Dream of paddling the Nahanni River, but worried about the whitewater? This 12-day itinerary offers a fantastic “stress free” version of the Nahanni River experience, with more of a focus on hiking! Paddle from the breathtakingly beautiful “Honeymoon Lake” through the rugged Ragged Range, the tallest mountains in the NWT, all the way to Virginia Falls, and stop along the way to backpack 2 days to the Cirque of the Unclimbables! This section of the Nahanni features gentle current with only a handful of manageable class 1+ rapids to navigate. Put your feet up and relax as the Nahanni River pulls you along through a spectacular montane wilderness like almost nowhere else on earth!
The Nahanni River is a Canadian icon, flowing through thousands of square kilometers of protected Mountain Wilderness. A UNSECO world heritage site, Nahanni National Park is one of the jewels of the Canadian national parks system. This is a landscape where moose, grizzly bears and caribou roam free of human impact, and where jagged mountains pierce the sky in every direction. And at the heart of Nahanni lies Virginia Falls, a massive waterfall taller than Niagara.
This tranquil section of the Nahanni allows you to experience all that Nahanni has to offer, from its dizzying mountains, to the Tufa Mounds at Rabbitkettle Lake, to the Thundering Virginia Falls, without the stress of paddling the whitewater canyons further downstream, and without the 1.5km portage around the Falls. The gentle pace of this trip allows for plenty of opportunity to relax or hike a nearby peak to get a better vantage point of your surroundings. Two short bouncy class 2 rapids add to the fun, as do all the twists and turns showing you a different view of the river than the moment before. About halfway through the journey, this trip offers the opportunity to hike to Glacier Lake or the Cirque of the Unclimbables on a 3-day backpacking adventure. Peer up at the mighty granite spires of the Cirque and watch the midnight sun dance across the mirror like azure blue lake.
Come find what adventure the Nahanni holds for you…
This trip can be paired with an 11 day trip from the falls down for an epic 23 day adventure! Contact us for more details and pricing.
