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Courses & Trips
We offer certified courses & guided trips.
- We offer a 25% discount for members of youth groups.
- Prices based on groups of 3.
What we offer
- All
- Canoeing
- Canoe Tripping
- Trip Guiding
- White Water
- Wilderness Skills
- Hiking & Backpacking
- Guided Trips
- Youth Leadership
1-3
Days
$100-200
Price
Easy
Difficulty
Let's Go Paddling
ORCKA Basic Canoeing
Levels 1-4 are exciting basic courses in strokes and canoe handling designed for those who want to either learn to paddle or those who wish to improve their skills and confidence. Depending on the level, there will be an introductory pool session involving strokes, canoe rescue and swimming. Instructors hold provincial certification with the Ontario Recreational Canoe and Kayak Association.
2
Days
$250
Price
Easy
Difficulty
Let's Learn to Canoe Trip
ORCKA Canoe Tripping 1
This is a practical, safe and fun course for people (of any age or level of canoeing) who want to learn to canoe trip. This is an introductory level canoe tripping course. Some canoeing experience is recommended.
4
Days
$475
Price
Moderate
Difficulty
Let's Go Canoe Tripping
ORCKA Canoe Tripping 2
Let’s experience the beauty of the Canadian wilderness away from the noise of other campers. This is a practical and fun course for those who want to learn more about canoe tripping safely. The course is for those with camping and canoeing experience and who can control their canoe in tandem while in the stern. The course prerequisites are Basic Canoeing level 3 and Canoe Tripping level 1.
5
Days
$600
Price
Advanced
Difficulty
Let's Guide Canoe Trips
ORCKA Canoe Tripping 3
This is an advanced canoe tripping course for canoe trip leaders. The course prerequisites are 500km and 25 nights of tripping in a supervisory role plus ORCKA Canadian Style Paddling 1A, ORCKA Moving Water 1A or River Running 1A and ORCKA Canoe Tripping level 2. This certification is mandatory for teachers leading canoe trips with students.
1+
Days
$100
Price / Day
Various
Difficulty
Canadian Style Paddling
ORCKA levels 1 - 3
These courses are designed for paddlers who wish to refine and perfect their paddling strokes. The entry pre-requisite for Canadian Style Paddling level 1 is ORCKA Basic Canoeing level 3 .
2
Days
$200
Price / Day
Various
Difficulty
Moving Water
ORCKA levels 1 - 3
Experience the thrill of playing in the turbulence ! Learn to safely manoeuvre your canoe down a swiftly moving river like the voyageurs could !! These exciting courses are designed for paddlers who wish to develop and refine their white water paddling skills in a fixed location (not a canoe tripping setting). The entry pre-requisite for Moving Water level 1 is ORCKA Basic Canoeing level 3 or permission of the course director.
2
Days
$200
Price / Day
Various
Difficulty
River Running
ORCKA levels 1- 3
Learn to paddle white water on a river in a canoe tripping setting. This course is also great for those wanting more training and experience paddling rivers on canoe trips. These courses are ideal for canoe trippers who want training in preparation for canoe trips on the beautiful northern rivers of Ontario and the Canadian Arctic. Participants must be able to paddle tandem (in bow or stern) in a calm water setting.
Any
Days
$100
Price / Day
Various
Difficulty
Wilderness Camping Skills
Wilderness camping skill training is offered to groups or individuals wishing to learn about or improve their skills at camping. Ideal for youth and youth leaders. This training is offered at the Basic, Advanced , Wilderness Tripping and Survival levels.
Learn about finding out where you are and how to get to where you're going, hiking on icy trails, sleeping in the bush when it's below 0 and menu planning on trip without a frig. We'll also teach you about route finding, clothing and gear selection, nutrition and hydration tips, avoiding animal encounters, emergency preparedness, communication suggestions, purifying drinking water, survival strategies, the importance of proper hygiene and much more.
Any
Days
-
Price
Various
Difficulty
Youth Leadership Programs
We provide personalized programs for youth exhibiting leadership potential as well as those not usually identified as "natural" leaders. These programs are delivered through a variety of organizations. In the past, these organizations have been schools, municipalities, the YMCA, Scouts Canada, Duke of Edinburgh Award, and The Refuge (a homeless youth centre).
Topics can include:
• leadership skills, styles and strategies
• effective conflict resolution for positive relationships
• bullying: protecting the recipient and preventing the aggression
• building respect and safer groups: strategies to address prejudice, discrimination and hate in our schools and community groups
• building leadership capacity in at-risk youth
• working effectively with parents, colleagues, clients/children/campers
• mentoring younger staff members
Any
Days
-
Price
Various
Difficulty
Hiking & Backpacking Programs
Come hike with us and enjoy the beauty of our natural world. Our provincially-certified Instructor with Hike Ontario offers the Wilderness Day Hike Leader and Wilderness Tripping Leaders instructional courses.
The Hike Ontario Safe Hikers and the Certified Hike Leaders courses are ideal 1-day skills training courses for people who want to learn about safe hiking and those who want certification in hike Leadership. Topics include planning and risk management, trail leadership, clothing selection, appropriate footwear, trail guide reading, a variety of problem solving and crisis management skills on the trial and more. The Safe Hiker course is recommended for high school classes, educators, members of Scouts Canada and Girl Guides, Duke of Edinburgh Award participants and everyone interested in the great outdoors. The Certified Hike Leader course is recommended for educators, leaders of youth groups and hiking club hike leaders.
For those with both certification in the above levels and experience in hike leadership we offer the challenging Wilderness Day Hike Leaders and the Wilderness Tripping Hike Leaders courses. These leadership courses build on basic hike leadership skills and introduce the element of hike leadership in remote areas beyond 2km from road /medical support. These courses are very useful for day hike leaders and backpacking trip leaders in Ontario’s wilderness e.g. Algonquin, Frontenac, Pukasaw and Temagami Provincial Parks and Canada’s West and East Coast Trails and beyond.
Any
Days
$100
Price / Day
Various
Difficulty
Guided Canoe Trips
Leave the noise and chaos of our cities and explore the backwoods trails and canoe routes of our ancestors. Has exploring Algonquin Park always been on your bucket list? Perhaps it's another park or area of our beautiful province of Ontario. Got a day or even a week? We will help you to experience the beauty and calm serenity of the natural world yourself. Actually paddling your own canoe on a day trip of discovery or packing your gear and food in your canoe and heading out for a multi-day journey will definitely give you an amazing sense of freedom and independence. We have guided trips to suit very skill level and interest. Just dream it and call us. We can help make it happen.