The paddle up the Valleyview River Corridor is a quiet one on a drizzly, grey October morning.

The section from the Valleyview Boat Launch to Dallas is 5 km each way, about right for a good paddle upriver and back.   The upstream paddle along the south shore side passes many riverfront homes on Thompson Drive then along a section of shrubby clay banks between the CPR line and the river on the way to more Dallas riverfront homes..

The two “horns” of Harper Ridge stand above the silt cliffs on the north side of the river.

Cottonwoods, aspens, and other riverbank deciduous trees offer some color in fall.   Geese and ducks are still on the river in fall, taking to flight when a 18 foot green kayak approaches.

The return paddle is a quick one with the river’s current moving the kayak to 8 km/hour downiver past the Wanda Sue paddlewheeler back to the Valleyview Boat Launch.

Paddlers can launch and land at Valleyview Boat Launch, Pioneer Park, Riverside Park, or McArthur Island to paddle the greenspace corridors right in the middle of the City.   We started paddling the rivers in February this year and will continue paddling the river circuits through November before putting the kayak away for the winter.