Chad Pottruff... the idea behind Heritage River Canoe & Kayak and Grand River Rafting.

About Us

We are a family business that started in 2006 on the Grand River near Paris, Ontario. Our first company was Grand River Rafting, in 2013 we purchased Heritage River Canoe & Kayak Company and incorporated.

It was my son's idea to start this whole adventure, I thought he was crazy, because there were already six other outfitters here… I was sure we would lose our shirts! But the secret was finding a niche market using rafts as floating classrooms to teach... where we did maximum experiences with minimum paddling.

Physically we had the right ingredients... we owned 1 km of river frontage with our own 5 acre island in the middle of the Grand. We also had a huge farm shop available for storage. Our family had a diverse background in forestry, farming, management, accounting, restaurants and outdoor education. Our farming ethics of integrity, creativity and going the extra mile for others... drove our business in the right direction.

We understood that no matter how great your program is... if you can't be found... your invisible. So we created a website that was like a fish net with high search engine optimization. 

We chose the concept of making our trips timeless… encouraging our guides to show the valley the way they would to their best friend. We try to anticipate what people might forget… always ready to help. And if we couldn't do something well… we sent our clients to those that did.

Our success is because this is not a business for us... showing the valley to others is our passion.

​Many people keep success to themselves... instead we share it.

We have helped numerous individuals start up outdoor learning businesses... we host them free on our website and mentor them. The greatest reward is watching them succeed! As a company we are rich in a different way! 

When the trip is over, we become concierges to our clients... suggesting places to eat, things to do and places to stay. People really appreciate it when you go the extra-mile, instead of nickle and diming them to death!

We were very gun-shy of TripAdvisor. A customer told us we should go on it (knew nothing about it). When I looked Trip Advisor up… I saw it as a double edge sword… great for being found… and great for being found out! We reluctantly went on it and could not believe how positive visitors saw our country-style service.

We have over 80 business partnerships. Our goal is to help everyone do better. 

Today, we have over 50 people on staff.

On water, we have expanded from rafts... to canoes, kayaks, turbo-tubing, yaking, tandem kayaks, stand up paddleboards and fishing.

On land, we offer edible plant hikes, cycling, rope courses, First Nations adventures, farm gate experiences, camping and catered BBQ's.

When we say we look forward to showing you the valley… its the truth!

                                                                    Garth & Chad Pottruff