Lazy Day Raft Rentals — Attraction in Calgary

TLDR: I was given an unseaworthy vessel and had to walk several kilometres through the woods with their broken gear to avoid a huge fine. I was severely dehydrated, sunburnt, threw up and had a nose bleed and was still short changed on the refund.

I truly awful experience. I was given a Bow Yak with a puncture in its floatation tube. At first I thought it had just been poorly inflated but I soon realized I was sinking and no amount of bailing was going to keep me afloat. After about 20 minutes of deflation the vessel was sagging so low that my back was hitting large rocks underneath and I just had to paddle ashore, I lost my water and sunscreen while trying to crawl out of their sinking Bow yak. I was told after calling them that I could "maybe" get a refund and that it was my responsibility to return their broken gear or I would be charged $300 and they would not be covering the cost of the Uber ride there. My suggestions of an employee driving to meet me near by or having one of their own rafts come down stream to pick up their deflated gear was met with long silences and I was told they just don't do that and I should call 911. I wasn't going to waste emergency services time when they could be needed elsewhere so I rolled up their garbage gear and started trekking through the woods. I walked around 3 kilometres, mostly uphill, with their broken property on my shoulders before finding a road, waited about 30 minutes to find an Uber that would take a bunch of wet gear and when I got back to their location by the curling club the door was locked and no one answered my knocking. After cooling off in the shade for a few minutes an employee who was clocking off for the day opened the door followed by 2 others. Even though I had called several times along the way they seemed confused to who I was or why I had their gear with me. When I told them I needed water they said "We can sell you some" The refund was $10 less than...

Hi Lazy Day Raft Rental Team,

Thank you so much for a great rafting experience! Our group of 39 people had a fantastic time on the Bow River. Your team was friendly and organized and made sure everything went smoothly. We especially appreciated the safety briefing at the start and the rule that everyone must wear their life jackets; that gave us a great deal of confidence. The rafts were in good shape, and overall, we enjoyed the trip. Since you asked for feedback, I wanted to share a few ideas that could enhance the experience based on what I’ve observed.

Paddles: It might be helpful to attach the paddles to the raft with a rope or clip, just in case someone accidentally drops one in the water. Losing a paddle mid-river could be a problem, especially if it happens to more than one person in a raft.

More Patrols on Busy Days: On busy days, having a few more staff members along the river would be great. They could keep an eye on rafters who might be struggling or not following the rules. It’s always good to have extra support, just in case. Adding your team to this task, in addition to Calgary Fire and Rescue, may be a good option.

Help at the Exit Point: At the end of the ride, it would be easier if your staff had ropes or some way to pull in rafts that don’t reach the shore. Some of us drifted a bit far from the dock, and a quick pull would’ve made landing smoother and safer.

Thanks again for a fun day on the river! We’ll recommend Lazy Day Raft Rentals to others and look forward to coming back again. Regards,...

We have been coming to rent rafts from this place for years and we have always gotten a great experience. We recently went again and rented one of their rafts to take advantage of some really warm spring weather.

We originally rented out one of their DIY rafts as they were reasonably priced. When we arrived to check in and sign their waivers, the owner was gracious enough to upgrade us to the fully inflated rafts located in the baker park area. This really worked out for us as we were going to launch our float at Bowness Park anyways, which was basically right beside baker park boat launch.

Their rental boats are nice and clean. The boats themselves are sturdy and strong enough for minor scrapes and bumps along the river. Rentals all include the safety jackets, paddles and emergency kits. The DIY rafts also came with an inflator pump but since we got an inflated one from the boat launch we didn’t need it.

We took our time and stopped by a couple of islands to chill out and catch some sun so it took us about 5-6 hours to float all the way back to downtown where the shop is. It normally takes 3-4 hours if you just went straight floating back. They even have guys waiting for you at the end point to help you dock and unload.

Overall a great experience and I would highly recommend floating at the Bow River...