Couch Potato & Wheelchair Rafting on the Grand River…Why Not?

Truth is, fear stops many people from experiencing a wilderness paddle. The canoes are tipsy… the kayaks are small… and what happens if you tip over? All these reasons are good reasons for not doing a trip down the river. But with leisure rafting it doesn’t matter… you can be right in the middle of it all… safe and experiencing everything.

The Grand River Rafting Company in Paris, Ontario specializes in leisure river-rafting for everyone. Their theme is "Experiencing Everything Together" and they do customized guided trips for families and friends. Their goal is to offer rafting trips that everyone can enjoy together in safety and leave a good memory of a unique wilderness experience.

Platform rafts can comfortably accommodate anyone that wants to experience a river. These smaller rafts give the wilderness intimacy of a canoe… but the safety & space of a boat. Rafting has normally been branded as the "whitewater adventure"… the "Dare-Devil" extreme. But leisure rafting offers a great way for friends of no skills to safely experience some time on a river together.

Whitewater rafting has stamped a strong image on the rafting business. People have forgotten that originally the raft was designed as a life boat for preserving lives. The buoyancy and stability of today’s rafts makes them a safe and excellent choice for navigating shallow easy rivers where motorboats cannot go.

Wilderness leisure rafting allows all kinds of people to safely experience floating through swifts and pools… like gliding down a waterslide. They can catch the opportunity of seeing wildlife unaware. They can fish the pools where the big ones are… everything is taken in by just drifting by.

With leisure rafting, the guides pilot the rafts and know where to go… the rest of the group just paddles or drifts. The boats are so stable that you would have to meet "Jonah’s whale" in order to tip over. But best is the air-cushion comfort of staying dry. It’s like your own couch… but outdoors and the panoramic view is fantastic… like a 3D screen with everything coming your way… and no advertisements! This is the "IMAX" of sound, color, fragrance and taste… but without the building. Sitting in front of this huge outdoor window does something to the "spirit house" within.

These words capture it all:

"When the trip is done…
When the paddle is laid down…
When the shore is touched…
There is a difference…
Even if it is only for the moment of being there."

With rafting… weight, size & agility does not matter… it is the will to have fun.