Swimming in the Grand River near Paris, Ontario
Toronto Indians can do family rafting into a wilderness setting with an outdoor taste of Canada. As the guide takes the rafts down the river everyone can drink from fresh springs, hike through a forest, taste wild plants, paddle some easy splash and even float down the river in life jackets.
The rafts are great for children, grandparents and non-swimmers because they don’t tip. The boats are very easy to get in and out of, plus comfortable to sit on. On the water people can stand up and change places. These boats can hold up to eight people plus a teaching guide.
The guides are there to help everyone see what is around them. Part of the guide’s job is to steer the raft, but the bigger part is teach and answer questions. The paddlers learn about the trees and even taste some wild plants. The guides point out birds, animals and fish as they come across them. They also do short hikes to teach on the Iroquois Indian history. They show paddlers the old mines, hollow climbing trees, good swimming holes and picnic spots.
The river is wilderness… it is clear and only about 1 meter deep on average with 2 meter deep swimming spots. There are islands, easy rapids to shoot through and inflowing trout creeks. The scenery around is of rockery, cliffs and forests. The sky has birds form Vultures to songbirds. The quietness of the valley is an extreme contrast to the noise of Toronto. And clean air… everyone notices the difference of the air.
Some groups are larger then eight and a second or third raft can be added to accommodate the size of the group. A good cost saving is for 2-3 rafts to take one guide with the other rafts being steered by the customers as they follow the guide in the first raft. This way everyone still gets the teaching experience from the guide but at a very good cost savings.
How the trip works is as follows. People park their cars at the starting point and get suited up with life jackets & paddles. The guide provides waterproof dry bags are provided for cameras & cell phones. Once everyone is seated in the raft the guide shoves off for a 4-5 hour day of exploring the river. At the end the customers are shuttled back upstream to their vehicles where they can head for home. For more information on rafting trips visit http://www.grandriverrafting.ca/
The best family rafting is just 10 minutes off the 403 Highway in the town of Paris. There are many restaurants nearby… plus the rafts are equipped with coolers for bringing along food. Within 1 hour of Paris there are over 100 other things that visitors can do… from the white sand beaches of Turkey Point to the horse & buggy country of the Mennonites.
There is wilderness camping available on the Grand River. People can bring their own equipment or rent equipment and have it setup. There are Bed & Breakfasts, hotels and boutique shops in the town of Paris. For other things to do in Paris and surrounding area visit http://grandriverrafting.ca/
For the Indian community of Toronto… the nearby outdoors of the Grand Valley… offers maximum wilderness with minimum traveling. Visiting relatives and friends from afar will be delighted in this unique experience.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
