Never a Dull Day on the Kicking Horse River

I first arrived here in 2005. Virtually straight off the plane from Scotland, I just passed through on my way to raft and kayak other rivers in the area. It was my first time working in British Columbia. I fell in love with BC that year. The mountains with their endless forests, towering peaks, and amazing glaciers. The animal life is like a northern serengeti, (except the trees are easy to hide behind for all the amazing creatures that live here) but just because we don’t see them, doesn’t mean they are not there, and when you do see them there’s usually something special happening: Elk swimming across the river, and eagle diving for food, or wolf running along the river bank right beside you. There are signs of the prolific wildlife everywhere. In the first year here I had a tick list of everything, and I got to see at least one of all the of them: elk, beaver, eagle, osprey, deer, moose, and a whole bunch of bears (black and brown, big and small).

I also heard about the river, and thought “I have to come back”. The cool water, the flat and fast moving current that takes you round corner after corner of vistas, surprise animal encounters, and gorgeous rapids. On any given day there is something for everyone here. Easy, medium, and harder white water, just take your pick on how you feel or who you are with. Splashy waves,waves that make you laugh, waves that make you go “WOW!”, and waves that make you go “YEEHAW!” (and let’s be honest sometimes the water makes you go BRRRRR!).

I have been coming back for 11 years because there is never a dull day on the Kicking Horse River.

-Bruce Low, Guide