Taseko, Chilko & Chilcotin Rivers
Departing August 23, 2025
Join us for a rafting adventure on the Taseko, Chilko & Chilcotin rivers and experience the best of British Columbia, from exquisite alpine scenery and mystical canyons to rich boreal forests and desert badlands.
The Chilcotin River is rated as one of the best and most challenging in North America for whitewater rafting. Some of the most spectacular scenery is found near the Chilcotin’s confluence with the Fraser River, south of Riske Creek. The river winds its way through mountains, open valleys, grasslands and canyons as it hurries to meet the Fraser.
The Fraser River is British Columbia’s longest river and the fifth longest river in Canada. With its headwaters originating in the Rocky Mountains at Mount Robson, the Fraser stretches for 1,368 kilometres (848 miles), ultimately flowing into the Pacific Ocean, and is a prime destination for whitewater rafters in search of adventure.
The Fraser River Canyon is both scenic and impressive with the walls rising more than 914 metres (3000 feet) and the waters of the river passing through a 27-metre (90 feet) gorge at Hell’s Gate.
The Chilcotin Plateau boasts a distinguished biodiversity; bighorn sheep, grizzlies, pelicans and even wild horses are just a few of the captivating species we see on the river. The Taseko River is even on a major migratory flyway, and we time our expeditions to coincide with the southerly migration of species such as sandhill cranes, trumpeter swans and Clark’s nuthatch.
Botanists will be enthralled by vibrant displays of Indian paintbrush and fireweed, as well as the enigmatic prickly pear cacti peppering the grasslands and the fascinating ethnoecology of the rubber rabbitbrush.
Rich in cultural history and present day use, these rivers are of vital importance to the First Nations communities who rely on them. The Tsilhtqot’in National Government recently announced plans to open a permanent salmon hatchery, marking a historic move for Indigenous-led river conservation.
The perfect river journey for whitewater enthusiasts, wildlife watchers, photographers and history buffs alike, this expedition will take you into the very heart of British Columbia and leave you with memories to last a lifetime.
Itinerary
- Day 0: Williams Lake, B.C.
- Day 1: Nemiah Valley and Taseko River
- Day 2: Taseko Canyons and Chilko-Taseko Junction
- Day 3: The Chilko to the Chilcotin River
- Days 4 & 5: Hanceville Canyon and Big Creek
- Day 6: Farwell Canyon, sand dunes and hoodoos
- Day 7: Big John’s Canyon and the Fraser River
- Day 8: Return to Williams Lake
Meet your RCGS Travel Ambassadors
David Gray
With more than three decades of experience as a journalist, former CBC Radio host David Gray has filed stories from around the world, focusing on Europe and North America. Based in Calgary, David is an avid adventurer, diver, skier, and cyclist.
Whether it’s skiing from the heights of the Chic-Choc Mountains down to the shores of Gaspe, kayaking Johnstone Strait with the orcas of Robson Bight, or hiking the ridges of the Bugaboos above the glaciers of the Purcells, David has a deep passion for Canada’s wild spaces. He is an amateur ornithologist and former park naturalist, with a growing passion for photography. He has also launched a new Canada-wide podcast, GraydioCanada.
His documentary work has won numerous national and international awards and he is a frequent guest host on well known CBC radio programs such as “As it Happens”, “Sunday Edition” and “Cross Country Checkup”. His daily morning program “The Calgary Eyeopener” was one of Canada’s top-rated local radio shows for over a decade.
In his spare time, he performs with Calgary band Sweet Potato. David and his wife Kim have two children.
Kim Gray
After graduating with a Master of Journalism degree from Carleton University, Kim Gray spent two decades working as a traditional journalist in newspapers, television and radio throughout Canada. On July 1, 2011, she turned to travel publishing — co-founding the nationally celebrated travel blog Toque & Canoe, a quality digital magazine that explores travel culture in Canada and beyond.
For the past dozen years, Kim has been championing transformative travel experiences from coast to coast to coast on CBC radio and in front of an always growing audience at Toque & Canoe, which currently has 35K followers on all of its channels combined.
Her efforts “to make Canada better known to Canadians and the world” led to her RCGS Fellow nomination in 2016. She often amplifies RCGS and Canadian Geographic content on her social media channels.
Trips that continue to inspire her? Observing, with Indigenous wildlife guides, a rare spirit bear fishing for salmon on B.C.’s remote west coast. Kayaking with beluga whales in the mouth of Manitoba’s Churchill River (and maybe swimming with them, too!) Travelling on a small expedition cruise ship with the RCGS to Nunavut, where she would volunteer on board as a Fellow and fall in love with the Arctic Archipelago’s jewel-like icebergs.
In 2017, Kim helped develop the inaugural guidebook to Indigenous tourism in Canada with the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada. She’s been covering the growth of this travel sector closely and she encourages all Canadians, as an act of reconciliation, to learn more about this effort and the incredible experiences to be had.
Kim is married to David Gray and they have two wonderful children, Emma and Jackson.