What's SUP you guys?! (Oof that was a bad one. Maybe I won't make jokes again for a while.) First off, I am so pumped about this post as it is my very FIRST blog post here, and second, I'm excited that for my this post I get to talk about something SUPer fun! (Can't stop won't stop)
For anyone who doesn't know already, SUP stands for stand-up paddleboard, which is essentially when you take a paddleboard (almost like a surfboard) into calm waters and paddle around while standing, kneeling, really however you feel comfortable.
What was really cool, was that my boyfriend Chris and I were able to do it without leaving our own city of Edmonton, which was great because we had time to fit in this little adventure on a Sunday!
I booked it through Epic Experiences and will definitely be using them again! They have a ton of experiences (not just SUP) all over Canada! The board rentals were supplied by River Valley Adventure Co.
Now that I've had this fun #yeg experience, I definitely have a few things that I wish I had done better personally, especially never having done this before, and I'd love to share those tips with you, along with information on how to book and try it yourself!
1. General Info
SUP is so much fun and definitely worth a try! The adventure that Epic Experiences offers is through River Valley Adventure Co. but if you book through Epic Experiences, you'll get points towards more adventures, and sometimes there is a discount off the original price! This particular experience has a season of June-August and you must be at least 16 years old. If that doesn't work for you though, there are plenty of other experiences they have to offer!
2. Finding the location
The address is Louise McKinney Park 9735 Grierson Hill, NW Edmonton AB, so right in the middle of the city! Usually there is parking nearby, although at the time there was an event taking up the parking so we had to drive a little farther and were a little late so plan to get there early! If you're parking right there, you'll just walk all the way down to the bottom!
3. Important things you should know
- Because you'll be paddling on a river rather than a lake, you'll be travelling downstream. What this essentially means is that either you'll need to bring 2 cars and take one upstream and leave one at the rental place, or you'll need to factor the cost of an Uber ride into your adventure.
- Make sure you look and find the spot you'll be coming out of the river from before you leave to head upstream. We didn't, and when it came time to pull our boards out, we couldn't find the spot and panicked as we floated away and ended up hiking up some difficult rocky terrain. Don't be dumb, we did that for you.
- You probably won't fall in, but some water likely will get on your board and subsequently on you and your stuff, so it's good to wear something you don't mind getting wet, and having your things in a waterproof bag. They have these available for an extra $10, or you can just put your things in the provided paddleboard bag which is fairly water resistant which is what we did, and it worked fine.
4. What to bring
You'll definitely need:
-Sunscreen
-Sunglasses
-Credit card (as a damage deposit you get back when you return the rentals)
-ID
What's nice to have:
-Bathing suit
-Change of clothes
-Towel (just in case)
-Go pro or camera
5. Physical demands
Make sure you have someone strong with you because as the inflatable boards fill up, the pumps get more difficult to push down and it becomes really hard to get them to their full pressure. The bags are also pretty heavy even on wheels so be ready for an active adventure! The actual paddleboarding can be as relaxing as you want however, as you can stand, kneel, or sit and paddle, or even lie down and float the whole way!
Final Thoughts
My favourite part of the whole adventure was getting to relax and slowly float down the river and get to experience the beautiful nature we have right in the middle of Edmonton! It's very cool to see YEG from this perspective, and a really nice way to spend the day on a date or with a friend.
If you want to try out this adventure, click here! To check out what other experiences they have to offer, click here!
Make sure you follow me on Instagram @itstaradelaney and Epic Experiences @epicxps
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