Bloodvein River Canoe Expedition, Canada
A true Canadian wilderness canoe expedition

Journey deep into the Canadian wilderness on one of North America’s great canoe rivers.

The Bloodvein River winds through the lakes, granite and boreal forest of the Canadian Shield, carrying us for more than 200km through a landscape accessible only by canoe or float plane.

This is a proper wilderness expedition: white water, wild camps, portages, ancient pictographs, extraordinary wildlife and days spent travelling together through a landscape largely untouched by modern development.

And it begins with an unforgettable float plane flight into the wilderness.

2027 expedition details are currently being developed. Register your interest to be among the first to receive dates, prices and full trip information when they're released.

The expedition

For experienced open canoeists looking for something beyond an ordinary guided trip, the Bloodvein offers a remarkable combination of wilderness travel and white water.

Our journey begins with a float plane flight from Red Lake into Artery Lake, where road access disappears and the expedition really begins.

From here, we travel west towards Lake Winnipeg, paddling through interconnected lakes and river sections, running and lining rapids, carrying where necessary and making camp beside the river each evening.

The route takes us through more than 200km of remote Canadian wilderness, with numerous rapids along the way and plenty of opportunities to put good Grade 2 white water skills into practice.

But the Bloodvein is about much more than the rapids.

We travel through the boreal forests and exposed granite of the Canadian Shield, beneath huge skies and past places that have been travelled by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Along the route are Anishinaabe pictographs painted in red ochre on the rock faces, including canoes, animals, handprints and other figures and symbols.

Wildlife is part of the experience too. Bald eagles, osprey, pelicans and other species inhabit the river corridor, with the wider landscape also providing habitat for woodland caribou, bears, wolves and wolverines.

There are few places where you can experience this combination of white water, history, wildlife and genuine wilderness from the seat of an open canoe.

More than a guided canoe trip

You'll be travelling with experienced wilderness canoe guides, with all the support you need to relax and enjoy the journey.

Life on the Bloodvein is very much a team experience. We'll paddle, camp and cook together, sharing the everyday jobs and experiences that become such a memorable part of expedition life.

And if you'd like to develop your skills along the way, there will be plenty of opportunities to get involved in reading the river, discussing route choices and understanding the decisions we make as the journey unfolds.

Our pre-expedition programme gives us time to paddle together, prepare for the journey and get to know each other before we leave for Canada – so when the float plane touches down at Artery Lake, we're ready to enjoy the adventure.

About The Bloodvein River

The Bloodvein River flows west from northwestern Ontario to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, crossing the ancient landscape of the Canadian Shield.

It was designated Manitoba's first Canadian Heritage River in 1987 and much of its course travels through protected wilderness.

The river forms part of Pimachiowin Aki – “The Land That Gives Life” – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an Anishinaabe cultural landscape that has been cared for and travelled through for thousands of years.

Along the river, red ochre pictographs can still be seen on rock faces. They form part of a much longer human story within a landscape that remains remarkably free from roads, dams, mines and other large-scale development.

Granite shorelines, boreal forest, countless lakes and an extraordinary diversity of wildlife make this one of Canada's great wilderness canoe journeys.

Who the trip is for

The Bloodvein is an intermediate+ open canoe expedition.

It is designed for paddlers who already have experience of Grade 2 white water and multi-day canoe journeys, and who are excited by the challenge and experience of travelling as part of a team through remote wilderness.

You should be:

Comfortable paddling Grade 2 white water in an open canoe
Experienced in multi-day trips and camping
Comfortable spending consecutive days travelling and living outdoors
Fit enough for sustained wilderness travel, including paddling, lining and portaging
Happy contributing to the everyday life of an expedition team

You don’t need to have every expedition skill perfected before you join us. That’s what the preparation is for – giving us time to develop the skills we’ll need, paddle together and make sure everyone feels confident and ready before we head to Canada.

If you're excited by the expedition but aren't sure whether you have the right level of experience, please get in touch. We're always happy to chat through your experience and help you work out whether the Bloodvein could be the right trip for you.

Low participant-to-guide ratios allow us to keep the team small, well prepared and well supported.

Preparing for the Bloodvein

The adventure starts long before we arrive in Canada.

A UK-based pre-expedition trip will form part of the 2027 package – a chance to get out paddling together, enjoy some good white water and start getting excited about the journey ahead.

Along the way, we'll spend time on the skills and systems we'll use on the Bloodvein, including:

White water canoe skills
River reading and decision making
Lining and traditional skills
Expedition campcraft
Kit organisation
Cooking and group systems
Wilderness journey planning

Just as importantly, it's a chance to get to know the people you'll be sharing the adventure with, enjoy some great paddling together and start building the team that will eventually step off the float plane at Artery Lake.

The location, dates and duration of our 2027 pre-expedition trip are being planned and will be confirmed with the full expedition details.

Online preparation

We'll also bring the team together online in the months leading up to departure.

Sessions are likely to cover areas such as route planning, equipment, campcraft, food and cooking, travel logistics and final expedition preparations.

There will also be a dedicated group for ongoing communication, questions and preparation.

This isn't about teaching experienced paddlers things they already know. It's about sharing knowledge, agreeing how we'll work together and making sure that when we arrive in Canada, we already feel like an expedition team.

What's Included

We're currently finalising the full package for 2027.

Based on the expedition format, we expect this to include many of the key elements needed to make preparing for and undertaking a remote Canadian canoe expedition straightforward, including:

UK-based pre-expedition programme
Online expedition preparation sessions
Experienced expedition guides
Low participant-to-guide ratios
Canadian internal expedition transport
Float plane access to the river
Canoes provided by our Canadian outfitting partner
Expedition and group equipment
Cooking equipment
Food and drink while on expedition
Wilderness camping
Relevant park/access fees
Emergency equipment
Satellite mapping and communications
Accommodation immediately before and after the wilderness expedition
Ongoing support with planning and preparation

What's Not Included

International flights and airline baggage fees
Travel insurance
Personal clothing & effects
Extra meals outside the planned itinerary (cafes & ice creams etc)
Optional activities and sightseeing
Bar bills
Tips
Additional costs arising from unforeseen circumstances

The confirmed inclusions and exclusions will be published alongside the 2027 dates and price.

2027 dates coming soon

Interested in joining us?

We're currently developing our next Bloodvein River expedition for 2027.

If travelling by canoe through more than 200km of Canadian wilderness sounds like your kind of adventure, register your interest now.

There's no commitment to book. We'll simply make sure you're among the first to receive the dates, price, full information pack and booking details when they're released.

Or, if you'd like to talk through the expedition, your paddling experience or what you might need to do to prepare, please get in touch. We're always happy to have a chat.

Bloodvein River Canoe Expedition, Canada A true Canadian wilderness canoe expedition