Canas is located directly next to the Interamericana Highway, in Guanacaste. On the way to northern Costa Rica this is a fine place to eat or stay overnight. There are accommodations, bars and restaurants in the small town. In colonial times the Corobici tribe lived in this region, the Rio Corobici north of town is named after them. The 40 kilometer long river has its origin in the Cordillera De Guanacaste and flows out into the Golf of Nicoya. The rapids make this river a playground for kayakers and rafters, the river is categorized as difficult level 2 (easy). Rafters still have time to enjoy nature while they float down the river. Canas is a good base for trips to the Palo Verde National Park and to Lake Arenal that isn't far away. Many of the residents earn their livings from agriculture; they grow rice, sugar or breed cattle.
The Rio Canas runs through the town, where sugar cane grows on its banks. This seems to be a possible origin of the town's name. Although another theory claims that the town was named after Jose Maria Canas, the brother in law of the then president Mora, who guided the troops against the invader William Walker and his army.
With the battle in La Casona, Guanacaste, William Walker and his men were driven back to Nicaragua by the Costa Ricans. Today there is a memorial in La Casona in the Santa Rosa National Park.