Takaya Tours
49°18′ N 122°57′ WTour
Takaya Tours suits groups who want to paddle Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm with Tsleil-Waututh guides in a 35-foot ocean-going canoe, and you'll need to call ahead because its cultural tours post no 2026 schedule or price. Its Cates Park Paddling Centre in North Vancouver is closed for the winter and plans to reopen in May 2027.
Photo Benjamin Gardere · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0
What they offer
| Offering | From | Duration | Months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cultural Canoe TourGuides paddle a replica ocean-going canoe on Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm and share songs, legends and the old village sites along the shore. Destination Vancouver gave a minimum of 10 paddlers in 2022. | – | 2 hours, by Destination Vancouver's 2022 listing | – |
| Split Tour (canoeing and walking)An interpretive paddle plus a walk about how the Tsleil-Waututh identified and harvested local plants and animals. Destination Vancouver gave a minimum of 30 people in 2022. | – | 2 hours, by Destination Vancouver's 2022 listing | – |
| Cates Park Paddling Centre rentalsSingle and double kayaks, surfskis and paddleboards, run with Deep Cove Kayak under a co-management agreement signed in March 2007. Book at catespark.com or call 604-985-2925. | – | – | From the Victoria Day weekend, on weekends until July and then daily through summer; closed for winter until May 2027 |
| Belcarra Park Paddling Centre rentalsKayak, canoe and paddleboard rentals at the Belcarra Picnic Area, 4500 Tum-tumay-whueton Drive. The rental page still shows a notice that the centre was closed until spring 2023, and its rate table carries no year, so this file prints no price for it. | – | – | – |
Takaya Tours says it is owned and operated by the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (səlilwətaɬ), and it has run since 1999. The Nation's community sits on Burrard Inlet between North Vancouver and Deep Cove. Guides take paddlers out in replica ocean-going canoes and stop to sing, tell legends and point out ancient village sites. The base at Whey-ah-Wichen/Cates Park is itself an ancestral village site, and the Nation and the District of North Vancouver manage the park together.
Two formats appear on Takaya's tour page. The cultural canoe tour is an interpretive paddle, and the split tour adds a walk on shore about how the Tsleil-Waututh identified and harvested local plants and animals. When Destination Vancouver wrote them up in 2022, both took two hours, with a minimum of 10 paddlers for the canoe and 30 people for the split tour, so book either one as a group. The tour page still shows a COVID-19 notice from May 2021, so call 604-904-7410 or email groups@takayatours.com to ask what runs in 2027.
Kayak and paddleboard rentals at the Cates Park Paddling Centre run under a co-management agreement Takaya signed with Deep Cove Kayak in March 2007. The centre is closed for the winter and plans to reopen in May 2027. In season it opens on weekends from the Victoria Day long weekend and goes daily in July. Takaya's second base sits at the Belcarra Picnic Area at the mouth of Indian Arm, and its page still carries a notice that it was closed until spring 2023, so check with office@takayatours.com before you drive round to Belcarra.
Worth knowing
- Plan a cultural tour as a group outing, since the last published minimums were 10 paddlers for the canoe tour and 30 people for the canoe-and-walk tour.
- While Cates Park is shut for winter, Deep Cove Kayak's guided Winter Explorer Tour still goes out on Indian Arm from Banbury Road in Deep Cove.
Quick answers about Takaya Tours
Is Takaya Tours owned by the Tsleil-Waututh Nation?
Yes. Takaya Tours says it is owned and operated by the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, and it has run cultural canoe tours on Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm since 1999.
Can you rent a kayak at Cates Park in winter?
No. The Cates Park Paddling Centre that Takaya Tours runs with Deep Cove Kayak is closed for the winter and plans to reopen in May 2027.
How much is a Takaya Tours canoe tour?
Takaya Tours publishes no price for its cultural canoe tours. Call 604-904-7410 or email groups@takayatours.com for a group quote.
Is Takaya Tours open out of season?
Takaya Tours: The Cates Park Paddling Centre closes for the winter and plans to reopen in May 2027, and Takaya posts no winter tour dates.
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