Esprit Lodge & Rafting is a lodge and

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...

accommodation near

Fort Coulonge Fort Coulonge is a village in the Pontiac Regional County Municipality in western Quebec, Canada, at the mouth of the Coulonge River. It is the francophone centre of the otherwise largely (57%) anglophone Pontiac MRC, with 79.6% listing French a ...

, a village in the Pontiac Regional County Municipality in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is used in conjunction with whitewater rafting tours offered by the company. The main lodge was destroyed in a fire in 2016; however, the company has acquired additional accommodation options.

About the general area

Jesuit settler Father Dablon, superior of the missions of the Upper Algonkin in 1670, made note of the importance of the area with respect to the many tribes of the aboriginal

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

peoples who inhabited the region. Originally, the area prospered as a

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

settlement, but in the years since 1982, when the last of the log drives occurred,

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

and white water rafting have become the prominent attractions for travelers here. Adventure guides from Esprit Lodge lead tours of the region including the

Coulonge Chutes The Coulonge Chutes (in French: ''Chutes Coulonge'') is a non-profit recreation park and historical exhibition area operating in Mansfield-et-Pontefract, in the Pontiac Regional County Municipality of western Quebec, Canada. Its main attraction ...

and along the Cycloparc PPJ, a major eastern Canadian hiking and bicycle trail. The area is rich in history with respect to the French settlement of Canada and was written about and explored by early

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionaries who noted the tradition and heritage of

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

via the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

. Esprit Rafting was selected as the 'second best outfitter on Earth' by ''

National Geographic Adventure Nat Geo People was an international pay television channel owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). Targeted at female audiences, with programming fo ...

'' magazine.

Activities, education, certification & training

In addition to rafting trips and canoeing outfitting services provided in the region, Esprit Lodge is the only hostel accommodation in Canada offering Wilderness first aid (Kayak) and

Swiftwater rescue Swift water rescue (also called "white water rescue") is a subset of technical rescue dealing in white water river conditions. Due to the added pressure of moving water, swift water rescue involves the use of specially trained personnel, ropes an ...

courses and accreditation. Students from around the world travel here to learn hands-on techniques about sustainable travel through instructors and staff who encourage an adherence to the principles of Leave No Trace. Some rivers used for training, education and exploration purposes include the

Petawawa Petawawa is a town located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, with a population of 18,160 (2021 Census), Petawawa is the most populous municipality in Renfrew County. Geography The town lies on the west b ...

, Magnetawan,

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

and Kipawa. Specific levels of instruction and certification programs include:

Wilderness First Responder Wilderness first responders are individuals who are trained to respond to emergency situations in remote locations. They are part of a wide variety of wilderness medical providers who deal with medical emergencies that occur in wilderness settings ...

, Whitewater Rescue Technician (WRT 1) - Level 1,

Swiftwater Rescue Swift water rescue (also called "white water rescue") is a subset of technical rescue dealing in white water river conditions. Due to the added pressure of moving water, swift water rescue involves the use of specially trained personnel, ropes an ...

Level 1 (SRT 1) and Level 2 (SRT 2),

Riverboarding Riverboarding is a boardsport in which the participant lies prone on their board with fins on their feet for propulsion and steering. This sport is also known as hydrospeed in Europe and as riverboarding or white-water sledging in New Zealand, dep ...

, Guide Training Level 1 and ORCA Moving water.

History

Esprit Rafting launched in 1992, having received a loan from ''Société d'aide au développement des collectivités'' (S.A.D.C.) as part of a regional effort to promote economic development in Canadian rural areas through business loans. Since that time, Esprit has become internationally known for

adventure travel Adventure travel is a type of niche tourism, involving exploration or travel with a certain degree of risk (real or perceived), and which may require special skills and physical exertion. In the United States, adventure tourism has grown in r ...

expeditions throughout the Ottawa River system,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and other destinations. The proprietors of Esprit Lodge operate several micro-philanthropy ventures in

Jalcomulco Jalcomulco is a municipality in Veracruz, Mexico, founded in 1825. It is located in central zone of the State of Veracruz, about , from State Capital, Xalapa and , from Mexico City. It has a land area of 58.40 km2. The municipality of Jalc ...

, Mexico, concentrating on promoting the core values of

. Locally, the Hermanos project has resulted in the establishment of the first community Internet café, a photo business, a rafting company along with Esprit's winter operation employing local adventure guides and a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

. Esprit Lodge has hosted numerous significant adventure races, including one of the firs
Raid the North

adventure races Adventure racing (also called expedition racing) is typically a multidisciplinary team sport involving navigation over an unmarked wilderness course with races extending anywhere from two hours up to two weeks in length. Some races offer solo co ...

in 1999, the Canadian Adventure Racing Championship in 2005, and many other events in partnership with Frontier Adventure Sports, Canada's leading adventure race provider.

Transportation

Travel to Esprit is via the provincial

Quebec Route 148 Route 148 is an east-west highway in Quebec, Canada. It runs from junction of Autoroute 13 and Autoroute 440 in Laval in the Montreal region to the Ontario-Quebec border in L'Isle-aux-Allumettes in western Quebec. For most of its length, Route ...

, the Cycloparc PPJ bicycle trail or by the Ottawa River itself.

Notes and references

External links