Build your own timber raft

Spend some valuable family time and create fantastic memories together! This two-day rafting trip starts at 11.00 in the morning at Granö Beckasin. You will be back around lunch/early afternoon the next day – depending on the speed of currents / wind on the river and your own activities during the tour.

Day 1

In the morning, we meet at Granö Beckasin and you receive your rafting gear and building instructions. You do the building yourself but our experienced rafting guide will be with you during the whole building process and explain all the steps. Since we got special building frames, you can build the raft on dry land and let it slide into the river later, once it’s finished. This is a big advantage because it’s much more comfortable.

Depending on how fast you build, the building process takes in between 2-3 hours. For the two-day trip, you build a single raft section with an approximate size of 3,5 x 3,5m. In the process, you assemble 3,5m long wooden logs with ropes into three whole layers and add two benches and railings to it. Every raft consists of around 50 logs which you roll onto the building platform from a nearby pile. Our raft building guide will show you some smart techniques to lever the logs in a way that saves energy and protects your back.

After the build, it’s exciting to launch the raft from the platform into the river as most members of your building team can sit on top and ride as passengers into the water. This has proven popular with children of all ages 😉 Meanwhile, the remaining team on the shore drags the raft including passengers to a nearby jetty for parking. Then you can screw on the motor bracket, place the motor and arrange your gear onboard. If you have booked a picnic basket with us, you can pick it up now before setting out on the river to start your adventure.

On the raft, you steer with paddles and a long wooden pole. In case of headwind, you can also use the motor as a backup. It is easy to know where you are because you get a detailed map from us for orientation. How exciting or relaxing the rafting tour will be, varies on the different river sections and weather. Sometimes, you will have action-filled paddling sequences when you fight to get out of a backwater or steer the raft towards the other shore. Then there are sections where you are just peacefully drifting along and can enjoy the beautiful landscape. If you are interested in birdlife, do bring some binoculars. Depending on season, you can watch some terns, snipe birds, Canada geese or Eurasian curlew that breed on the little river islands.

Umeriver has wooded shores and the trees often grow all the way down to the water. It is crossed by two beautiful wooden bridges and you can see a few farms and cabins on your way.

Half-way downstream, you park the raft at the shore and make camp for the night. There is a beautiful public recreation area with a sandy beach to go swimming, a campfire hut, a changing room and a very clean and well-kept outhouse. Depending on what you have booked, you can sleep in our fascinating Tentsile hammock tents that hang in the trees or pitch up a regular tent in a nice spot. You can rent a regular tent from us or bring your own with you. Who’s hungry now? Make a BBQ at the beach while the kids can play in the water. Later you can sit around the campfire, roast marshmallows and tell stories. After all these adventures, a cosy sleeping bag awaits you in the tent.

Day 2

The next morning, you may want to take a refreshing early morning swim before cooking some coffee on the campfire. After breakfast, you pack up and continue rafting downstream. You will reach Ottonträsk bay around lunchtime and cross onto the eastern shore. There is a floating wooden enclosure in the water and you park within. Give us a call that you landed and start unpacking. Undoing the raft is quite easy, you just open the knots and push the logs down in the river. You coil the ropes and leave the logs floating in the water. Once you are finished, our guide will drive you back to Granö Beckasin where you hang up the ropes to dry and return the equipment. Your children will probably talk a long time about this exciting family adventure! Any questions? Just ask!

• Two-day trip on Umeriver
• 2-3 hrs raft building with guide
• Rafting on the river without guide
• 1 hour undoing the raft downstream without guide
• Minibus transfer back to Granö Beckasin
• Raft building materials: logs, rope, paddles, poles and a backup motor
• Rafting gear: life vests, laminated river map, safety buoy, first aid kit, matches and bucket for fire making, garbage bag
• Experienced rafting guide
• Tour languages: English, Swedish and German
• Optional:Book one of our hammock tents in the trees or rent a regular tent from us. You can even rent sleeping bags, mats, a Trangia gas stove, and kitchen supplies from us, just ask.

• Everyone is welcome but you need to be able to swim. To build a raft, you need at least two adults with a regular fitness level. If you are more people, the building will of course be easier. Your raft can transport up to six adults and is built with 50 logs that you roll or lift onto the building platform as a team. Alternatively, you can also skip the building part and just rent our ready-built raft (advisable if you got back problems). Please let us know if you should have any relevant medical conditions we should know about.
• When do we meet?Already paid online? Then just come to the meeting point 10 minutes before the tour begins. Otherwise plan in some extra time to pay at the Lodge.
• Late arrival:please make sure to arrive on time to avoid missing the tour. Our guide is waiting for you and other guests may have booked tours before or after yours, so it’s important to be on time. So, in case you run late, please call us as soon as possible so we can try to solve the situation.
• What should I wear?Please wear suitable boots for the raft building as well as working gloves and a hat as sun protection. On the water, we also recommend waterproof sandals, sunscreen, sunglasses and a wind-proof jacket. Please dress according to weather. On a windy day, it can be nice to have a long pair of trousers and warm jumper.
• Nice to have:swimming gear, binoculars, camera in water-proof bag, a water bottle and mosquito repellent. You can get a fantastic all-natural mosquito repellent in our lodge shop. Ask for ‘Nordic Summer’.

• From 1450 sek/pp
• Children 5-15 years 50% discount