Alberta’s rivers flow towards three different bodies of water: the Arctic Ocean, Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The Athabasca River is Alberta’s longest river, flowing from its source in the Rocky Mountains to the Peace-Athabasca Delta and Lake Athabasca. The Athabasca River is part of the great Mackenzie River system, and its waters eventually flow into the Arctic Ocean after a journey of over 4,000 kilometres.
There are three designated Canadian Heritage Rivers: the Athabasca River, the Clearwater River, shared with Saskatchewan, and the North Saskatchewan River.
For more information about Alberta’s river basins, check out the Alberta Rivers hydrological site.
Here are packrafting trip reports from paddlers throughout the province. If you have any trip reports to add; we’d love to add them to our growing list! Contact us @ packraftcanada@gmail.com
Alexandra Valley in Banff National Park
Alexandra River headwaters | Banff National Park
Alexandra River Packrafting, Banff National Park
Bow River, Castle Junction to Banff
Bulldog Circuit, Canadian Rockies
Kootenay River Bikerafting Loop
Sulphur Gates-Grande Cache-Packrafting the Sulphur River
Kvass Flats and Smoky River, Willmore Wilderness, Grande Cache
North Saskatchewan River Routes
Packraft and Canoe Trip Nordegg to RMH, North Saskatchewan River, July 2021
Edmonton Paddling / Bikerafting/ Packrafting on Whitemud Creek-1
Edmonton Paddling / Bikerafting/ Packrafting on Whitemud Creek-2
Paddling down the Bow River – Full load-out test of the new packraft
Snake Indian River Jasper National Park
Moraine Lake, Banff National Park
Packrafting Athabasca and Sunwapta Rivers: Jasper National Park
Hiking Mount Mawdsley and Packrafting Upper Sulphur River – Grande Cache
Columbia Lake Multi-day packrafting
Packrafting the Whirlpool River in Jasper National Park
Packrafting Routes on the Upper Red Deer
Packrafting Jasper’s North Boundary
Jasper’s South Boundary: A Sting in the Tail
The Milk River Run: A 3-day packrafting trip down Alberta’s Milk River
Kvass Flats Hike and Packrafting the Smoky River – Willmore Wilderness – Grande Cache Alberta
Robfin Packraft Review and Sulphur River Packrafting and Kayaking – Grande Cache, Wilmore Wilderness