Canoe CampingOttawa is in the middle of a canoeing paradise! Beautiful lakes and rivers are within a short drive. Club members can enjoy a range of relaxed evening paddles, day trips and weekends, to extended wilderness expeditions. Come and explore these and other wonderful wilderness areas with us!
Join the Canoe Camping ClubThe RA Canoe Camping Club (RACCC) is all about friendship, paddling and exploring our amazing Canadian lakes and rivers. We have over 270 members including adults and families of all ages and abilities. Their skills range from novices to advanced paddlers, from beginner campers to expedition leaders. The Club offers both flatwater and whitewater programs, with tandem and solo boats.
RACCC members enjoy easy to challenging outings: evenings, day trips, weekend trips, multi-day trips and multi-week expeditions. The club provides canoes, kayaks and camping equipment to members at prices well below commercial outfitters. Club membership fees & Options
When you join an RA Club you are joining our not-for-profit Association. Active Club Members enjoy the benefits and privileges of an Association Membership for the duration of their Club membership.
Club members enjoy evening outings, day trips, weekend trips or extended wilderness expeditions. RACCC offers a wide variety of recreational trips organized under flat water, white water and family programs, complemented by a well-rounded training program. Club members collaboratively host hundreds of trips, training and social events during the paddling season and throughout the year, offering an opportunity to participate in recreational canoeing and canoe tripping in a safe, well organized environment. The co-operative trips involve everyone which keeps costs down. RACCC trips and training are for beginners through advanced paddlers interested in both flat water (lake) and white-water (river) paddling. Season: One year from date of purchase Fee: $49 Adult may add their children (17 years or younger) to their membership at no additional cost.* *Family Participation: The majority of activities are designed for adult members. Participation of family members (17 years of age and under) requires the permission of the Activity Leader. Activities listed as "Family Programs" are geared towards those under 18. At least one parent or legal guardian who is a RACCC member must participate in the Activity and accept full responsibility for that family member. For more information on fees and how to join the RA Canoe Camping Club, please call RA Member Services at 613-733-5100 or drop-by the RA Centre's East Wing Desk. RACC Member Website
RA Canoe Camping Club (RACCC) volunteers maintain a member's website. Please visit www.raccc.ca for detailed information on RACCC activities and programs.
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Quick Links
The "Canoeing Across Canada" video (above) is part of the Club's Winter Seminar Series. The complete series from this year as well as past seasons are available to view on the RACC YouTube channel by clicking here.
RACCC Winter Seminar Series - available on YouTube
Once again, the RA Canoe Camping Club (RACCC) will be hosting its popular winter seminar series. The seminars will cover a wide range of topics related to paddling and the outdoors. All seminars are open to club members as well as non-club members. All seminars will be online using Zoom. The seminars will be held on Wednesdays at 7:00pm. RACCC Club members can get the joining instructions from the club website. For security reasons and to help ensure that we do not exceed the capacity of our Zoom account, we ask club members not to share the zoom details with people who are not members of the RA Canoe Camping Club. Non-club members can get the joining instructions by contacting Mark at outreach@raccc.ca. The details will be sent starting about 2 weeks before the seminar up until the day before the seminar. Basic level guidelines on Zoom are on the club website. A 1-to-2-minute review of the guidelines will be held at the beginning of the seminar. The RACCC is preparing documents and information sessions about the club. If non-club members would like to receive more information about the club, they can send a message to outreach@raccc.ca and we will add them to our email list. They can be removed from the email list whenever they like. Check out the list of this season's seminars below! February 01, 2023 Winter Seminar – Ottawa River Watershed Available on YouTube - Watch this seminar here. The presentation will be an introduction to the watershed of the Ottawa River with a bit of a focus on aquatic invasive and endangered species to look out for. Renée will also talk about the Ottawa Riverkeeper organization and the work that they do. Renée is a recent graduate of Queen's University with a BA in Art History. She is returning to the Ottawa Riverkeeper team once again having spent a previous summer as the Communications Intern. Renée now fills the role of Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator and looks forward to connecting with volunteers and healthy water enthusiasts. She grew up along the water and learned to sail from a young age, inspiring an appreciation for a healthy water’s edge. Spending her summers out on the Gatineau and Ottawa rivers, Renée had the opportunity to visit, compete and coach in various amazing locations. February 08, 2023 Three Portages on the Ottawa River Available on YouTube - Watch the seminar here. A brief history and virtual tour of the three most important portages in the National Capital Area. Rick Henderson’s 4th great-grandparents are Philemon Wright and Abigail Wyman. The family links descend through 3rd great-grandparents Philemon Jr. and Sally Olmstead, then through their daughter Erexina and Andrew Leamy. With his wife, Peggy, Rick has two children: daughter Victoria (Matt Hines), son James (Alicia Corner), and two grandsons, Miller and Bryn. Rick spent his 36-year career as an educator at École secondaire Mont-Bleu and spent much of his leisure time in the pursuit of reducing his golf handicap and skiing fast. History, genealogy, politics and theatre have been central to his interests. He is a past vice-president of the Quebec Community Groups Network and in 2006, with Peggy, he founded ACT Company, a community theatre group in Aylmer. In 2016, Rick finally sat down to write his book, 'Walking in the Footsteps of Philemon Wright', began blogging at www.capitalchronicles.ca, in 2016, from which sprung his second book 'Capital Chronicles-The History You Were Never Told'. Most Recently he created the 'Walk In Wright's Town in 1830', a virtual walk through Philemon's town - the town from which the Capital was built, February 15, 2023 Food Dehydration Available on YouTube - Watch the seminar here. Packing food for a long or lightweight trip often requires bringing dehydrated food. Store bought dehydrated meals are expensive for group trips. Food prep and food safety are the most important considerations for successfully creating your own dehydrated meals. There are some new recommendations for safely dehydrating that aren't reflected in the older cookbooks. Most of the new recommendations add one more step to your food preparation. Three club members will present some of the resources they use for dehydrating and rehydrating meals and snacks. We'll also talk about different dehydrators and present a selection of recipes that we've found were successful on trips. February 22, 2023 Tripping in Algonquin Park Available on YouTube - Watch the seminar here. This presentation will focus on the many lessons Drew has learned about canoe tripping and the Park while paddling in Algonquin. Through a selection of routes and trip stories, Drew will share details about some of his favorite spots and experiences, along with a few cautionary tales. Drew is an avid paddler from Ottawa Ontario. He spends his summers paddling in Algonquin Park and hopes to visit each of the Park’s canoe route accessible lakes before he’s done. Since 2016 he has visited over 300 of those lakes and completed trips out of many of the Park’s 29 official access points. March 01, 2023 Trip Leading Available on YouTube - Watch the seminar here. This seminar will provide an overview of canoe tripping in a club context, with emphasis on the "how to" of trip leadership. It will cover what leaders and participants need to do to organize a trip but focus on the trip itself. It will outline the role of a trip leader and address the issues of group behaviour and risk management during trips. The seminar will also review the administrative processes within the RACCC for advertising trips, reserving and paying for equipment rentals, and dealing with damaged equipment. Peter Kasurak has led and participated in numerous club trips since the mid-1990's, including extended multi-day trips. He is a Paddle Canada moving water and canoe camping instructor. March 08, 2023 Hyper- & Hypo- Thermia Available on YouTube - Watch the seminar here. Ottawa experiences a vast range in temperature fluctuations throughout the year which, if proper measures are not taken, can be dangerous for water sports. With an average high of 27°C with 65% relative humidity during the summer and an average low of -15°C during the winter, there is a year-round risk for hyperthermia (a rise in body temperature) or hypothermia (a decrease in body temperature). In this seminar, we will review the environmental considerations when kayaking and canoeing. This will include a detailed review of the physiological responses during cold and heat exposure (from the whole body to tissue level), preventative measures to avoid cold or heat injuries, as well as what to do during emergency situations (e.g., to swim or not to swim if stranded in cold water, addressing hypothermia and hyperthermia). Kelli is a 4th year doctoral candidate in human physiology at the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Dr. Glen Kenny. Her research specializes in the environmental impact on humans (including heat, cold, and altitude) from the cellular to whole body level with an emphasis in populations considered to be vulnerable to environmental extremes. Kelli’s doctoral thesis is examining the cellular protection mechanisms of autophagy and cold shock proteins in young and older adults in response to acute and repeated exposures to cold water immersion. |
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Summer Training & Courses - Registration Now Open!
One of the club’s strengths is the many courses which are offered and taught by certified Paddle Canada volunteers. Unless otherwise indicated, training and courses are open to Club members and non-members.
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Whitewater Courses
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Flatwater Courses
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Whitewater Rolling Clinic
Rolling is one of the more useful, and more difficult to learn whitewater skills. Knowing how to roll will make you more confident in big water and will increase your enjoyment of surfing. This clinic will provide three 90 minute pool sessions with coaching to help you develop or improve your roll. Session
Fees (plus HST) Canoe Club Members - $100 Non-Members - $120 Whitewater Introduction (Solo)
Intended for individuals with little to no moving water / whitewater solo canoe experience. This course aims to introduce paddlers to the basic solo skills required to navigate through whitewater rapids. Emphasis will be placed on solo canoe skills using the 2x4 method as well as understanding whitewater principles and river safety. Successful participants will receive Paddle Canada Introduction to Moving Water Solo certification. Weekend Sessions
Location: TBD but it will be a camping weekend at a local-ish river leaving Friday afternoon, and returning Sunday evening. Ages: 13 and up Fees (plus HST) Canoe Club members - $200 Non-members - $300 Whitewater Introduction (Tandem)
"For individuals with little or no moving water / whitewater canoeing experience, this course aims to introduce the basic skills and techniques needed to manoeuver through white water rapids. Emphasis will be placed on canoe skills, understanding whitewater principles and river safety. Successful participants will receive Paddle Canada Introduction to Moving Water certification and may be also admitted to the club Whitewater List which will allow them to join club whitewater trips. A partner is not required, pairs will be arranged by instructors. Weekend Sessions:
Location: TBD but it will be a camping weekend at a local-ish river leaving Friday afternoon and returning Sunday evening. Ages: 13 plus Fees (plus HST) Canoe Club members - $200 Non-members - $300 Whitewater Intermediate (solo)
For individuals who have at least one year of solo whitewater experience who wish to refine strokes and learn new skills such as boofing, surfing, rolling and jet ferries. Weekend Session:
Location: TBD but it will be a camping weekend at a local-ish river leaving Friday afternoon and returning Sunday evening. Ages: 13 plus Fees (plus HST) Canoe Club members - $200 Non-members - $300 Whitewater Intermediate (Tandem)
For individuals who have at least one year of tandem whitewater experience who wish to refine strokes and learn new skills such as back ferrying, using holes, surfing and jet ferries. Weekend Session:
Location: TBD but it will be a camping weekend at a local-ish river leaving Friday afternoon and returning Sunday evening. Ages: 13 plus Fees (plus HST) Canoe Club members - $200 Non-members - $300 Whitewater Intermediate Tandem Instructor
For candidates seeking to upgrade their Paddle Canada Moving Water certification from Introduction Tandem instructors to Intermediate Tandem Instructors. It requires a Paddle Canada Tandem Advanced Skills certification as a prerequisite or by the instructor's permission. Session:
Fees (plus HST) Canoe Club Members - $300 Non-Members - $500 Canoe Tripping & Camping CourseIntroduction to Canoe Tripping & Camping
Open to RACCC members only. This course is intended to provide an introduction to canoe camping for those who have no previous camping experience or who have “car camped” but done little or no backcountry camping. The course will focus on activities and gear suitable to canoe tripping. While there is a considerable knowledge and theory component to the course, the course is very “hands on” and centres on the planning and conduct of a weekend trip in Algonquin Park. Session:
Fees (plus HST) Canoe Club members - $150 |
Flatwater Introduction (Solo)
This Paddle Canada certification course introduces paddlers to solo canoeing in calm water. It includes how to go forwards, backwards, sideways, stop, do pivots and turns, as well as how to do a solo rescue, stay safe on the water and more. It assumes the participant has learned to paddle a tandem canoe previously (can control and steer from the stern). Club canoes provided. More information is available on the RACCC Member Website here. Weekend Session:
Fees (plus HST) Canoe Club Members - $150 Non-members - $250 Flatwater Introduction (Tandem)
This course is for paddlers new to canoeing or those who have not taken any training and/or would like to update their skills.It introduces paddlers how to paddle with a partner in calm waters. Participants will learn and practice key paddling strokes in the bow and stern as well as land and water rescues techniques. Participants will leave feeling confident and have basic skills to venture out on short paddling adventures. An additional pool session includes water safety and canoe rescues. For more information, see the RACCC Members Website here. Minors must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Weekend Sessions:
Ages: 14 and up Fees (plus HST) Canoe Club Members - $150 Non- Member: $250 flatwater Intermediate (Solo)
Open to RACCC members only. Three-day Paddle Canada certification course expands solo canoeing skills. Includes additional strokes and rescues. Must have completed solo prerequisite course. Canoes provided. Minors must have a parent/guardian present. Weekend Session
Location: Meet at the RA Centre. The three days of training take place within Ottawa (no overnight camping). Ages: 14 and up Fees (plus HST) Canoe Club Members – $150 Tandem Thursdays
Open to RACCC members only. These skills coaching sessions are for paddlers of any skill level (beginner to advanced) to learn new kills and/or refine existing skills and interests. The instructor for this course has an extensive skill set and knowledgebank to draw from. Participants must be comfortable swimming in deep water while wearing a PFD. Note this course requires all participants to be vaccinated against COVID-19 Session:
Fees (plus HST) Canoe Club members - $80 Private Flatwater lessons
Open to RACCC members only. Three hours of private lake canoeing skills coaching at any level. Learn the basics of paddling a canoe or improve your paddling techniques or learn more advanced canoe strokes, maneuvers and boat control (find out what a canoe can do). Your choice. Participants must be comfortable swimming in deep water while wearing a PFD. Sessions:
Fees (plus HST) Canoe Club members - $100 |
