Our Route

Visual Overview:

00 - Tadoussac, QC

01 - Saint-Félicien, QC

02 - Obedjiwan, QC

03 - Senneterre, QC

04 - Latchford, ON

05 - Chapleau, ON

06 - Marathon, ON

07 - Highway 599, ON

08 - Red Lake, ON

09 - Little Grand Rapids, MB

10 - Norway House, MB

11 - Thompson, MB

12 - Lynn Lake, MB

13 - Stony Rapids, SK

14 - Fort Chipewyan, AB

15 - Fort Vermilion, AB

16 - Peace River, AB

17 - Hudson's Hope, BC

18 - Prince George, BC

19 - Houston, BC

20 - Prince Rupert, BC

Route Idea:

Over the years, there have been numerous impressive cross-Canada canoe trips; however, these trips generally favour a southern route heavily involving the St Lawrence River, the Great Lakes, and prairie rivers. Typically these trips cross the Rockies by walking alongside a highway through a mountain pass. Without a doubt, these past excursions are extraordinary, but with Canada by Canoe, we wanted to do things differently.

The route of Canada by Canoe has been designed to take a more northern approach in an attempt to avoid major cities and maximise time spent on the rugged Canadian Shield lake lands. Additionally, the route incorporates the Peace River and Williston Lake, the only waterway which crosses the Rockies.

Route Overview:

We’ll begin our 8000 km canoe trip in Tadoussac, Quebec. Tadoussac is one of Canada’s oldest settlements and is situated at the point where the St. Lawrence Estuary reaches full salinity—the edge of the Atlantic.

From there, we’ll head inland, up the Saguenay Fjord, across Lac Saint-Jean, and into the depths of Quebec’s rugged wilderness. Along the way, we’ll tackle rivers such as the historic Asuapmushuan and the majestic Mégiscane. We’ll pass through the Kipawa region to the mighty Ottawa River and into our home province of Ontario.

We’ll paddle and portage through some of Ontario’s richest lake-lands such as the Temagami area, until we reach the great Lake Superior, itself. From there, we’ll continue northwest through several isolated provincial parks such as Wabakimi, Woodland Caribou, and Atikaki.

Once in Manitoba, the Assinika and Poplar Rivers will deliver us into the north end of Lake Winnipeg, where we’ll zip down the Nelson River, and then fight our way up the Burntwood.

We’ll then venture even deeper into the wild, through the trip’s most remote stretch, as we progress toward Lake Athabasca. In Northern Alberta, we will make our way up the winding Peace River to Williston Lake, where we’ll cross the Rockies.

Then, we shall ascend to Summit Lake and cross the historic Giscome Portage to the Fraser. From there, we’ll chase the sunsets up the Nechako, through the Bulkley, and down the Skeena, to our terminus in Prince Rupert at the edge of the continent—the Pacific Ocean.

By the Segments:

Segment 1

Canada by Canoe will start at The Dunes of Tadoussac—one of Canada's oldest towns. From there, we will head inland, ascending the picturesque Saguenay Fjord to Lac Saint-Jean and our first food drop at the town of Saint-Félicien.

Segment 2

We will then battle the vicious spring current of a historic fur-trading river, the Ashuapmushuan. Then, we'll navigate its tributaries, the Chigoubiche and the Marquette westwards to the Gouin Reservoir and our second drop at Obedjwan.

Segment 3

Our short third segment will see us zip down the mighty Mégiscane River from the Gouin Reservoir to Lac Parent. Then, we'll begin heading up the Bell River to the town of Senneterre for another food drop.

Segment 4

We will cross through ZEC (Controlled Exploitation Zone) Kipawa and take the historic "Portage du Sauvage" to the Ottawa River, where we will bid farewell to La Belle Province and cross into Ontario. We will then paddle up the nearby Montreal River to end our fourth segment in Latchford.

Segment 5

In Ontario, we'll continue westwards, navigating familiar lakes, rivers, portages, and bushwhacks of increasing difficulty. Along the way, we will pass through the northern edge of the picturesque Temagami region. Our fifth food drop will be in the lumber town of Chapleau.

Segment 6

Afterwards, we'll traverse the Missinaibi area and ride the Michipicoten down to Lake Superior, the greatest of the Great Lakes. We'll paddle the shores of the breath-taking Pukaskwa National Park to the town of Marathon for re-supply.

Segment 7

Resuming, we'll hug the north shore to the Nipigon River—Superior's largest tributary—where we will ascend nearly 80 metres, portaging around four hydro dams to Lake Nipigon. Venturing northwest, we'll enter into the serene, untouched wilds of Wabakimi Provincial Park, and eventually our food drop near Savant Lake.

Segment 8

Our next segment will see us descend the Marchington River, cross the vast Lac Seul, and then ascend the Chukuni River to Red Lake for our eighth food drop.

Segment 9

Segment nine will take us through Ontario's Woodland Caribou Provincial Park and into Manitoba's Atikaki Provincial Park. Along the way, we will paddle a portion of the famous Bloodvein River. Our supply drop will be at Little Grand Rapids.

Segment 10

Starting the next segment, we'll ride down the isolated Assinika River to the Poplar River, and out into northwestern Lake Winnipeg. Following the shore, we'll reach the massive lake's outflow: the Nelson River. A little ways downstream, lays Norway House, the site of our tenth food drop.

Segment 11

Our eleventh segment will involve crunching vast distances paddling down the Nelson River. Leaving the river, we'll take the historic Thicket Portage into the lake-lands to arrive at "The Hub City," Thompson.

Segment 12

Our difficult twelfth segment will see us battling against the current of the Burntwood and Rat Rivers as we work our way northwest to Granville Lake. Then, we will continue upstream on the Keewatin River to the mining town of Lynn Lake for our food drop.

Segment 13

This will be our longest and perhaps most remote segment of the trip. Heading over to Reindeer Lake, we will cross into Saskatchewan. From there, we will bushwhack, drag, and paddle our way through a series of isolated rivers and ponds to Wollaston Lake, the largest bifurcating lake in the world. Continuing northwest, we will ride down the scenic Fond du Lac River to the small community of Stony Rapids.

Segment 14

Our first segment without any portages will see us paddling the entire southern shore of Lake Athabasca. Along the way, we will have the opportunity to explore the vast and surreal Athabasca Sand Dunes—the most northern active sand dunes in the world. We'll have our food drop at Fort Chipewyan.

Segment 15

Heading into Wood Buffalo National Park, we'll paddle through the world's largest inland river delta to the Peace River. We'll be spending three segments paddling up the Peace—the first of these will end at Fort Vermilion.

Segment 16

For our second segment on the Peace River, we will continue upstream, heading in a generally southwards direction to the town of Peace River, itself.

Segment 17

For our third and final segment on the winding Peace River, we'll bid farewell to Alberta and head westwards to Hudson's Hope, B.C.

Segment 18

From the Peace River, we'll portage over 17 km up to Williston Lake, the seventh largest reservoir in the world and the largest lake in British Colombia. We'll paddle straight through the Rockies on the east arm of the reservoir, then take the south branch to the Pack River. Working our way up the watershed to Summit Lake, we'll cross the continental divide on the historic Giscome Portage. Then we'll ride down the Fraser River to the City of Prince George.

Segment 19

Heading west, we'll paddle up the Nechako River before making our way over to the Bulkley River via a series of portages from Francois Lake. Our final food drop will be in the town of Houston.

Segment 20

Our last segment will consist of a scenic downstream descent. The first few days will be on the Bulkley River and the remainder will be on the Skeena through the Coastal Mountains. Finally, after over 8000 km, we'll arrive at the edge of the continent: the Pacific Ocean. Our trip will end in Prince Rupert.

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