Canada Adventures
Why choose O.A.R.S. for your rafting or adventure vacation in Canada?
Canada's coastline is the longest in the world, and this humble nation of 33 million people is the second largest country in the world by landmass, smaller in size only to Russia. With more than 3.6-million square miles of landmass, and 151,485 miles of coastline, where, and how, does one begin a Canada adventure?
O.A.R.S. offers eight unique vacations with activities ranging from whitewater rafting, sea kayaking and whale watching to heli-hiking and multi-sport activities. In partnership with our Canadian partner, R.O.A.M. (Rivers, Oceans and Mountains), we are able to offer our travelers well-planned expeditions with unprecedented access to pristine wilderness environments.
Following a series of attempts to acquire a permit on the Arctic’s Tatshenshini River, in 2002 we partnered with longtime friend and operational partner, Brian McCutcheon, from R.O.A.M. In partnership with R.O.A.M., we are able to offer our travelers trips on ‘the Tat’, the Firth River, which is adjacent to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and to places no other rafting companies dare to venture.
O.A.R.S. and R.O.A.M. have braved first descents down some of Canada's most untamed rivers, and we have also brewed up some peerless bravado on the luxury front. Some of our river journeys through the heartlands of British Columbia are padded with pampering—five-star lodges, hot springs, naturalist-led wildlife tours, elegant meals and all the amenities.
Itineraries veer from the norm, and include adventures that offer kayaking with Orcas, heli-hiking and world-class fishing on our Kootenay Rockies, Johnstone Strait and Chilko Multi-Sport vacations.
O.A.R.S. Canadian adventures are all but out-of-this-world, with wild whitewater well into the early fall, and geography that includes everything from 10,000-foot peaks to monstrous old growth forest to icebergs and salt-water fjords—all in the same expedition.
More than 450,000 guests have trusted us to take them to exotic locations worldwide. No matter where in the world we operate, we use top-notch, well-maintained equipment. Our experienced, well-rounded guides are personable and approachable, and of course, our Canadian guides are exceptionally polite.
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Join O.A.R.S. in British Columbia for a rafting, sea kayaking or multi-sport adventure in the wild and ancient frontiers of Western Canada
Do you dream of paddling your way through moose, eagle, orca or grizzly habitat for amazing bear viewing and whale watching? Would you like to soar over Canada’s glaciated Coast Range for a bird’s eye view of British Columbia wilderness? Are you interested in the ultimate BC rafting on the longest stretch of commercially navigable Class IV whitewater in North America? Do you dream of Canadian fly fishing in crystal clear creeks with the promise of fat, feisty rainbow trout, bull trout and dolly varden? Do you like to play hard, but appreciate the finer things in life?
The rivers and coastlines of British Columbia and Canada's Yukon Territory, and the landscapes that envelop them, literally dwarf famous waters elsewhere in North America. They offer ultra-diverse beauty and wildlife in breadths seen in few other parts of the world. From headwaters that often flow with ice-pack, some of these rivers pass beneath giant glass-blue glaciers, along horizons of endless temperate rainforest and storied high country desert, while others tumble into bays looming with icebergs. The legendary coastline teems with wildlife, one of the most dependable areas in the world for observing and paddling with the powerful but gentle Orcas for unforgettable BC whale watching.
Canada’s beauty unfolds in breathtaking splendor on these BC adventures to the wild and ancient frontiers of North America. In the universe of O.A.R.S. outposts, this northern-most constellation is peerless. The Canadian National anthem boasts "true north strong and free." So too are their waterways and the epic escapes that define O.A.R.S. Canada Adventures.
O.A.R.S. offers 8 unique itineraries in Canada including: Rafting on the Chilko-Chilcotin-Fraser Rivers; Firth River Rafting; Klinaklini River Rafting; Sea Kayaking on Johnstone Strait; as well as four multi-sport vacations including one week exploring British Columbia’s pristine river, ocean and mountain environments on our Bears & Whales itinerary; Chilko-Taseko Multi-Sport; Kootenay Rockies Multi-Sport and our ever-popular five-day multi-sport adventure at the Lodge at Chilko Lake.
Unique to our Canadian line-up is our lodge-based British Columbia sea kayaking adventure. Located northeast of Vancouver Island, Johnstone Strait is internationally recognized as the best location to see orca whales in the wild. Nearly 300 orcas (a.k.a. killer whales) congregate here each summer between June and September.
The Yukon’s Firth River, dubbed “the Serengeti of the North,” offers rugged expanses of tundra, sheer canyon walls hundreds of feet high and unique access to the summer aggregation grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd. On this wild and remote Arctic river, we may encounter wildlife including muskox, caribou, wolves, eagles and falcons in a pristine wilderness, as well as beautiful and sublime Arctic plant life. Upon our arrival at the Beaufort Sea, we may spot floating iceburgs, seals and beluga whales.
Up in the North Country, amenities are of the highest O.A.R.S. standards, in wilderness of the grandest scale.
SPOTLIGHT: THE KLINAKLINI RIVER:
Succesfully navigated for the first time in 1997, O.A.R.S. is the only river rafting outfitter in the world to run the Klinaklini River. Enveloped by 13,000 foot Mount Waddington to the east and Silverthrone to the west, the Klinaklini River is a breathtaking corridor that warrants your exploration. Join the few that have traveled her waters for the most unique and fulfilling rafting trips outside of the Grand Canyon.
