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Sjoa River

Whitewater paddling on a world class river

Welcome to Mad Goats Sjoa! Top-level whitewater kayak instruction and guided trips on world-class rivers, and more!


Experience some of the world’s most famous whitewater rivers: The Sjoa, Lågen and Otta. The Sjoa River in particular is renowned around the globe for its world-class rapids, ranging from grades 1 – 5, meaning that there is something suitable for every skill level.
Our goal at Mad Goats Sjoa is to get you from an absolute beginner level to be able to competently and safely paddle class 2 – 3 rapids, thus maximising your enjoyment on the river. The key to this is to have a systematic step by step process, tailored to the individual so that you can learn at your own pace and in a way best suited to your learning style. We pride ourselves on not only being highly competent kayakers, but also patient teachers, and easy-going individuals. At the end of the day, we want you to feel safe, happy, and welcomed, so that you can have a totally awesome time on the river together with us… catch you on the water!

Read more about our courses and tours:

Don’t see the date you want? We also offer private courses and guided tours for individuals and small groups. Or get in touch by email at kontakt@madgoats.no and we will try to help.

Tours and courses include: Kayak and equipment, including wetsuit and dry top; transport by minibus from our base to the rivers where we paddle – Sjoa, Lågan and Otta; NPF våttkort on completion of any NPF course.

Special offer: 25% off all our courses and tours at Mad Goats Sjoa during the Sjoa River Festival – get in touch by phone or email to get your code!

What to bring: 2 x layers of thermals, a towel, swimwear and a warm change of clothes.

Private group option: You can also book any course or tour as a private group. 

Gift cards: All of our activities can be purchased as gift cards. Just choose the “gift card” option during the booking process.

Our location: Mad Goats Sjoa, Heidalsvegen 834, 2677 Nedre Heidal https://goo.gl/maps/zd1yQ8jZP32saG3x7

Getting here: Train to Otta (the fastest train is with SJ Nord) then bus to Faukstad – see https://innlandstrafikk.no/ If you are driving, we have some space for parking at the kayak school.

Accommodation: We offer camping options from 99 kr per person per night or a basic cabin for rent (249 kr per person per night, min 2 and max 4 people). We also have an onsite sauna – a day pass is only 299 kr per person, and you can use it as much as you like! More info about our cabin and camping facilities at Mad Goats Sjoa.

For other accommodation in the Sjoa and Heidal area, you can also try following:

 

Rescue 3 Norge

For all river users, we also highly recommend doing a course with Rescue 3 Norge.

These are internationally-recognised river safety courses taught by very experienced instructors and where we go for our own staff training.

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