The adventure began with an entertaining day surfing inflatable whitewater paddleboards at Sombrio Beach on the west coast of Vancouver Island followed by a week long Soar River Camp on the Cowichan River.
We were tired and sore but it was our last day on the Island and we were keen to get one more paddle in. After a long brunch and many paddling options thrown on the table, the Nanaimo River was the destination of choice.
Neither David Manning nor myself had paddled the Nanaimo River, so before beginning I got in touch with fellow AQ ambassador and local paddler, Koby @waterfall_stalker. We received beta about scouting and access.
David double checked over the details on the Aquabatics app, Paddling Maps. We were able to scout the canyon’s first rapid, thanks to Koby’s recommendation, which stoked our enthusiasm.
The Nanaimo River runs start at first lake and flows out into the Pacific Ocean on the eastside of Vancouver Island. The river is paddled during the fall, winter and spring seasons. There are two main sections to paddle: the class 2 run is from First Lake to Bridge and the Classic Section which is class 3/3+ from the Bridge to House Rock. Check out the section on Paddling Maps.
I found myself overlooking a beautiful clear coastal river from above the canyon wall. David’s excitement was seeping through -- the “Classic Section” it would be. From not knowing what we were getting ourselves into we were now eagerly discussing our line through the rapid.
We followed Nanaimo River road, and turned left down South Nanaimo River road to the bridge put in. By this point we had encountered snow on the road and on the trail.
We were initially met with some concerned looks and questions from a local rafter/kayaker who had just finished shuttle after their run. Apparently whitewater stand up paddling is not a common sight around the island rivers yet, but after a short conversation his wide eyes turned into a big smile and a supportive “have a great run”.
The “Classic Section” slowly builds in difficulty starting from Class 2 boulder garden and ending in a solid class three plus called House Rock Rapid at the end. Above is the second half of the entrance rapid to the Canyon.
There are multiple fun drops, tight banked corners and playful surf waves along the way.
Excitement was always right around the corner with many of them being blind, challenging us to use our board scouting skills to ensure we always had our next eddy to hit. A few of the bends demanded that we get off our boards to scout from shore the river that lay ahead.
The rain eventually turned to snow, which was no bother. We were both outfitted in Kokatat drysuits. Immediately after running one of the biggest bends we were blessed with a short lived white out blizzard. The snowflakes doubled in size, like cotton balls falling out of the sky.
By the time we got to the final rapid it was getting dark, our stomachs were grumbling and we were concerned the restaurants in Nanaimo were closing so we decided to leave House Rock for the next time we run it.
As night was falling, we managed our way back to the vehicle for a successful first SUP run on the “Classic Section”.
The beautiful and exciting Nanaimo River was our first pushier paddle of the season. We paddled it at 54 cms. David voiced and I agreed we won’t want to run it much lower. We didn’t have any issues with some of the impacts of our fins but any lower and those thin deep lines would disappear and the wider sections would start to get bony.
If you are running a new river yourself, here’s a few reminders.
- Check river resources (paddling maps)
- Check in with locals
- Check that you are prepared
- Get out and scout when you can’t see a safe line through the rapid and an eddy you know you can hit.
AQ Outdoors Contact
Edmonton: (p) 780 463-4892 (e) info@aquabaticsedmonton.com
Calgary: (p) 403 288-9283 (e) info@aqoutdoors.com
