The Grande Cache River Rendezvous is back for 2026! June 26 (evening only) - June 29. The Rendezvous is generously sponsored by the Grande Cache Hotel and hosted by UAPS.
This festival is best suited for intermediate and advanced paddlers (minimum Class 3 paddler with a reliable roll), as many of the rivers in the area have difficult or non-existent egress, must make ferries to avoid wood, and rivers difficulty increases drastically with higher water levels. Beginner paddlers are welcome to join for the weekend if they are keen to get out hiking, for a flat water paddle on Grande Cache Lake, or book a rafting trip down the Sulphur or Sheep with Wild Blue Yonder Rafting (ages 8+). In addition, if your club would like to bring leaders to support your beginners on some of the class 2 or 3 runs, we highly encourage you to do so, but won't have support for the festival for these runs.
-Family - $45
-Individual - $30
-Staying in a room at the Grande Cache Hotel - $10 event fee
You must be an AWA member through a club (UAPS, Wapiti, etc), or directly. Please note registration includes free camping at the Grande Cache hotel, and free entry to the Grande Cache Pool at the Rec Center on Sunday evening from 6-8 pm to swim, soak in the hot tub, dive off the high board, race Olga down the slide, and have a warm shower.
If you prefer to stay in a nice cozy hotel room, you can book one directly at the Grande Cache Hotel (780) 827-3377 and ask for the sport rate. There will be a fire pit all night, and washrooms and potable water available inside the hotel. There is a family restaurant for breakfast/lunch in the hotel, and High Country Steak & Ale for dinner - meals are not included with registration.
Rivers map for the weekend: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?mid=1Qtbkke63I_FugcX_JOgg3qpZT5fI9OM&usp=sharing
Emergency Action Plans for the Weekend (please download for offline use) https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KJ4lU20SXGNjsyAeWiThvsqXUIUh7Fdu?usp=drive_link
River Levels & Runs
Run options for the weekend in increasing difficulty include the Upper Muskeg, Lower Muskeg, Sulphur, Middle Muskeg, and Sheep Creek. For those not ready for the river, there is nice flatwater paddling at Grande Cache Lake and Pierre Grey Lakes. People will likely be running the Upper or Middle Muskeg river and Sulphur river on Saturday, Sheep or Muskeg on Sunday, and Sulphur on Monday.
