Some of the best ideas start with a moment you almost miss. Ours started on a bridge.

A canoe, some fireworks, and a very good idea

Back in 2017 and 2018, I was pretty deeply embedded in the Ottawa Instagram community. Photography has always been my passion, which has made for some great photos from our tours over the years — all of the images you see on our website were taken by me. 📷

One of the events everyone looked forward to every summer was Grands Feux du Casino Lac-Leamy — the spectacular international fireworks competition held at the Museum of History in Gatineau. Photographers from all over the city would stake out bridges, rooftops, and hotel balconies to capture the show. It was one of those events where you'd see familiar faces year after year, all jostling for the perfect angle.

Grands Feux du Casino Lac-Leamy from the Tribeca rooftop, circa 2019 — photo by Lana

One year, Scott and I were watching the show from the Mackenzie King Bridge over the Rideau Canal when something caught my eye below us. A person in a canoe was paddling slowly down the canal, directly toward the fireworks. Just one person, completely alone on the water, with the whole sky lighting up above them.

We filed it away as one of those ideas that felt too good to ever actually happen — and then mostly forgot about it.

The pieces come together

Fast forward to 2022. We had recently started carrying Oru Kayaks in the shop and had fallen pretty hard for them. One evening, I was browsing Instagram when I came across a kayaking tour in Toronto that was doing something really cool: light-up, clear kayaks paddling the harbourfront at dusk. The photos were stunning.

I showed it to Scott, and that's when he realised that the Oru Kayaks are translucent. You can see light through them.

Selfies in the light-up Oru Kayaks!

The bridge moment came rushing back. We looked at each other, and I'm pretty sure we had the exact same thought at the same second. We rigged up a couple of Oru Inlets with waterproof LED lighting, reached out to a fellow local photographer friend to come take some marketing photos — because if this was going to become a real event, we were going to need real photos — and set a date.

Our first run was just the two of us. A test paddle. A proof of concept. It was also, in hindsight, a bit of a disaster in the most laughable way.

The photo that started it all — 2022 Kaleidoscope Kayaking, featuring Scott and Lana

The night we had to sprint to the fireworks

We launched at Patterson Creek at around 8pm, thinking we had loads of time before the fireworks started at 9pm.

We did not have loads of time.

I have never paddled so fast in my life. We were in the little Oru Inlets, which are not exactly built for speed, booking it down the canal as fast as our arms would carry us. Somehow, we made it. But that experience taught us something important: if we were going to do this with guests — some of whom might be in a kayak for the first time — we needed a better launch point that got people closer to the action with less stress.

The kayaks docked at Patterson Creek before our slightly frantic paddling journey

Scott and I walked the length of the canal trying to find the right spot. There really aren't many proper docks or launch points after Patterson Creek. We eventually came across a small dock at Waverley and Queen Elizabeth Drive, and it was immediately obvious: this was it. From here, guests could enjoy a relaxed 2.5km paddle down to the locks and back — with plenty of time to arrive before the show started, no sprinting required.

The first real season

In 2023, we ran Kaleidoscope Kayaking for the first time as an actual bookable tour. We only advertised organically — local Facebook groups, the Ottawa Tourism event calendar, and word of mouth — and the response was extraordinary. We were a small shop in Arnprior that nobody had heard of, offering a paddling tour in Ottawa, and the word travelled so much faster than we could have imagined.

Every year, something about the tour brings people back or sends them recommending it to everyone they know. I think it's the combination of things that's hard to replicate: the glowing kayaks, the history of the canal at night, the Parliament buildings lit up in the distance, the grand finale of the fireworks reflected on the water. It's one of those experiences that's very difficult to describe and very easy to remember.

2025 Kaleidoscope Kayaking tour at Locks 1 to 8

What the tour actually looks like

When guests arrive, they're greeted with a safety briefing covering how to get in and out of a kayak, how to hold a paddle, and some basic on-water tips. Our guides also share some wonderful historic facts about the Rideau Canal, Colonel John By, and the history of Ottawa — it's genuinely fascinating context for a waterway most people have walked alongside for years without ever being on.

Then, one by one, guests get into their kayaks. This part takes a little patience, especially for first-timers or guests who find it physically challenging — we always ask that everyone give each other grace during this process. We've had a couple of guests take an unplanned dip while boarding (the Rideau Canal is not where anyone wants to go for a swim, trust me), which is exactly why we take the safety briefing seriously.

The kayaks lit up on the Kaleidoscope Kayaking launch dock

Once everyone is on the water, we paddle downstream toward Rideau Canal Locks 1 through 8. Along the way, our guide narrates the journey, pointing out landmarks like the Pretoria Bridge, the National Arts Centre, the Chateau Laurier, and of course, Parliament itself, all lit up against the night sky. For Kaleidoscope Kayaking, we stop at the locks and watch the fireworks. The show runs about 15 minutes, and the grand finale is always perfectly visible from where we sit on the water.

Every season, we dig a little deeper into the history of the canal, the architecture along the route, and the stories Ottawa tends to keep to itself. New facts, new quirks, new rabbit holes — which means returning guests will always hear something they haven't before. If you've joined us once and wondered whether it's worth coming back, the short answer is yes — please do!

A note on the fireworks view

I want to be transparent about one thing: the fireworks at Grands Feux are launched from the Ottawa River, which sits about 24 metres below the canal. That means some of the lower elements of the show aren't visible from our vantage point. A couple of guests over the years have mentioned that, and I want to set expectations honestly rather than have anyone surprised.

What you can expect to see during a Kaleidoscope Kayaking tour

What you do see — the higher bursts, the crescendos, and every grand finale — is extraordinary from a glowing kayak on the canal at night. We get asked fairly often whether we'd ever take guests out on the Ottawa River instead, to get a bit closer to where the fireworks are actually launched. I genuinely appreciate the curiosity — I'd want to ask the same thing. But the Ottawa River after dark is a different beast entirely, especially during an event like this. There is a great deal of extra boat traffic, a strong current, and conditions that aren't suited to a relaxed group outing in the dark. The canal is calm, quiet, and controlled after hours. It's exactly why we're there.

Guests eagerly waiting for the fireworks to begin!

One thing I love about paddling the canal at night is that the locks are closed after hours, which means there's almost no boat traffic. The only vessel we typically encounter is the slow-moving Ekeau boat cruise, and the people on board are always delighted to see a flotilla of glowing kayaks drifting past. It's a peaceful, surprisingly calm experience given that you're right in the heart of the nation's capital.

And then came Light at Night

After six Kaleidoscope Kayaking tours in 2023, we started hearing the same piece of feedback over and over: I would do this tour even without the fireworks.

Six tours. Same comment. We took the hint.

With plenty of summer left, we launched Light at Night Kayaking the same year — 2023 — running just four dates to start, almost as a quiet experiment. They sold out. Guests loved it. The feedback was immediate and unanimous: the incredible sunsets, the canal at night, the glowing kayaks, the history — it was its own complete experience, no fireworks required.

Light at Night Kayaking in front of the NAC and Peace Tower

Light at Night launches from Patterson Creek — the original starting point from our very first frantic proof-of-concept paddle — and follows a more leisurely 5.5km route down to the locks and back. No fireworks, no deadline, no sprint. Just the canal, the lights, the history, and the kayaks glowing on the water.

The tour has grown every year since that first handful of dates. In 2026, we've opened it up to five nights a week — more than ever before, so more people can experience the canal the way so few ever do: from the water, after dark, at their own pace.

Light at Night Kayaking under the Pretoria Bridge

Looking back

What started as a quiet moment on a bridge — watching one person paddle a canoe toward a fireworks show — has become one of the things I'm most proud of at Ottawa Valley Air Paddle.

We didn't set out to build a tour company. We set out to do something we thought would be incredibly fun, and then found ways to share it with other people. That's really the whole story.

If you've been thinking about joining us on the canal, I hope this gives you a little more of the "why" behind what we've built. These tours are personal to us. Every glowing kayak out there on the water carries a little bit of that night on the Mackenzie King Bridge with it.