Canoeing the Gauja with kids and dogs: from Cēsis to Līgatne

Canoeing the Gauja from Cēsis to Līgatne in Latvia means about 17 km of river through Gauja National Park: you pick up the boats at the dock by Žagarkalns campsite, and a coach from the rental company takes you back to the start. We did it on day six of our Baltic road trip, swapping Beza, our campervan, for canoes for the day. We took two boats, with one of our dogs in each.

The day before, we had walked the treetop walking path in Anykščiai and crossed into Latvia in the evening. The whole route and a list of all the days are in our post Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia by campervan with kids.

Žagarkalns campsite: a boat dock on the Gauja

Žagarkalns is really a canoe dock on the river with a campsite attached. Next door there is a park with a ski slope, a lookout tower and walking trails. The campsite has volleyball courts, a small restaurant, toilets and showers. The washrooms were a little tired, but perfectly fine to use.

The best thing about the place is that you pick up your boat right at the campsite dock. The rental company provides life jackets and paddles, and after the trip it drives people and boats back.

Paddling the Gauja with dogs

We set off late in the morning from a sandy beach by the dock. Dad paddled one canoe with Iwona, Helena and Fiona, and mum the other with Agata, Justyna and Lamia. Along the way, Agata and Helena swapped boats.

Here the Gauja is wide and slow, flowing between forested banks. A duck swam alongside our boats, and a great egret was perched on a beaver lodge by the bank. The girls took turns with the paddles too.

Colourful cliffs along the Gauja

What stayed with us most were the beautifully coloured rocks. The Gauja valley is cut into Devonian sandstone, and between Cēsis and Līgatne the river keeps exposing it in steep banks. Along the way you pass the Leimaņu, Ēdernieku, Ķūķu and Spriņģu cliffs, among others.

The most impressive are the Ķūķu Cliffs on the right bank, a little over a kilometre below the mouth of the Amata. The rock face is about 500 m long. At the bottom there is pale sandstone, and higher up there are reddish clays that stain the layers below a rusty colour. Two caves, washed out by streams, sit at the foot of the cliff.

A mini waterfall: the Ķūķu rapids

Along the way we also came to a small waterfall on the river, which we got over in our canoe. It was most likely the Ķūķu rapids (Ķūķu krāces), where the Gauja pours over boulders piled up in the riverbed and forms three steps over about a kilometre. The first is right at the Ķūķu Cliffs and the last at the Spriņģu Cliffs. Because of this current, the old raftsmen called the Ķūķu Cliffs "the fast rock".

In Līgatne a coach was waiting to take us back to the campsite.

An evening on the lookout tower

After a meal back at the campsite we went out to explore a bit more. On the hill by the ski slope there is a lookout tower with a view over the forested Gauja valley. We got there in time for the sunset under dark storm clouds and made our way back to the campsite in the dark.

The next day we drove on north to the Estonian Aviation Museum near Tartu.

We have been canoeing with the kids before, for example on the Paklica river in Poland: Kayaks with children - Paklica.

Practical info

Checked in November 2026.

• The Cēsis - Līgatne stretch is about 17 km. Žagarkalns says it takes from 4 hours to a full day and rates it easy to moderate.
• A canoe or kayak for this stretch currently costs EUR 50 per boat, or EUR 60 for a four-seat canoe. Equipment and transport are included. In August 2026 we paid EUR 90 for two boats, by card on site.
• Shorter trips start above Cēsis, for example Lenči - Cēsis (5 km, about 2 hours). Upstream, about 7 km north of Cēsis, are the Ērgļu Cliffs (Ērgļu klintis), a sandstone wall about 700 m long and up to 22 m high.
• The Gauja is a calm river with a few small rapids. Watch out for boulders in the shallows at the Ķūķu rapids, and note that by the sandy beaches the riverbed can drop off suddenly.
• The rental company's website says nothing about dogs in the boats. When we were there in 2026, both our dogs came along.
• Žagarkalns campsite is open from 15 May to 15 September.
• The lookout tower by the Žagarkalns ski slope (Zaļais tornis, the Green Tower) is 22 m high and free to climb. The free Cīrulīši nature trails also start at the campsite.