going to do this again!

Oh -- somewhere in one of my upcoming books, one of my main characters is going to go on a canoe date. Wouldn't that be fun?