RiverWatch Summer Camp Edmonton: Rafting, River Science & a Whole Week Outside
Ages 11–15 · 5-day camp | North Saskatchewan River | August 2026
Most summer camps happen in a gym. This one happens on a river.
RiverWatch has safely guided more than 200,000 Alberta students down the North Saskatchewan since 1995 — but 2026 is the first year they've ever opened it up as a summer camp. Five days in a raft, boots in the water, exploring the shorelines and creeks most Edmontonians drive over and never notice. No screens. No pretending. Real river, real science, real week outside.
What the week actually looks like
Campers float guided sections of the North Saskatchewan with certified RiverWatch guides, pull real water-quality data with the same testing kits the school science program uses, and spend the week learning to read a river — its wildlife, its history, its health. Part expedition, part field lab, all outdoors.
By Friday your kid isn't just "a camper." They're a RiverWatch Junior River Guide who can tell you what turbidity means and why it matters, with a field journal to prove it.
Who is Riverwatch Camp for
Ages 11–15. Small groups, so guides actually know your kid's name by Tuesday. Swimming isn't required — lifejackets are worn in the rafts and along the shore, and guides run the whole show on the calmest, safest stretches of the river. If your 11-to-15-year-old is curious, up for an adventure, and overdue for a week away from a screen, this is the one.
Dates & what to know
Three week-long sessions run in August, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. drop-off to 4 p.m. pick-up, for ages 11–15. The Aug 4 week runs Tuesday–Friday around the long weekend; the Aug 10 and Aug 17 weeks each have only a few spots left. Drop-off is at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park Boat Launch (Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park Rd NW), with end-of-day pick-up at Gold Bar Boat Launch. Camp is run by the RiverWatch Institute of Alberta — a non-profit, award-winning, trusted school partner for 30 years.
Book it
This is the first summer RiverWatch has ever run a camp, and they're keeping groups small on purpose. Two of the three August weeks are already down to a handful of spots. If a week on the river is the summer memory you want your kid to come home with, don't sit on it.