Paddling on the Sheep River

Sheep River - The Sheep River is a front range Rockies classic Class III - V+ creek. Don't be put off by the number of Class V rapids on it, they are easily walked and the in between paddling is mainly Class II/III boogie water. The main rapids on this run are (in order of appearance): Blue Rock Ledge (III/IV); Sheep Falls (IV); Tiger Jaws (V); Indian Oils (IV); Triple Falls (V+) and Landslide (III/IV). All the rapids on this section are scoutable and easily walked, keep an eye out for horizon lines on this run as most of them require a scout and potentially a walk.

Sheep River - A gorgeous run in a deep canyon. Lots of Class II/II+ rapids at normal water levels. Gets pretty pushy and boily as the water gets higher. The gate to access this section of river typically opens around May 15th, so you cannot paddle it before then. The rapids are made up of small ledges and wave/hole trains. there is one more significant ledge though easily scouted and has a sneak.

Sheep River - The sheep heading out of Okotoks is overlooked as a starter rapid run, as it has a number of small easy rapid, but a great place for an easy paddle, with some small short rapids, a couple ledges and lots of open flat water float sections too (after each major rapid too).

Sheep River - A good beginner run, with lots of short Class I rapids, a few good ledges for surfing and pretty good flow on the sheep, so not much paddling required. A few wide sections get real shallow, but there is typically a channel along an edge with small rapids to make it through clear. At about 1.5km, take the left channel at the island. Then at around 3.15km, take the river right around another island.

Sheep River - A nice float through the country upstream of Okotoks. Low volume, winding through the foothills. There is a single significant ledge that is easy to see and portage, otherwise the whole trip is class I. Better suited to kayaks than SUPs. The river is fast and shallow in places making SUP paddling challenging and potentially dangerous.