Discover the Rockies with Blue Canoe Adventures in 2024

Embark on a Family-Friendly Canoeing Adventure in Banff's Scenic Wilderness

The Blue Canoeing Rentals is based at the Blue Canoe Docks, along the Bow River in Banff, Canada. The business offers a number of fun outdoor activities for all the family, and almost all ages. Their boat house is only 3 blocks from Banff Avenue. Visitors can relax on the docks before and after their activities, enjoy a picnic and the beautiful surroundings.

The primary activity offered by the Blue Canoeing Rental Company is Voyageur canoe tours, the voyageurs were the intrepid explorers of Canada who mapped out the lay of the land. The tours are done in replicas of the voyageur canoes and the guides are dressed up as voyageur explorers.

Groups gather on the docks and receive safety equipment and instructions about how to paddle once on board. The group takes off in a large, long canoe with a costumes guide at the head of the vessel. The informed guide tells the tale (in character) of what life used to be like many years ago for the early explorers who used these large canoes. The original explorers mapped out the terrain and the routes of the rivers of Western Canada by traveling in these boats.

Each Voyager canoe can carry 14 passengers, each doing their part to paddle down the river. The activity is not strenuous, no experience is necessary and it is a lot of fun for all the family, including children.

The Bow River Experience is a one-hour excursion down the river in a large canoe that can carry 12 passengers paddling while the guide tells tales of the early explorers. The tours leave daily at 11am, 1pm and 3:30pm in peak season. The tour costs C$39 for adults, C$15 for kids (6-12) and young children 2-5 years old go for free.

The Grand Voyageur Tour -This guided canoe tour takes you to a landing dock on the Bow River and from there the passengers disembark and go on a walk through nature to the Cave and Basin National Historic Site and Welcome Center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here they continue on a guided tour of the underground cave and hot springs.

Next there is a media presentation on big screens and you can learn about the discovery of thermal waters here and how it changed the history of this area. Passengers return to river and take a fun paddle back to the downtown Blue Canoe docks.

The dynamic tour is led by a guide dressed up like a voyageur and participants get to learn the voyager salute and song! This tour takes 3 hours and leaves on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at 3pm. The tour costs C$54 for adults and C$29 for kids (6-12). The price includes entry to the Cave and Basin site.

If you prefer to explore the river alone then you can rent a canoe or kayak for C$36 for the first hour and C$20 for every hour after that. The canoes can hold a maximum of 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 kids. You can also rent an Electra Cruiser bicycle (C$12 per hour) from the Blue Canoe Docks to explore the area on land.

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