Overview
Established as a National Wildlife Reserve in 1974, the South Nahanni River is recognized as a Canadian Heritage River and one of the first World Heritage Sites of global significance by UNESCO. It flows over 500 km from its headwaters in the Mackenzie Mountains and drops over 4,000 vertical feet in swifts, rapids, and waterfalls. It is home to caribou, bison, grizzly and black bears, Dall sheep, and moose.
In 2007, after a ten year effort by Parks Canada, local First Nations, groups such as CPAWS, scientists, outfitters including Black Feather and thousands of individual Canadians, it was decided to further extend protection to encompass the entire Nahanni watershed. In 2009, the Canadian federal government announced legislation increasing protection of the watershed from 4,766 km2 to over 30,000 km2, a process which was finalized in December 2014. “Nááts’ihch’oh” (pronounced Nah tseen cho) was the name given by the Sahtu Dene Elders to this new National Park, which borders the Nahanni National Park Reserve. In the Dene language, nááts’ihch’oh means “stands like a porcupine”, referring to the surrounding mountains’ unique shape, which is sharp and pointed on the top.
Over the last 50 years, Black Feather has run guided, outfitted canoe trips throughout the two National Park Reserves. Our trips in this region range from 10 days to four weeks and there are options for novices and advanced paddlers alike. Check out our upcoming trips below and we look forward to welcoming you on a Black Feather Nahanni River Adventure in the future!
