Ottawa Paddle Festival

Words fail to truly express our experience…yet we will try. Our family of 6 (aged from 22 years to 58 years young) indulged in the high intensity rafting experience this past weekend with Owl Rafting on the mighty Ottawa River. Simply put: our guides, Sam and Jamie took excellent care of us !

From learning about who we were and what we liked to do, to finding out about our individual physical strengths and weaknesses. They patiently taught us paddling techniques and what to do if we got dumped from the raft. (Which we were told by the way was likely as the water levels were 7 3/4 and juicy. ) They told us when we did great with navigating a rapid and gently reminded us to listen a wee bit harder to them when we forgot. Our group had so much fun and deeply appreciated the quality time they spent with us. Most especially when coli ( aka the mighty coliseum rapid) swallowed us whole. Half of our group got sucked into the raging vortex (a few times) swirling ever so closely to the ledge while the other half managed to swim out of the current to safety. The professionalism from our guides and the Owl rafting team was awe inspiring! Even though one of us managed to do what you told us NOT to do (swirl under the jet boat) they still managed to rescue all of us with smiles on their faces nonetheless. We applaud how invested they were with each member of our group, their professional demeanour, their energy, knowledge, positivity, lightheartedness and overall dedication. Thank you for an unforgettable experience!!!

P.S. - We forgot to mention the day prior spent at Owl’s incredible resort The camp grounds were lovely where we stayed. Our group enjoyed an hour experience with Pete (the duck) on the waterfront who navigated us on the water craft of our choice. We chose different options (trick kayaks, paddle boards and regular kayaks). Pete, our guide had his hands full with the 6 of us, yet managed to keep us together and teach us how to operate our vessels the most efficiently while giving us interesting facts about the area. Later in the evening, we enjoyed the outdoor fire under the stars where we ate grilled cheese sandwiches we brought from home. Sadly, we ran out of time and did not experience frisbee golf, beach volleyball or the sauna (hopefully next time we will). The buffet breakfast we ate overlooking the water next morning was delish. Each & every staff member we encountered was upbeat and engaging. Oh and the pontoon boat ride lunch was wonderful too. Our group will be fondly reminiscing about our journey with the Owl Rafting team for years to come!

Owl Rafting Adventure Amazing time start to finish! Luke was an incredible rafting guide! The Ottawa River did not disappoint providing an excellent adventure

Great time! Amazing fun! Great bonding wt teenage son. Terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. Great guides, quality boats.