Home > Youth Leadership Programs > Yukon Explorer: Paddle Edition (SUMMER 10-18 Day)
Where young explorers become confident outdoor leaders
Are you ready to share in an adventure that is larger than life? With epic canoe expeditions, wilderness skills training, and outdoor leadership challenges, Yukon Explorer is the gateway to the wild world of outdoor expeditions. It’s a world that shapes our character and challenges us to become more grounded by unplugging and learning to enjoy the simple things in life.
A place of unparalleled beauty, the Yukon welcomes youth from all walks of life to share in its grand rivers, endless wilderness, incredible people, and timeless stories. With Fireside Adventures, everyone has their own place in this unique outdoor leadership journey in Canada’s True North.
NEW: choose between three epic options!
Novice 10-day (Teslin to Carmacks):
For youth easing into outdoor canoe expeditions for their first time. We’ll start on the slow, easy Teslin River before joining the mighty Yukon with a few days of paddling under our belts.
Unique highlight: Travelling through Hootalinqua, where a shipwrecked barge sits on an island next to the ruins of an old trading post.
Advanced 12-day (Carmacks to Dawson City):
For returning youth and/or those ready for something more physical. The trip distance is slightly longer with a tighter schedule. We’ll also visit Fort Selkirk and Dawson City for a Gold Rush experience!
Unique highlight: Watching the opaque waters of the White River swirl and mix with the pristine Yukon River underneath your canoe as you pass through the famous confluence.
Advanced+Extended 18-day (Whitehorse/Teslin to Dawson City):
For youth prepared for a physical challenge, wanting to paddle the famous Lake Laberge, and ready to immerse themselves fully in the adventure.
Unique Highlight: exploring the impacts of climate change on the Yukon’s fragile ecosystem from Indigenous, historical, geographical, and environmental perspectives.
Information Package
Packing List
DATES
10-day Novice Explorer (Teslin to Carmacks)
July 22 – 31, 2025
Aug 08 – Aug 17, 2025
12-day Advanced Explorer (Carmacks to Dawson City)
Jul 11 – 22, 2025
18-day Advanced+Extended Explorer
July 05 – Jul 22, 2025 (Teslin to Dawson City)
LOCATIONS
Whitehorse, Yukon River, Carmacks, Dawson City
AGES
13–18 (co-ed)
PRICES
*Non-Refundable Deposit (any trip): $200.00 CAD + GST
Novice Trip (10-days):
$2599.00 + GST
Advanced Trip (12-day):
$2999.00 + GST
Advanced Extended Trip (18-day):
$3999.00 + GST
Includes: Return flight (Vancouver–Whitehorse), meals, group camping gear (incl. tents), pre-trip check-in
More info: office@firesideadventures.ca
What’s so special about Yukon Explorer?
Explore the ruins of the Gold Rush: travel back through time and explore the ruins of dozens of mining camps, settlements, and shipwrecks from the legendary Klondike Gold Rush.
Learn from Indigenous culture: Understand what it means to be in a place where Indigenous culture and governance are thriving. Did you know that 11 of 14 First Nations in the Yukon are self-governing?
Where navigation gets real: Use a beautiful hand-drawn map that details everything from log jams to old forest fire burns. There’s no better way to learn how to read a map and landscape.
Choose your own adventure: we have the freedom to camp virtually anywhere along the river. Feel the satisfaction of choosing a great spot to pitch camp and cook over the campfire with your new friends
Yep - we’re doing a solo experience! Supervised by your guides, you will share an iconic Fireside experience. Find challenge and reconnection during 12 hours of monitored solitude - your only company the sound of the wind in the trees and the river in the reeds.
Encounter truly wild wildlife: Watch wide-eyed as your canoe silently glides past an enormous moose, or perhaps lock eyes with a solitary eagle on the hunt. In the Yukon, there are more moose than people. A lot more!
Some of last year’s adventurers setting off on their journey!
True leaders are born in the Canadian wilderness with Fireside Adventures
Outdoor Leadership “Soft Skills” Training: Guided by our Fireside Pillars (Independence, Community, Knowledge, Experience, and Vision), define what leadership means to you and hold yourself accountable. When you’re ready, your instructors and peers will vote for you to receive the traditional Fireside Adventures leadership bracelet.
Expedition “Hard Skills”: Challenge yourself with a canoe expedition style of adventuring, including canoe manoeuvres, risk management, and wildlife safety. These experiences develop universal life skills like perseverance and problem-solving, not to mention a love for nature. When you learn ‘em in the great Canadian North, you won’t forget!
Character-building & Resilience: Spending time in nature brings challenges but also opportunities for peace, reflection, and connection. This is the unbroken space and time you need to foster relationships, trust, and personal transformation through a mix of one-on-one mentorship, daily video/audio journaling, and group dialogues.
Increase self-knowledge: During your time in the wilderness, clarify your personal values, strengthen your decision-making skills, and learn how to set and achieve short-term and long-term goals.
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award: Earn your Bronze, Silver, or Gold with us. Here’s how.
Becoming one with the Yukon River to cool off!
A Fireside instructor teaching the learners how to rescue a canoe.
Stories from Yukon Explorer
Barnsy, Yukon Explorer 2022
Click image above for full size.
“One night at Carmacks, I was showing a few campers how to take long-exposure night photos - it was late August so the sky was dark. Then one of the campers started yelling for me to come quickly. I ran over - not sure what was the matter - and to my surprise, he had captured a photo of the Aurora. We couldn’t see it with the naked eye - but the camera could capture it on 1/30th exposure. Then, before our eyes, the Aurora started shining brightly and dancing above us. That photo is framed on my wall - and theirs.”
Dani Mikolela, Yukon Explorer 2021
“Yukon Explorer was my first experience with Fireside as a camper. I completed my solo experience while challenging myself to fast and build my own shelter. Since then I’ve become a Junior staff… Fireside has helped me with my social skills and my connection with nature. As an instructor, I have helped Barnsy develop his parkour program over the past two years.”
Learn more about the team
Watch and get excited!
This is a video that Barnsy took while on expedition on the Yukon River in 2021!
