| Job Description | Adventure (Tour) Guide
Ottawa Valley Air Paddle (OVAP)
Full-time/Part-time
Do you love being on the water and making people fall in love with it, too? Ottawa Valley Air Paddle (OVAP) runs Light at Night Kayaking and Kaleidoscope Kayaking, Ottawa's Best Tour (Faces Ottawa 2025). We paddle colourful, LED-lit Oru kayaks on the Rideau Canal after dark, five nights a week, all summer long. We're building our guide team for 2026 and we're looking for people who are calm, engaging, and genuinely great with guests on the water.
Why You'll Love Working With Us:
● Work evenings outdoors on the Rideau Canal in downtown Ottawa
● Earn $120–$200 per tour, depending on experience and role.
● Staff discounts on Oru kayaks, paddleboards, and outdoor gear through OVAP's retail store.
● Be part of a close-knit team that takes the work seriously and has fun doing it.
● Guide our award-winning Light at Night Kayaking tours and Kaleidoscope Kayaking events on a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Rideau Canal.
Your Role:
As a Kayak Tour Guide, you help lead groups of up to 22 people along the Rideau Canal after dark in LED-lit Oru folding kayaks. You deliver safety instruction and paddling coaching before each tour, then guide the group along the route while sharing the history of the canal, its UNESCO World Heritage designation, and Ottawa's waterfront landmarks. You keep guests safe, together, and engaged for the full 2.5 hours on the water.
Who We're Looking For:
● Has a genuine love for the outdoors and being on the water.
● Strong communicator with a natural ability to hold a crowd and make guests feel comfortable.
● Confident on the water and genuinely at ease with strangers. Paddling experience is an asset, not a requirement. We hire exceptional personalities, and the rest can be trained.
● Enjoys working with people and excels in a fast-paced outdoor environment.
● Calm when things don't go to plan, and able to keep a group settled when conditions change.
Qualifications:
● Current Standard First Aid and CPR certification, or willingness to complete before season start (OVAP will fund this for the right candidate)
● Must have strong swimming ability
● Comfort working evenings and weekends from late May through August
● Valid driver's license
● A working vehicle to travel to and from working locations
● Previous guiding, outdoor instruction, or customer-facing experience is an asset
● Bilingual (French/English) candidates are a priority hire
● Ability to lift 50 lbs and work outdoors for extended periods
How to Apply:
Send your resume to [email protected] with a short note (a few sentences is fine) telling us: why this role interests you, any paddling, guiding, or outdoor experience you have, and your availability from late May through August. No formal cover letter required.
We pay $120–$200 per tour, depending on experience and role. At three to five tours per week, this is a high seasonal income for a 5-6 hour shift that starts 2 hours before sunset. We fund first aid and CPR certification for the right candidates and offer staff discounts on outdoor gear.
About Ottawa Valley Air Paddle (OVAP)
Ottawa Valley Air Paddle is a specialty outdoor retailer and experiential tourism operator based in Arnprior, Ontario. We run Light at Night Kayaking and Kaleidoscope Kayaking, which won Ottawa's Best Tour at the 2025 Faces Ottawa Awards. In 2026, we're expanding to two simultaneous routes on the Rideau Canal, five nights a week, all summer. The people we hire this season will shape what this program becomes.
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