Today, we made the difficult—but absolutely necessary—decision to shut down operations at Grand Experiences. Overnight rains had pushed water levels on the Grand River well beyond safe limits, and we weren’t about to take any chances.
On my way into the shop this morning, I noticed the surrounding farm fields were flooded. That was my first clue something wasn’t right. I immediately pulled up the GRCA flow gauges on my phone—an essential part of our daily safety check—and found most readings were well over 100 cubic meters per second. That’s far beyond what we consider safe for our guests.
We take safety seriously—seriously enough to notify the local fire department when we’re not operating. Why? Because unfortunately, some operators will run trips regardless of the conditions. By letting first responders know we’re off the river, it gives them one less group to worry about.
Later in the day, we got a call from the fire department, letting us know they retrieved a number of tubes from a river rescue. I assured them that Grand Experiences does not allow clients to go out in high water conditions and shut down operations for the day. “Wise choice,” he said—and we couldn’t agree more. The firefighter confirmed they had rescued six people from the river sent out by another operator and thanked us for making the right call.
Each year, countless lives are lost in water-related accidents across North America. At Grand Experiences, we take our 28-year safety record to heart. We will never risk that record—or more importantly, our guests’ lives—for the sake of a day’s revenue.
Instead, we turned this high-water day into a valuable opportunity. Our team headed to the whitewater on the Nith River for advanced staff training and rescue preparedness. Because we believe the best guides are the ones who are always learning, always training, and always ready.
Water safety isn’t just a checkbox. It’s a commitment. And it’s one we take seriously—every single day.
Stay safe. Stay smart. Paddle with people who put your safety first.