Kootenay Raft Co. expands its thrilling adventures to Cranbrook

A Kimberley river rafting guide has changed his company name and opened a second location in Cranbrook

1 of 4Kootenay Raft Co. offers whitewater adventures on five different rivers in the East Kootenay. — Photo courtesy of Kootenay Raft Co.

2 of 4Kootenay Raft Co. has river adventures for beginners and enthusiasts. Rafts travel class 1 to 4 rapids. — Photo courtesy of Kootenay Raft Co.

3 of 4Kootenay Raft Co. has experienced and skilled river guides who take groups out on a variety of rivers including the St. Mary, the Elk, the Bull and the White River. — Photo courtesy of Kootenay Raft Co.

4 of 4Lisa Smith is the face of the new shop in Cranbrook, which opened in June of 2012. — Photo courtesy of Kootenay Raft Co.

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For over 15 years, Kimberley Rafting Co. has been providing tourists and locals with whitewater rafting adventures based out of Kimberley, B.C. Now owner Craig Campbell has opened a new store in Cranbrook and has changed the name of the business to better reflect the community it serves.

Kootenay Raft Co. offers the ultimate in whitewater rafting adventures. Experienced and skilled river guides take groups out on a variety of local rivers, including the St. Mary, the Elk, the Bull and the White River.

The trips are tailored for varying skill levels, from those who have never been rafting before to those who are more experienced, with half-day trips and full-day trips available on class 1 to 4 rapids.

Campbell said what makes Kootenay Raft Co. unique is the variety of rivers people get to experience.

“We have five rivers in our tenure,” he said. “We can go wherever the experience is the best, so we’re not just tied to one river all the time. Over the last 15 years of running the business, we’ve really gotten to know the rivers intimately. We know at what water levels to have the best experience and the safest operating levels. For our operation to have the longevity of 15 years, our success is hinged upon our high standard of safety.”

Campbell said because he takes rafters to the White River up near Lussier Hot Springs, the Bull River behind the Steeples, the Elk River down near Elko and the St. Mary River between Kimberley and Cranbrook, opening a new location made perfect sense. The new location will provide a better presence and help grow the business moving forward.

The other aspect of Kootenay Rafting’s success is in its location.

“We have incredible weather here in the Kootenays,” Campbell said. “Cranbrook and Kimberley have some of the biggest sunshine hours in all of B.C. The consistency of great weather ensures people will have a lot of fun out there.”

New adventures

Kootenay Raft Co., because of their new location, has also added some exciting new services to their adventure menu. The company is now offering half-day and full-day trips for horseback riding and ATVing.

“Our horseback riding trips are a very cool new thing and there’s actually a high demand for it,” Campbell said. “We offer two main rides. One is a half-day excursion called Giddy Up that’s a bit more introductory for people who just want to try it out. It’s going to be run out of a beautiful wilderness lodge up in the Purcell Mountains, and run out of that same lodge is going to be the full-day trip and that’s going to be for people who want more adventure.”

Campbell warns the full-day trip involves a lot of riding and is for advanced riders, but there’s an incredible opportunity to go up in the Dewar Creek Hot Springs with a guide outfitter, which is a really unique thing for the area.

ATVing adventures follow along the same lines, with half-day and full-day trips being run out of a nearby ranch as well.

Experience

The success of this East Kootenay venture also lies in the incredible experience and drive of Campbell himself.

Campbell first fell in love with riding rivers after a canoe trip with the Royal Canadian Army Cadets when he was 13 years old. When he was 19, he started river guiding in the Ottawa Valley, then eventually moved to B.C. to attend Thompson Rivers University’s adventure travel guide program.

Now Campbell has worked his way up to running his own business doing what he loves. Besides providing an amazing, fun and educational experience on the water, he also knows what he’s doing on paper. Right now, he’s going back to school to complete his masters in tourism management. He also chairs Kimberley's destination marketing organization, is a secretary on the Trails Society, an auxiliary instructor with the College of the Rockies and in winter works full time with the ski patrol at Kimberley Alpine Resort.

With the opening of the new location, Campbell is excited to draw more tourists to the area and promote the region as a whole.

“I know Cranbrook has been looking at maybe organizing itself as a better-marketed tourism destination,” said Campbell. “I know the chamber has a committee that’s been working hard on it. We do a lot of marketing for the area to bring people here and have been doing that for years in Kimberley. The new store now gives us an added presence to help market the greater area in Cranbrook and Kimberley.”

Instead of focusing solely on Kimberley, Kootenay Raft Co. chose a new tagline for this year: Adventures in the Southern Rockies. Campbell believes all communities in the southern Canadian Rockies will benefit, from Invermere right down to the U.S. border.

Adventure safety

As with all outdoor adventures, there are inherent risks in river rafting. Each person needs to adhere to the rules of the river, but the staff at Kootenay Raft Co. has your safety at the forefront of everything they do.

Each guide has to pass stringent standards which are set by the industry association, the B.C. River Outfitters Association. Campbell said that means all guides run through standardized testing, which includes everything from conducting a safety speech to flipping a raft to swimming a river, and more.
Sharing the natural environment

When it comes to working his dream job, Campbell’s favourite part of the experience is sharing it with people who are doing it for the very first time.

“You see their eye go wide open and that’s always really fun,” Campbell said. "It’s about the shared experience, whether that’s with return guests who have come three or four times or a new family that’s never done it before. It’s also about taking my seven-year-old down the river and watching her yell and scream when she sees a bald eagle. It’s the sharing of the natural environment and the adventure I like more than anything, more than big rapids, for example.”

As the owner of this successful adventure company that’s been in business for over 15 years, Campbell is incredibly excited about the new location in Cranbrook.

“Opening this new location has really revitalized my energy as well as the staff’s energy and drive,” Campbell said. “We’re looking forward to having a busy shop and being the place to get adventure information in Cranbrook for tourists and locals.”