Banff National Park Big Canoe Tour
Recommended by 96% of travelers
Banff, Canada
- 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Delve deep into the Banff National Park and admire the scenery from the water on this canoe adventure. Paddle along the pretty Bow River and listen as your guide sheds light on centuries of Canadian history and heritage. Watch the riverbanks for sightings of native wildlife, a great activity for the whole family.
- Canoe tour in the Banff National Park
- Paddle through the Banff National Park by canoe with your guide
- Keep watch for sightings of native animal and bird life
- Gain insight into Banff’s rich native history
What's Included
- Guide
- GST (Goods and Services Tax)
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Banff Canoe ClubCorner of Bow Ave and, Wolf St, Banff, AB T1L 1A8, Canada
Located on the Corner of Bow Avenue & Wolf Street, Banff
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
1
The Banff Canoe Club
2
Banff National Park
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 24 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Lia_C
What a great way to casually paddle up the Bow River and take in the beautiful mountains, trees and wildlife. Our tour guide, Cam, was fabulous, providing great information about the area and the wildlife. He pointed out an elk, an osprey, a loon and some geese. I would highly recommend this canoe tour to everyone!
Reviews
4.8
based on 340 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Donna_B, Sep 2026
What an amazing experience. Connor was the “host with the most” and was very conversational and explained so much about wildlife, and just great and fun conversation altogether. Everything went great, despite it being a little rainy during the first half of the tour. Fortunately, we were able to see some beautiful elk! We especially appreciate that Connor suggested “Peak” pho restaurant. It was a welcome respite from the cold.!
Brenda_F, Sep 2026
Canoe trip down the river focusing on wildlife however we saw no wildlife and not sure you would this time of day,
Tricia_J, Aug 2026
This was a very nice, family friendly activity. Our tour guide, Tom was very knowledgeable about canoeing and about the area.
Felisha_L, Aug 2026
A peaceful and informative tour. The scenery was gorgeous. You get a good workout paddling but it’s well worth it and you spend the 2nd half of the tour drifting back with the current. Tomas, our tour guide, was wonderful! He kept us entertained the whole way and had so many stories to share about the wildlife and history behind the landmarks. Definitely a memorable and worthwhile experience.
Jeffrey_F, Aug 2026
Very boring. The tour wasn’t as described. Too much time is spent onshore discussing animals you won’t see. For some reason, it would have been $40 USD less expensive had I booked directly (however, I was unable to do so due to the operator’s website not working).
The tour guide was very nice. This is a very boring and short experience for the price.
Lucy_W, Aug 2026
A brilliant and beautiful way to experience the river. The guide was brilliant, informative and friendly. Would 100% recommend.
Lori_M, Aug 2026
We really enjoyed our tour. Our guide was friendly and had lots of information to share regarding Banff and the wildlife. It was quite windy so it was more work paddling then I expected, but still lots of fun for me and my son.
Julie_D, Aug 2026
Very authentic experience in a Canadian canoe .
Great instructor, Corey , who not only advises you on canoeing but also tells you about wildlife and the surrounding area . Very informative.
You row for quite some time down the Bow river and then drift back . We saw an Osprey’s nest but sadly no Osprey .
Such a good trip .
Erin_A, Aug 2026
Loved our guides! They were knowledgeable and friendly. The views were beautiful and a great way to see the park.
Eliyahu_F, Aug 2026
Pretty skippable, boring experience
Uninformed guide
Nothing to see really
Being on the water is nice but you can be on the water anywhere in Banff
Tracey_D, Aug 2026
Grace did a wonderful job, guiding us and teaching us all about the area of Banff as we paddled along the Bow River. Very relaxing and a fun experience! Peaceful to be on the river!
Alixandra_C, Jul 2026
We had such a fun time on the canoe tour! You actually row and help move the canoe up and down the river so it isn’t just you sitting there! It was a very enjoyable experience with beautiful views! We rowed upstream first and then the ending was a nice relaxing float with the current! I’m so glad we did this and they even did a little fun educational spiel before we got in the boat which was nice! Highly recommend this activity on your trip to Banff!
Nicole_H, Jul 2026
My friends and I had a blast! Our guide Tom was amazing! We were all laughing and enjoying the scenery. Unfortunately we didn't see many animals but it was still beautiful. Highly recommend. Ask for Tom.
Kathleen_A, Jul 2026
Well organized trip! Staff was excellent! They gave a little talk on the area & animals. We did see some ducks that was great. Eagle nest was cool. Took the 9am tour no wind river was like glass. Very relaxing. I’m a very active 70ish no problems getting in & out of the boat. Highly recommended this tour.
Bailee_T, Jul 2026
Spending our honeymoon here and this experience was the best! Amy was the best guide! Highly recommend!
Sharad_V, Jul 2026
GREAT Experience for Family! We spotted a Bald Eagle! The guides were GREAT! Very affable, professional & safety conscious. Great sense of humor too. Taught us a lot about the wildlife. Thank You!
Katie_M, Jun 2026
Lovely day! Lucy was a fantastic guide - knowledgeable and encouraging without being overbearing. Great activity for older kids and adults. You do have to actually row and work, so not great for very young or folks with injuries or physical disabilities.
MAIDA_f, Jun 2026
We had a great hour-long canoe trip with Steph as our guide. She was good with our multi-generational family of six and had tons of facts about the landscape to share. This is a doable experience even for not very athletic people, but you’ll paddle lightly for about thirty minutes until you’re able to float back downriver. Note that if you go in the afternoon you’ll be paddling straight into bright sun, so hats and sunblock are necessary.
Patrick_G, Jun 2026
Claire was an amazing guide and you could tell she truly cared about the wildlife and protecting it. Beautiful nature with ducks, osprey and elk seen at the edge of the river.
Justin_T, May 2026
Super fun, very educated travel guide. Well worth it. Would definitely do it again. Saw some wild life on the way.
Leticia_L, May 2026
Megan and team were great. They shared so much knowledge and insight of Banff. I definitely recommend it your.
Tammy_Q, Sep 2025
We had the pleasure of having ABBEY as our guide and she was wonderful, kind and very caring. She very knowledgeable and she interacted with all of us. Great experience. The Lake was beautiful!
JIM_S, Sep 2025
Great time canoeing! Everyone was helpful getting us all set with life jackets and boarding the canoe. Our guide Abbey was knowledgeable and a great picture taker 😊 we would 100% recommend this trip on the river.
Rick_C, Sep 2025
We really enjoyed the tour with our guide Maddie. We learned a lot about the park and town, and the jokes were pretty good! I highly recommend this little excursion.
KimR_H, Sep 2025
This canoe ride was awesome. We saw a lot of wildlife as we rowed upstream and relaxed downstream on the Bow River.
dlblevins35, Sep 2025
Definitely worth doing! Paddle upstream and then coast coming back. Wonderful picture opportunities. We saw a bald eagle before we even left the dock. Jesse was a wonderful guide and he made our experience so much more fun! The weather was perfect and that helped for sure!
Julie_W, Sep 2025
Darby was a great guide. Learned a lot about the area and animals . We saw about 18 elk, including 4 bull elk.
Douglas_C, Sep 2025
We turned up at 11am and were met by lovely Claire, who quickly got us into our buoyancy aides. She gave us an informative brief talk about the wildlife in the area, what we may see/or more likely not see, and our route for the morning- we did see a Muskrat! We were really pleased that because it was a small group, Claire offered us to go in 2 person kayaks, which made for a great experience. Claire was informative along the way, but also kept the journey super chilled which we liked and appreciated. Overall, 10/10 activity, and kudos to Claire especially.
Teresa_B, Sep 2025
Our leader was Abbie who was amazing , full of knowledge of the local area and animals . Well worth the experience !
Raquel_S, Sep 2025
Such a beautiful day to canoe. I love this Bow River big canoe experience with all the vibrant colors of the blue skies and the surroundings.
Next time, a smaller canoe for a better river experience.
From
-14%
$58.84
per personWas $68.80
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Banff National Park Big Canoe Tour
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1 hour 30 minutes
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