'There's nobody out here': New camping company taking Edmontonians outside the city
An Edmontonian has come up with an outdoor glamping experience less than an hour away from the city.
Steve Capp's Urban River Adventures set up domes and tents along the islands of the North Saskatchewan River after receiving approval from the Alberta government.
The island getaway has been up and running for about a month now, and while it’s been well received by the public with daily guests, Capp said a lot of leg work has gone into making the venture come to fruition.
“It was no easy task,” he said.
“I worked on this all winter, building the website, getting the sales together. Once we got in the water, first of all the boat launches weren't open… We had to transfer all of this gear from a more remote boat launch.”
Capp told CTV News Edmonton he wants people to explore the province's backyard.
“We’re sitting on a city of a million people, and I’ve been out to these areas and there’s nobody out here.”
A camper on the island told CTV News he and his family loved that it still felt like you’re in the wilderness yet “fairly central to Edmonton.”
“It’s a good use of the land, and if you’re going to be in Canada, you may as well take advantage of the outdoors,” Neil Treadway said.
'IT STRENGTHENS OUR UNDERSTANDING AS A COMMUNITY'
Capp created Urban River Adventures after the pandemic forced his event business closed.
“I got creative and thought we have to create something that gets people outdoors and is still COVID friendly and local.”
While the passion project has been months in the making, he didn’t take it all on alone. A friend of 20 years-turned-colleague got involved to ensure there was an education and safety element as well.
“It’s super important to me that we do land acknowledgement,” Jaret Sinclair-Gibson, Indigenous relations and safety for Urban River Adventures, said.
“We are really trying to make sure we keep this island and the river valley looking pristine and beautiful.”
In order to maintain the integrity of the land, the group is following the "leave no trace" principles. Capp said this includes removing all waste, leaving the vegetation as is, and in general avoiding all disruptions that would leave a footprint.
“The leave no trace program falls into why the land acknowledgment is important,” Sinclair-Gibson explained. “It strengthens our understanding as a community why my family, and my community has been connected to this land forever.”
“People don’t respect what they don’t know,” he added. “So if we take time and go into the bush and have fun, we can really help do teaching and learning around that and really connect people to this."
'WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER CAMPED IN THEIR LIFE'
A night on the island will run you $250. This includes all the camping comforts required plus a unique activity for friends and family to do together.
Once you’re on the island, Capp said there’s a variety of activities including gold panning, fishing, paddle boards, kayaks and tubing down the river from Devon.
As for food, Urban River Adventures has partnered with Drift Food Truck. They offer campfire cooking packages and everything comes pre-portioned and ready to go.
Credit: Urban River Adventures
While this is a destination experience for locals, Capp wants patrons to know this is not a luxury resort.
“Make sure you know what you’re coming out to see,” he said.
“We have people who have never camped in their life coming here, and having a good time, and showing us this is exactly why we put it together to give them that experience, give people a connection,” Sinclair-Gibson added.
As for future plans, Capp said the business is looking into winter getaways. If it doesn’t come together this year, he said they’ll tear down and set up again in the spring. But, the big goal is to take the concept international.
“I would really love to turn this into something that creates international attention, and brings people from all over the world,” he said.
Accommodations are booked solid until September.
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Touria Izri
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.