Firth River Rafting – Tundra Beauty, Wildlife, Wildflowers & Hiking

A rafting journey down the Firth River in Ivvavik National Park is an enchanting, scenic passage from the British Mountains to the coastal tundra plains and the Arctic Ocean. This is a land of contrasts: forest and tundra, craggy peaks and alpine meadows, wild coastline and icefilled seas. The Porcupine caribou herd, grizzly bears, mountain sheep, muskox and wolves thrive in this arctic Eden, along with millions of migratory birds. The Firth features a long canyon stretch, Class III rapids and Inuvialuit cultural sites. It’s a fly-in and fly-out rafting journey that finishes at the Arctic Ocean.

. On this adventure, you can expect:

The most hiking on any guided river trip north of 60.
Remote arctic tundra with whitewater, muskox, caribou, wolves, Dall sheep, fox, grizzly and raptors.
Wildflowers and the most hiking opportunities of all of our trips
12 river days

Ivvavik National Park is the first national park in Canada created as the result of a First Nation land claim agreement. Its designation in 1984 was timely as a number of industrial developments were being proposed for the area. The last one – the Arctic Gas Pipeline – was rejected by the Government of Canada following the Berger Inquiry of 1977. Justice Thomas Berger wrote: “The Northern Yukon is an arctic and sub-arctic wilderness of incredible beauty, a rich and varied ecosystem: nine million acres of land and animals…a place of contrasts, of an explosively productive but brief summer and of a long hard winter, of rugged mountains and stark plains. Its teeming marshes and shore lands give it a beauty equaled by few other places on Earth.”

The 24-hour daylight allows plenty of time to take advantage of the excellent hiking opportunities. The trip generally includes two layover days for full days hiking for those who wish.

We fly west from Inuvik, NWT on a Twin Otter for about an hour into the mountainous upper Firth, near the border between Alaska and the Yukon. In summer much of the vegetation is in bloom and wildflowers carpet the tundra.

Floating north, we move into open park-like terrain composed of rolling dry tundra and small spruce groves in valley bottoms. This area provides excellent walking and good opportunities to see not only caribou but also wolf, moose, muskoxen and grizzlies.

Along with Vuntut National Park to the south and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the west in Alaska, Ivvavik National Park forms a core part of the range of the Porcupine Caribou Herd. This herd of over 200,000 barren-ground caribou migrates through this area to and from calving grounds on the coastal plains of Alaska and Yukon. After calving in early June, they congregate in dense herds and begin to migrate south again. The herd’s crossing of the Firth River is a spectacle that is unsurpassed in North America. Occasionally our passage down the river coincides with this migration and we stop to watch this amazing sight. The river flows in a broad gravel bed before entering an exciting 40-kilometre long (25 mile) canyon, its walls dotted with nesting birds of prey.

The Firth braids again when it reaches the coastal plain and then enters a lagoon fronted by a long shingle spit that offers protection from the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic coastline is rich with birdlife and marine mammals such as bearded and ringed seals, as well as beluga and bowhead whales. We are picked up by plane at Nunaluk Spit which flies us along the Beaufort Coast, over the Mackenzie Delta, and back to Inuvik.

Duration

Rafting over 11 river days, we journey 150 kilometres (94 miles) with an approximate elevation drop of 460 metres (1500 feet).

Availability & Booking

2025 Dates

June 16, 2025 - June 29, 2025
June 26, 2025 - July 9, 2025
June 30, 2025 - July 13, 2025
July 14, 2025 - July 28, 2025 - Parks Canada Expedition
July 12, 2025 - July 25, 2025

2026 Dates

June 16, 2026 - June 29, 2026
June 26, 2026 - July 9, 2026 - Canadian Geographic Expedition
June 30, 2026 - July 13, 2026
July 12, 2026 - July 25, 2026
July 14, 2026 - July 28, 2026 - Parks Canada Expedition

Additional dates may be available upon request.

The first step is to reserve your spot using our online booking request form. Once we receive your booking request, we will contact you to confirm your trip dates.

Location / Where to Meet

Our rendezvous point is the Midnight Sun Complex 95 Gwich’in Road, Inuvik.

See FAQ for detailed options on reaching the rendezvous point.

Ages & Requirements

Our raft adventures require no experience and anyone in good health can join us. We have had every age from 5 to 85. We are prepared and willing to help those who cannot carry heavy loads, etc.

Skill Prerequisites

Beginner - The guides navigate with oars & paddling by participants is optional for those who want more activity!

What's Included

You provide your personal gear and we provide the rest: top-quality tents, river gear, safety gear, kitchen and camping equipment and bush plane transportation. Included in your adventure is:

Experienced guides
All river, safety, & kitchen gear
Transportation from the rendezvous point to & from the river
Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks are included from the Day 1 lunch until the final river meal.

We are the only company to include these great enhancements to the quality of your trip: To maximize your enjoyment and time in the canyons and minimize exposure to bugs, we create more time to enjoy the highlights of the canyons by employing a local power boat to meet us in the Splits and speed us past the slow, final portion to the village of Nahanni Butte, saving an entire day.

In addition, we fly you from the village back to Fort Simpson, for an aerial view of the Liard Valley, further enhancing your time and focus on the best highlights. Two examples of the distance we go to give you the best Nahanni experience possible!

Included Gear

Tent—Mountain Hardwear Trango 3, self-supporting dome tent. Comfortable for two people with some remaining floor space for gear. Our guides will show you how to set up your tent.
Tent bag—communal bags for transporting tents on the raft. Each bag holds three tents.
River bag (dry bag) —115 litre, 30 gal—this is for your clothing and camp gear. When closed properly it provides waterproof protection. We’ve never encountered anyone who couldn’t fit everything they needed in this bag!
Day bag—20 litre, 5 gal– a smaller dry bag for items you’ll want to have easy access to during the day. Waterproof when closed properly. (Note: This is not the same as the “Day pack” listed in section ‘C.OTHER’ of your What to Bring list which you must bring for hiking.)
Boot bag—communal bag for carrying hiking boots during the day (only available on raft trips).
Cooking, eating utensils, tableware— mug provided

Not Included

Pre- and post-trip accommodation
Gratuity

We rent the following items:

Rubber boots—$40.00
Pelican professional waterproof camera case — $40.00
Luxury sleeping bag & pad combination for—$130/person + GST.
Pad only $50+ GST. Or for couples get the double-wide sleeping system with luxury pads for $230/couple.

What to Bring / Wear

You'll be responsiblle for personal clothing, footwear, and sleeping bags. You probably already have almost everything you need – we can provide the rest. Getting ready is part of the fun and the following lists are designed to simplify your packing. (See FAQ for a detailed list.)

We use chartered aircraft with limited load carrying capacity. Try to restrict your gear to an effective but lightweight set of outdoor clothing and equipment. If you are in doubt about a certain item of clothing, bring it along and consult with the guides pre-trip. It can always be left behind if deemed unnecessary. We will arrange a place at the departure point for you to leave your travel clothing. Avoid bringing unnecessary valuables such as jewelry.

Day-by-Day Itinerary

DAY 0 – MACKENZIE DELTA RENDEZVOUS

This is the first date listed for your trip.

The trip starts and ends in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. To get there, you fly to Whitehorse, Yukon or Yellowknife, NWT and connect with a flight to Inuvik, NWT in the Mackenzie Delta where this giant river flows into the Beaufort Sea. Trip participants meet the trip leader and guides at the Midnight Sun Complex at 6 p.m., the night before the start of our journey. The Firth is in the Yukon, but Inuvik-in the northwestern corner of the Northwest Territories-is the closet town with a jet-serviced airport.

DAY 1 – MARGARET LAKE

We’ll have some time for last minute errands in Inuvik in case you need to pick up something at the Northern Store or get a National Parks fishing license from Parks Canada. The flight into Ivvavik National Park will leave Inuvik Airport around 10 a.m. We fly in a deHavilland Twin Otter aircraft, the workhorse aircraft of the North. The route takes us over the vast maze of the Mackenzie River Delta; one of the largest in the world, home to nesting swans, ducks and geese. As we reach the mountains we keep our eyes peeled for large mammals – caribou, muskox, moose, bears.

The hour-long flight to the river put-in takes us across north Yukon close to the border with Alaska and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Ivvavik was Canada’s first national park created by a land claim. We land near Margaret Lake on “tundra tires.” Guides will set up camp and inflate rafts while you explore your surroundings.

DAY 2 – BRITISH MOUNTAINS

At first, the winding river has a quiet nature. Low banks reveal unobstructed views up the valley and limestone crags rise from the river. Our rafts glide across deep clear pools full of grayling and char. The area is summer habitat for many migrating birds: phalaropes, sandpipers, plovers, jaegers, terns, buntings, longspurs and even robins. Caribou migration trails line the hillsides. Red fox and ptarmigan are common. The open tundra was made for wildlife watching and hiking – we carry a spotting scope to take advantage of viewing opportunities.

DAY 3 – RAPIDS AND RIDGE HIKES

A few days into the journey, you begin to realize how this land has been used by indigenous cultures for thousands of years. Along much of the route, there are ancient signs of human use. The Inuit would leave the coast to travel inland and hunt caribou and moose and fish for char. When we pick a nice campsite – one with good wildlife viewing opportunities or perhaps a great fishing hole – we may find remains of old meat caches and stone rings.

DAY 4 & 5 – ANCIENT MOUNTAINS

Downstream of Joe Creek the river enters a spectacular canyon that continues for 40 km. The landscape transforms as the limestone rock gives way to volcanics, mountains rise and vegetation changes. The middle part of our adventure takes us through the ancient, unglaciated and jagged British Mountains. The Firth winds among these stained, eroding peaks, alternating between quiet pools and exhilarating rapids. In places remnants remain of stone fences built by Inuit hunters to funnel caribou into enclosures.

DAY 6 & 7 – SHEEP CREEK

Just above the confluence of Sheep Creek we run some of the trip’s bigger rapids. Partway through the canyon, we stop to camp. Ridges to the west beckon for hiking, and we take some time to catch up on journaling, photography, and discovering the area’s cultural and natural history.

DAY 8 – CARIBOU & FIRTH CANYON

Wildlife spotting is a non-stop activity as we watch for ten species of raptor, Dall sheep, wolves, bears and caribou. Sometimes we’re fortunate to witness thousands of caribou from the 160,000-strong Porcupine Caribou Herd crossing the river and surrounding our camp. Soon the British Mountains merge into the Buckland Hills. The canyon walls are left behind and the Firth emerges onto the coastal plain.

DAY 9 – ENGIGSTIACK; ANCIENT ANTHROPOLOGY

As the plains spill before us, a rocky knoll known as Engigstiack rises a few hundred yards from the river. Though just one hundred feet high, Engigstiack provides great views over the plain.

We climb this timeless hill, an important archaeological site where hunters have stood for 8,000 years gazing across the tundra.

DAY 10 – MUSKOX HABITAT

We float across the plain to reach a campsite at the head of the Firth delta. Here vegetation is often draped in qiviut, the downy underhair of muskox, and we have a good chance of seeing some of these hairy beasts.

DAY 11 – ARCTIC OCEAN & BEAUFORT SEA

River channels get smaller as we approach the ocean, so we may walk along the flowering tundra in order to lighten the rafts through the shallows. On our last night we camp on the beach of Nunaluk Spit, at the mouth of the Firth River delta. Here we’ll enjoy the first campfire of the trip, thanks to plentiful driftwood. Ocean currents carry nutrient-rich waters along this coast, attracting birds, mammals, whales and other sea life.

DAY 12 – ARCTIC OCEAN FLIGHT

The Twin Otter will pick us up for a flight along the Arctic Ocean and coastal plains, back to Inuvik, where we will gather for a final dinner. Remember to book a hotel room for this night, and plan your flight no earlier than the next morning.

DAY 13 – HOME BOUND

This is the last date listed for your trip.

After goodbyes and a last look around Inuvik, we will head for home with a cargo of fond and spectacular memories.

Please note: The above is a tentative itinerary and has been designed with much thought to capitalize on the most scenic and exciting parts of the river, while making time on other sections. Your guides will adjust the schedule to make the best use of river and weather conditions.

Please ensure that you have a warm winter jacket (think ‘Puffy’) as well as waterproof rain jacket and pants. We rent robust rain gear and rubber boots – more on our ‘Details & Equipment list. Goretex is not a substitute for rain gear on this trip. Lifejackets are supplied.

Meals and pre- and post-trip accommodation in Inuvik are your responsibility – the cost is not included in the trip fee. We have attached a list of Inuvik hotels. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks are included from the Day 1 lunch until the final river meal. Any other meals off the river are your responsibility.

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