Guides from Similkameen Wild Resort Winery and Adventure Centre’s new rafting program steer one of their “state-of-the-art” inflatable rafts. (Photo supplied)
A tour company hopes to make waves in Osoyoos this summer, offering commercial rafting trips down the popular Similkameen River.
Starting in June, Similkameen Wild Resort Winery and Adventure Centre will offer twice-a-day guided trips down the river, a move company owner Roland Joachim says will make the Similkameen more accessible than ever before.
Joachim, the brains behind the new rafting program, says that while people have been floating down the Similkameen on everything from pool noodles to inner tubes for years now, Similkameen Wild will be the first professional outfit offering trips down it.
“The river’s been run pretty unsafely for a very long time. That there aren’t more incidents on the Similkameen is pretty amazing,” he says.
The new 12-kilometre trip will transport adventure-seeking participants in “state-of-the-art” inflatable kayaks and rafts, guiding them from Bromley Rock Provincial Park to Stemwinder Provincial Park, ending in a barbecue and wine tasting at a riverside winery.
“The thing about Bromley is it’s just an absolutely spectacular river resource,” said Joachim. “It’s right here in everyone’s backyard, it is less than an hours drive from Osoyoos. No one has ever afforded the public at large the opportunity to actually experience that river. It has never, ever been run commercially.”
Through Similkameen Wild, Joachim has started offering partnership agreements with local non-profit groups like the Okanagan Boys and Girls Club to take kids on adventure trips.
Back in February, more than two dozen youngsters with the club from across the South Okanagan got the chance to participate in a full day of ice fishing and other fun activities with Joachim playing a key role in organizing the event.
The Similkameen River is such a good resource, it only made sense to safely open it up to as many people as possible, he said.
The Similkameen is the perfect river for families and large groups looking for a safe and enjoyable way to experience rafting, he said.
“The reason that we developed the rafting program on the Similkameen is because it is an incredible river resource that is incredibly easy to access, and it’s super safe,” he said. “Any community group, family group, whatever, they can all experience the river really safely.
“The river is basically a Grade 2 river, and when the water’s high, you might have the occasional Grade 2 rapid. But the one thing that it does have is a lot of Grade 2 rapids, so it’s really splashy from beginning to end.”
Similkameen Wild’s trip will also boast of cliff jumping, super soakers, water cannons and other family-friendly activities along the way.
TREVOR NICHOLS
Regional Reporter
