Our Mission

It is the Community Recreational Initiatives Society’s (CRIS) mission to break down barriers to the outdoors for persons living with disabilities by developing and implementing outdoor and wilderness recreation programs in order to promote independence, assist with integration, reduce isolation and improve the mental well-being of these individuals, their families and ultimately their communities.  Promoting inclusion and accessibility to remove barriers to outdoor recreation is our mission.

About COMMUNITY RECREATIONAL INITIATIVES SOCIETY (CRIS - Adaptive Adventures, Accessible Wilderness Expeditions, and Adaptive Rentals)

Community Recreational Initiatives Society (CRIS) operates out of Kelowna, BC, providing outdoor recreational and wilderness excursion opportunities for adults and children facing barriers to inclusion and accessibility in the Okanagan and beyond.

CRIS is dedicated to assisting people with physical, cognitive, or sensory impairments to participate in and enjoy firsthand the true experience of the outdoors by enabling them to access local and remote hiking and cycling trails, lakes, and backcountry areas through the use of specially adapted tools and equipment. Programs vary from an hour to several days, depending on the participants and their desires.

CRIS daily programs include Adaptive Hiking (hiking, trail riding), Adaptive Paddling (canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding), and Adaptive Cycling (trikes, tandem recumbents, E-Assist cycles, and more). Programs are offered in municipal, regional and provincial parks and waterways. In addition to the daily programs, CRIS offers overnight and multiple-day trips to remote wilderness regions through our AWE (Accessible Wilderness Expeditions) team.

You can now also rent adaptive cycles! In 2020 CRIS Adaptive launched Adaptive Rentals under our social enterprise model.  www.adaptiverentals.ca is our online booking platform.  All proceeds from this social enterprise are redirected to Adaptive Adventures and Accessible Wilderness Expeditions in an effort to keep fees as low as possible and continue to break down barriers.