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Saddle up! This trip is a unique blend of a wilderness canoe trip and paddling road trip. The Great White Bull adventure starts with a 4-day self-supported whitewater canoe trip with raft support on the exceptionally playful White River, and then dives into 2 more days of whitewater canoeing and car-camping fun on the exciting Bull River. The fantastic whitewater combined with some of the most epic backdrops of the East Kootenays, this trip is sure to delight your senses and get that heart-rate up.
This trip is for playing and learning canoeing skills in class 1-3 whitewater, with LOTS of opportunity for practicing scouting, surfing, jet-ferries, spicy eddy-turns, and tapping into the river’s features to make paddling fun, easy, and exciting! If you just like going with the flow and simply paddling from point A to B on a river, this trip ain’t for you, partner! This trip was specifically designed to give the playful paddler the opportunity to ‘stay and play’ on the many interesting and delightful features that these rivers have to offer – in an unloaded canoe!
This fully-guided and catered trip comes with a 10% savings on a 2-day whitewater canoeing course in advance of the trip at Elements Adventure Co’s paddling school on the Shuswap River near Vernon, BC.
Through our partnership with Western Canoe and Kayak, you will also receive a 15% savings for in-store accessories to help you prepare for your trip.
July 16-23, 2026
6 Days on the rivers
$2,550 + GST /person
including all backcountry meals
Click here to review trip policies and procedures
10% discount on a 2-day river-canoeing course taught by a certified Paddle Canada and/or RCABC instructor in advance of the expedition.
It’s not often that you have the luxury of paddling a wilderness river with an unloaded canoe. Having raft support on this trip, plus a spacious itinerary means that our boats can be relatively empty, affording us the time and light boats to ‘stay and play’ on the many interesting features we encounter on these rivers. Your guides are also experienced, certified moving-water canoeing instructors in tandem and solo canoeing – and offer a combination of informal coaching and some structured lessons each day.
You may be delighted to know that you will not be confined to the same canoe and/or paddling partner each day – giving you the chance to learn from other paddlers, try different boats, and even switch from solo to tandem as you please. What freedom!
Participants have experience canoeing on intermediate rivers and are confident adventuring in the outdoors. They are familiar with intermediate canoeing strokes and manouvres, have taken an intermediate (level 2) river canoeing course, and have great boat control in up to class 2 rapids – and practiced self-rescue skills. Participants can expect to build on skills and experience in new and challenging conditions under the leadership of their guides. Participants should be fit and capable of carrying their canoe and gear over rough terrain.
PART 1 – THREE-DAY RAFT-SUPPORTED WHITEWATER CANOE TRIP ON THE WHITE RIVER
Day 1 -Participants drive themselves (or carpool) to the White River campground at Whiteswan Provincial Park by 3pm local time. Drivers put shuttle vehicles in place, and we all enjoy our first dinner together.
Day 2 – launch on the White river to begin our 3-day raft-supported trip down to the Kootenay River.
Day 3&4 – still on the White river
Day 5 – last day on the White, complete the shuttle, move to our new basecamp on the Bull river
PART 2 – TWO DAYS OF WHITEWATER PADDLING AND CAR CAMPING ON THE BULL RIVER
Day 6 – day-paddling on a section of the Bull river
Day 7 – day-paddling on a section of the Bull river, last Elements dinner together
Day 8 – depart for home
Customer Reviews
Join us for an exhilarating intermediate canoeing trip in the East Kootenays in beautiful British Columbia.
This trip is a perfect blend of challenge, instruction and fun. Our experienced guides will provide expert instruction, and ensure your safety and comfort throughout the adventure.
Got questions? We’d love to hear from you! Contact us here to chat.
