Kayaking/canoeing, Banff National Park

Lake Louise is a nice lake for canoeing. There we go . This is late June and there was a slight breeze off of the mountains , so it was cool . The water is around 1 deg. C ( 34 deg. F ) so you do not want to capsize the canoe. It took an hour to paddle the length of the lake and back . You will notice that there are few boats on the lake .

Equipment: Canoes are available for rent . You will need a warm jacket in late June.

Take a boat trip and enjoy the fabulous mountain scenery!!
The trips last about an hour-and-a-half and travel a fair distance up and down the lake.

Schedule:
Mid-May to October daily at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 a.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
July & August also has a sunset cruise at 7 p.m.
$26. per person

Also, if you have one and want to bring it along, Lake Minnewanka is the only lake in the park where motorboats are allowed.

White-water rafting is one of the funnest things you'll ever do. It's wild and exciting but relatively safe. I researched the rivers in this are for a long time before our trip and I settled on the Kicking Horse as the wildest. I only found a couple of companies that run the lower portion, the wildest, and of those I booked with Alpine (Canadian Whitewater Adventures on their website).

Riding the rapids is so elemental. It's just you, and the river. On the smoother parts it's great to just look around at the gorgeous scenery and when it gets rough, hang on and have fun.

Our guide, Pierre, was wonderful. He was very good at his job. He could keep the raft in one place and we would 'surf' a rapid for quite awhile.

If you've never rafted before, don't worry, they show you everything you need to know before you go. If you do the full river you have a chance to practice rowing and hanging on techniques on the smoother upper portion and by the time you hit the mid section you're just thinking, "Bring it on!".

Sit near the front for the wildest ride. If you go with Alpine, ask to be in Pierre's raft. He's the best!!!

Equipment: They told us to bring a fleece jacket but I found it to be too warm and left it in one of the vans at lunch. The companies provide any other equipment you'll need. Wetsuits are optional but I recommend you go with it. That water is super cold and the wetsuit helps keep you warm.

I also wore my sunglasses without any trouble and I brought a disposable, waterproof camera. I hooked it in one of the life jacket buckles so I could take pictures on the fly without dropping it.