Brazeau River

The Brazeau River is for advanced paddlers. We did this upper section at a water level of 60cms and there were some pretty crazy sections for open canoes. Definitely doable for skilled paddlers, but for our intermediate group (who had just completed a Paddle Canada instructor course and SWR) it was a little bit much.

The river is absolutely beautiful. It is rarely paddled partly because it is difficult to get to. The ~2km portage at the beginning is tough. It starts out in a cutline that is pretty open, but the bank is extremely steep. We ended up rigging a pulley system to trees to lower our canoes and gear.

We had planned to go for a longer trip, but had some difficulties with the large rapids and strong eddy lines.

There are many rapids that require scouting - they will be significantly different at different water levels. Camping spots are pretty easy to find.

You can continue on below the forestry trunk road to extend the trip. Right below the bridge is a canyon a few kms long with no good take-out or rescue points. If you've had no troubles above the canyon, it will probably be fine to continue on.