Great River Journey of the Yukon

The Great River Journey is a unique world-class geotour. It combines the adventure of a wilderness river safari with a journey of personal discovery — there is no other product like it in North America. The Great River Journey begins in Whitehorse and unfolds over eight days and 600 kilometers (373 miles) of wilderness leading to Dawson City. Along the way, it passes through the traditional lands of our four First Nations partners, whose citizens are among the people who will be hosting, guiding and caring for guests.

Small groups (maximum 10 people) travel in their own riverboat with a pilot and an experienced local guide. Frequent landings are made to view wildlife, explore the wilderness and historical sites, rest and relax. The small group size and the wide variety of Yukon attractions permit each tour to be personalized to accommodate special interests such as wildlife viewing, nature photography, bird watching, hiking, paddling and participating in cultural and interpretative programs.

Each step in the Great River Journey takes visitors further back in time and deeper into the wilderness, history and culture of the Yukon. Overnight accommodation is in small, private, remotely situated lodge facilities. Each lodge has been designed and themed to harmonize with and accentuate the unique wilderness and historical aspects of the surrounding area. Private “tented” sleeping cabins provide guests with all the security and comfort of a first class hotel suite with the feeling and appearance of a tented cabin.

Fine cuisine featuring local ingredients and traditional foods is served throughout the journey. The lodge accommodation at each overnight stop becomes more rustic, closer to nature and themed in the time period being explored. The tour is comprised of two nights at Upper Labarge Lodge (a Yukon riverboat stop of the 1930s), two nights at Homestead Lodge (a wilderness homestead from 1901) near Fort Selkirk (an historical site preserved in the wilderness), one night at Wilderness Outpost (a trading post of the 1840s) and two nights in Dawson City (the centre of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898) now a Canadian Historic Site.

The Great River Journey has been developed as a responsible tourism product, with respect for the environment and First Nations culture as its cornerstone values.
Great River Journey