Alberta River Running

River running in the foothills of the Rockies

Speeding through the shallow, skinny waters in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies

By Mike Gridley

When you think of destinations for boating, many regions and locations come to mind since we are so privileged in this country to have so much access to water. Whether you cruise, fish, have fun with boarding, skiing and tubing, or just like to hang out and swim, Canada has the lakes, rivers and oceans to play in. However, the last place I thought I would go boating was in Alberta in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Arriving at Calgary International Airport, with camera gear in tow, we piled into our rental car and headed for Red Deer. As an easterner, driving north from Calgary all I could think was where’s the water? Where are the rivers? Where do you boat, let alone canoe? Not only that, where were the foothills and mountains? As luck would have it, our arrival in central Alberta coincided with the arrival of the smoke from this summer’s forest fires in British Columbia (something that would stick around for the balance of our stay).

Arriving in Red Deer, our first destination was Outlaw Eagle Manufacturing, one of Western Canada’s most successful manufacturers of welded aluminum recreational, commercial and racing jet boats. Greeted warmly by communications manager Sharlyn Carter, salesman Rob Cuel, and president and owner Dale Whiteside, we sat down to talk about the agenda for the next few days and river boating in general. The enthusiasm for their sport was both genuine and infectious. Dale’s passion has translated into a successful racing career, as a two-time world champion and top designer and manufacturer.

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NOTE: This feature destination appeared on Episode 10 of the 2011 season of PowerBoat Television.  To view the video online, please visit powerboattv.com.