two people whitewater canoeing

Whitewater Canoeing

Certification

Paddle Canada Introduction to Moving Water Canoe Skills (Tandem)

What's covered?

  • River morphology, classification and hazards
  • River signals, river reading, and scouting
  • Self-rescue, assisted-rescue, and the northern rodeo rescue rig
  • Safely entering and exiting an eddy, including S turns
  • Ferrying across the river, front and back
  • Strokes: draw, pry, cross-draw, forward, backwards, stern sweep, river “J”, brace,  and the righting pry
  • Outfitting, rigging, and a selection of gear for northern rivers.
  • Surfing!

Please note this is a 2-day course! The online booking platform only shows the first day of the course, see below for full dates.

Inquire about a custom course date for groups of 6 or more.

Call us at 1 (867) 445-4512 for more information about our paddling courses!

 

Cost: $450 CAD + GST PER PERSON

Upgrade your whitewater canoeing skills!

This 2-day course in Yellowknife is an introduction to the fundamental skills, knowledge, and manoeuvres of handling a whitewater canoe.

It focuses on paddling skills and safety techniques in Class 1-11 rapids, with an emphasis on boat control, and the thrill of whitewater paddling. Participants will be coached to perform eddy turns and ferries with proficiency, and be challenged with whitewater canoe maneuvers that require teamwork and coordination between paddling partners.

If you have some experience in a canoe but not on moving water – this is a great course for you! If you have some experience on moving water but would like to fine-tune your technique and do away with bad paddling habits, you’ll also benefit from this hands-on course. For those new to canoeing in general, you can learn more about our Intro to Lake Canoe Course here!

Above all, we’re going to have a lot of fun learning how to whitewater canoe!

Not sure if this is the course for you? Give us a call at 1-867-445-4512. 

This is our introduction level whitewater canoe course, geared towards novices looking for “whitewater canoeing 101”. It’s a good opportunity to improve the core mechanics of strokes and maneuvers.

For the next level up, check out our Canoe Expedition Course. This course is on the Kakisa River and offers advanced rescues, group management, and bigger rapids for paddlers getting ready to paddle a remote northern river.

Highly recommended! Awesome experience.

My partner and I got the chance to join the Whitewater Paddling Course, we had 4 instructors (two highly experienced guides: Sean and Dan, and two young but highly skilled helpers - Rae and Luke) which was pretty awesome as we could get personalized advice on how to improve our skills. At the end of the two days course, We feel comfortable scouting and running rapids and learn a lot on various topic, plus we met awesome people so...yeah highly recommended!

Julien & Mina | Whitewater Canoeing Course

canoe course in Yellowknife

Available Dates

June 14-15, 2025

9am - 5pm

June 28-29, 2025

9am - 5pm

Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT’S INCLUDED?

All paddling equipment such as a canoe, lifejacket, paddle, bailer, throw bag included. Participants are welcome to bring their own equipment if they prefer. It is recommended that participants have thermal protection (drysuit or wetsuit) for comfort on this course. Dry-suits are available for $85 CAD + GST per participant.

What is your Booking and Cancellation Policy?

If you are unable to attend and you can send someone in your place, we can transfer your spot free of charge.

Cancellations with more than 30 days notice, 75% refund.

Cancellations with less than 21 days notice, 50% refund.

Cancellations within 14 days of the course cannot be refunded.

Please read carefully: Should your paddling course have to be cancelled, postponed or altered by a force majeure (including but not limited to: weather, poor visibility, or mechanical breakdown causing delayed or cancelled charter flights or helicopter journeys, fire, flood, pandemic, highway closures, community evacuations, ongoing or newly introduced travel ban or government statement), Jackpine Paddle and its partner operators are not obligated to provide a refund or offer alternative travel services.

Please Note

The minimum age for unaccompanied minors in our courses is 16. Participants under the age of 16 are welcome to register if joined by a parent or guardian. Participants must be able to swim 50 m with a lifejacket but no previous paddling experience is required.

© All rights reserved. Site by Armadillo