Chewonki Foundation: George River Canoe

The George River Expedition equips individuals with the skills they need to be future trip leaders at Chewonki and beyond. Participants must have successfully completed one or more Chewonki leadership expeditions, or had comparable experiences, and have an interest in backcountry leadership. Students participate in all aspects of expedition life in Canada’s remote subarctic region from food prep, to river scouting, and portaging. Find out more!

The George River is located in Northern Quebec, with its headwaters along the Labrador/Quebec border. For over 500 miles, the river flows north from the boreal forest through the subarctic barrens of Quebec and Labrador to Ungava Bay. On this five-week trip, we paddle more than 400 miles of the river.

Northern Quebec and Labrador is a vast landscape of undeveloped boreal forest, interconnected waterways, and evidence of ancient encampments. It is home to the George River caribou herd and a large breeding population of wolves. We are on the river about the same time that the caribou herd begins to migrate; in some years we have been fortunate enough to witness caribou crossing the river. Wide and with plenty of whitewater, the George offers a challenging paddle through the stunning subarctic terrain.

Participants begin and finish at Chewonki in Wiscasset. We travel by van to Sept-Isles, Quebec, then take a train to Schefferville, where we begin paddling. We paddle to the Inuit village of Kangiqsualujjuaq on Ungava Bay. After our canoe trip, we fly to Kuujjuaq, then to Quebec City, from which we’ll take a van back to Wiscasset.