The Missinaibi is the river of choice for groups wanting an entry-level Northern river experience. Chosen for its rugged beauty, the Missinaibi River makes its way through the Canadian Shield to the Hudson Bay lowlands changing character, speed, and frame of mind along the way. As trippers get closer to James Bay, tides, brackish water, distant horizons, and enormous skies truly distinguish the Missinaibi and give everyone a taste of how powerful nature really is.
Covering a distance of close to 600 km, the journey north on the Missinaibi has some very remote sections. This river offers groups beautiful scenery, historic significance, challenging white-water, and an expansive northern sky.
The Missinaibi cascades off the Canadian shield at Thunderhouse Falls. The result is a series of waterfalls that marvel those fortunate enough to witness this spectacular and powerful phenomena that can be heard from kilometres away. All of our groups rest for a day at this site to soak in the majestic beauty. Along the way, you will also see historic HBC (Hudson’s Bay Company) outposts, campsites that have seen human presence for thousands of years, and ancient Ojibway pictographs dating back two millennia. Wildlife abounds in this remote area with moose, black bears, river otters, bald eagles, and osprey sights being a daily occurrence. For fishing enthusiasts, Walleye, Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Fallfish (similar to a whitefish) and occasionally Brook Trout are amongst the most common species on the river. After dark, the whispering northern lights and meteor showers dance through the night sky during the month of August.
Our Missinaibi river trip ends at Moosonee, where we may travel out onto James Bay and tour around Moose Factory Island First Nations, sign the canoeists registry, and take the Polar Bear Express train south to where roads begin again.