Paddling the Red Deer River, Alberta

Floating through Alberta’s badlands past grazing deer and busy beavers, with white pelicans soaring overhead, while soaking up the prairie sun with your feet propped up on the sides of your canoe – could life be sweeter? This post provides the perfect introduction to paddling the lower Red Deer River – including a breakdown of popular canoeing sections, when to go, what to pack and where to camp along the way.

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Paddling the Red Deer River

The Red Deer River is one of Alberta’s most popular paddle routes. It starts in the Rocky Mountains on the east slopes of Banff National Park and flows out through the foothills and across the prairies. Almost immediately after crossing the Saskatchewan border, the Red Deer joins the South Saskatchewan River. These waters eventually empty into Hudson Bay.

There are two distinct sections of recreational paddling on the Red Deer River. The upper Red River – from near the Banff park boundary to just above the Dickson Dam – has grade II-III rapids. It’s popular for whitewater kayaking and rafting. The lower Red Deer River – downstream of the City of Red Deer is the focus of this post. It consists of approximately 500 kilometres of moving flatwater – no rapids!

Popular Canoeing Sections

The lower Red Deer River is a popular canoeing destination – for both single and multi-day trips. We’ve paddled the lower Red Deer River a few times over the years – with kids, without kids, with other experienced paddlers, with novice paddlers and on our own. For ease of access and shuttle set up, our “go to” sections tend to be Tolman Bridge to Bleriot Ferry and Dinosaur Provincial Park to Jenner, but the entire lower Red Deer is worthy of exploration.

Content Bridge to Mackenzie Crossing

River distance: 37 km

We did this section once as an overnight, two-day paddle. The rock gardens through Backbone Riffle – about 16 km downstream of Content Bridge – require a little bit of navigational skill during low water. That being said, the riffle was our favourite part of this section of the Red Deer. Cool historic fact? The Backbone is believed to be where explorer Anthony Henday – first European traveller in the area – crossed the Red Deer River in 1754!

McKenzie Crossing to Tolman Bridge

River distance: 28 km

What can I say? This is still one of our favourite sections on the Lower Red Deer. It’s normally an easy and fun float. We like taking novice paddlers down this stretch. One year we did it as a late season paddle with two friends who’d never done an overnight river trip before. It was October and the weather was stellar – blue skies and abnormally warm temperatures. We drifted slowly, soaking up the changing colours on the cottonwoods lining the riverbank.

A little breeze picked up as we set up camp on a flat gravel spot beside the river. We filled our bellies with red curry and rice and sat around the fire swapping stories. And that’s when it happened…

Busy Beavers

We heard a noise on the bank above us. It was dark. We grabbed our headlamps – and almost dropped them in amazement as a beaver waddled through on the other side of the campfire. The tree branch it was hauling passed right through the flames. Gobsmacked, we watched as the wood-chewing rodent waddled to river and swam away. 

But that wasn’t the end of it! I had trouble getting to sleep that night wondering how fast a beaver could chew through a tree trunk. What if one dropped our tents? The beaver also came back and proceeded to chew on a branch right outside our thin-walled sleeping quarters. Zip. Tent door opened. The beaver stared back for a moment and went right back to knawing on the branch. All night long, it kept us awake.

Bleary-eyed in the morning, we cupped our hands around our coffee mugs and stared at the obvious signs of an active beaver run on the bank above camp. How did we miss that when setting up camp? With winter just around the corner, they were focused on one thing – getting in a good supply of grub before the big freeze.

Bring on the Wind!

The breeze from the night before steadily grew into a strong wind as we packed up camp and reloaded the canoe. Within half a kilometre, our friends were paddling as hard as they could in their plastic kayaks and were still being blown upstream. We got out and started walking the boats downstream from shore with a rope. The wind picked up pace. Whitecaps formed as upstream waves battled the current and won.

Leaning into the wind with gusts whipping our faces, we rounded a corner and sighed with relief at the sight of the Dry Island Buffalo Jump boat launch. Pulling the boats up on shore, we huddled. There is no way we could keep paddling. 

I volunteered to set myself up in the parking area and start hitting up anyone who came in to see if they would mind giving me a ride to our takeout vehicle. Apparently, I can be quite persuasive when the situation warrants it. Two women pulled up in their on a sightseeing drive from their campsite. In a few short minutes, I was happily ensconced in their back seat, chatting away about the vagaries of prairie weather.

Tolman Bridge to Bleriot Ferry

River distance: 33 km

Wind and weather are both worthy of consideration on every section of the river. It’s all part of outdoor adventure. We’ve had some good thunderstorms roll through. One afternoon we were forced to pull over and create an improvised shelter. Games were played below the tarp, dinner was cooked and when the sun reappeared, we paddled in the glow of evening light. It was quite magical. 

What wasn’t so great was looking for a campsite after the rain passed. The Red Deer River carves through a lot of bentonite clay. When wet, it becomes more slippery than a bar of soap on wet hands. Scrambling up to check out a flat spot on the river was fine, coming back down was bit of a slip and slide and thumb breaker! 

My thumb healed and I still love this section of river. You can shorten the trip by pulling out at Morrin Bridge. Morrin is about 11 kilometres upstream of Bleriot Ferry. 

Bleriot Ferry to Drumheller

River distance: 20 km

Bleriot Ferry is named for the Bleriot family. Andre Bleriot filed for his homestead on the west side of the river in 1902. He was responsible for the ferry starting up in 1913. The ferry still operates today. We did this section once, leaving a shuttle vehicle above the ferry loading zone. Like the rest of the upstream portion of the Red Deer, this section is an easy paddle when there’s no wind or severe weather. 

Drumheller to Emerson Bridge

River distance: 90 km

Brad did this section with a few buddies late one spring. The river seems to slow down here as it cuts through the badlands. Sediment builds up, creating hidden sandbars, especially as the water level start to drop in late spring. Be prepared to get out your canoe and pull it off when you run aground. Luckily temps are usually warm and getting in the water is a welcome reprieve. Also, choose a good location to leave your shuttle vehicle parked on Drumheller streets. I got a call from a Drumheller bylaw officer about our “abandoned vehicle” three days into the guys’ trip!

Emerson Bridge to Dinosaur

River distance: 30 km

We like the shorter day trip running 13 km from the Steveville Bridge down to the takeout at Dinosaur Provincial Park. It’s perfect for beginner paddlers. Mosquitoes can be thick all along the river, but this section seems to be even worse. Be sure to pack insect repellent – and maybe consider buying a pair of these Bug Armour insect repellent socks for evenings around the campfire! Click on sock for link.

Dinosaur to Jenner

River distance: 35 km

Floating from Dinosaur Provincial Park to Highway 884 (a.k.a. Jenner Bridge) is a gem. I think we’ve done this section at least four times. The badlands topography simply can’t be beat. We explore off river hiking past eroded hoodoos and sinkholes and up to the flat land stretching out beyond the river valley. Beyond hunting for dinosaur bones (no collecting allowing in the park), there’s plenty of human history along the way – including Happy Jack’s. 

What’s in a name? Wealthy English parents often sent their younger sons abroad in the late 1800s and early 1900s – and paid them a remittance to stay there! Delaval James de la Poer Beresford was one of these men. He bought the property in 1902 and called it the Mexico Ranch. Unfortunately, Beresford was killed in a train crash four years later. The ranch ended up in the hands of his foreman, Hansel “Happy Jack” Jackson. Today, remnants of the ranch cabin and outbuildings remain.

Warning: love, love, love this section but we almost always see rattlesnakes along here. It’s not that there aren’t snakes on the other sections, there just seems that we’ve had more sightings of them here. In fact, one of tales in my e-book about active travel misadventures –  I’ll Never Pee in the Woods Again! – revolves around a rattlesnake encounter on a trip along this section while paddling the Red Deer River. Check it out!

Logistics of Paddling the Red Deer River 

After choosing which section you want to paddle, logistics come next. When is the best time to paddle the river? What do you need to pack? What are the best maps to use? Where do you camp? There are a lot of questions that come up when planning a trip down the Red Deer River. Fortunately, most of them are easily answered.

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When to Go? 

You can usually paddle the Red Deer River from spring to fall. Spring can be tricky as floods do occur. This mild float becomes a mean mess best avoided during extreme high water. When not in flood, spring water levels are still higher than norm which can make finding flat, riverside campsites a little more difficult. Mosquitoes are also more prevalent early in the season. 

Summer is a great time to float the Red Deer, but it can get extremely hot and snakes are more active. Low water levels expose numerous sandbars which make for excellent campsites. On the other hand, low water also increases the risk of running aground on midstream sandbars hidden beneath a few inches of murky brown water.

Fall is probably our favourite time of the year on this river. Temperatures moderate, bug numbers drop rapidly as nights cool and the changing colours of riverside vegetation and cottonwood trees make for plenty of photo ops! Just watch out for single-minded beavers!

What to Pack? 

Create a paddling checklist for the basic river gear that includes all you need for cooking, eating, sleeping and shelter. We combine our backpacking and paddling checklists for multi-day canoe trips. You can see them in a recent post on Canoeing the Green River, Utah. We always take our Yeti cooler – a boon in hot temps for keeping for supplies fresh longer. With dry ice – not necessary for trips up to 4 or 5 days in length – we can keep fresh food for 8 to 10 days with proper management. 

Wondering what proper management of your cooler on a river trip entails? 

• Move regularly to keep in the shade whenever possible once camp is set up. 
• Use a damp towel draped over the cooler to keep it cool longer (evaporating water cools). 
• Plan what you need to get out ahead of time for each meal so that you don’t spend extra time with the cooler lid open. 
• Cool hack: freeze tetra pak juice containers or empty cranberry juice bottles filled with drinking water to use as “ice” until thawed for consumption!

Needs tips on storage for all of your paddling gear? Check out our post “7 Tips for Storing Outdoor Gear.“

Water Woes 

Water, water everywhere – but not a drop to drink! The Red Deer River runs through ranch lands and muddy badlands – don’t plan on using river water. Water can be found in most established campgrounds, but it may be signed non-potable. 

Canoeists should plan on carrying a minimum of 4 liters of water per person per day for drinking and cooking. We always carry our Platypus gravity water filter, but more for emergencies than expected use on this river. MEC has a good supply of water filters if you’re looking to get one.

Where to Camp? 

One of the best things about paddling the Red Deer River is that you can legally camp anywhere below the high-water mark, including on midstream islands. There are numerous established campsites – see list below – along the Red Deer, but we always like to stay at random campsites away from civilization!

When choosing your random site remember that storms can come in seemingly without warning and winds can howl – seek sheltered sites, if at all possible. Also, grazing cattle are common  along the river. If you don’t want to share river access with the bovines, pick a site with fewer hoof prints and cow patties!

Established Campgrounds

(Note: fees vary from free* to $20+/night) 

• Tail Creek Park (Hwy 21)
• Trenville Park (upstream of Hwy 590 on Township Rd 361A)
• McKenzie Crossing (Hwy 590)
• Tolman East and West Campgrounds (Hwy 585)
• Starland Recreation Area/Morrin Bridge (Hwy 27)
• Bleriot Ferry Provincial Recreation Area (Hwy 838)
• Pinters Campground (near Hwy 10)
• Emerson Bridge Park Campground (Hwy 36)
• Steveville Campground (Hwy 876)
• Dinosaur Provincial Park
• Jenner Campground* (downstream of Hwy 884)

Other Useful Resources

• Get the Red Deer River maps from Paddle Alberta (or pick them up with a waterproof map case, dry bags and other paddling gear from Aquabatics (now AQOutdoors).

• Check out this excellent, free guide for paddling in the badlands from Paddle Alberta. 
  
• Need a shuttle service? Check out Lynch Ranch Canoe Rentals & Shuttle Services or Red Deer River Adventures.

• For current flow information, Alberta Environment & Water has details on Alberta’s River Basins. 

• Find local weather conditions at Environment Canada.

• Looking for other Alberta river trips? Check out our posts on Paddling the Milk River in Spring, Canoeing the South Saskatchewan: Medicine Hat to Sandy Point and Canoeing the Oldman River: Monarch to Lethbridge and Paddling the Oldman River: Nolan’s Bridge to Taber.

• Use the Backroads Central Alberta Mapbook to help plan river access points.

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