Welcome to the official Yukon River Quest web site. The Yukon River Quest is an annual marathon paddling race. Paddlers come from around the world to test their endurance, racing day and night to the Klondike on one of North America’s great rivers. It is open to solo and tandem canoes and kayaks, solo stand-up paddle boards (SUP0, and bigger C4 and Voyageur canoes. Please fully explore our site for information on how to participate in this great event, whether as a racer, a member of a support crew, or as volunteer. The Yukon River passes through five First Nations on our race route: Kwanlin Dun, Ta’an Kwachan Council, Little Salmon/Carmacks, Selkirk, and Trondek Hwechin. Our race honours their culture and those who have lived off the river and nurtured it for centuries.

2019 RACE DATES JUNE 26 – JUNE 30, 2019: Registration for the 21st annual Yukon River Quest opens at 18:00 Pacific Time on November 1, 2018. Click on the Register link at that time and get your team registered. There is a Solo Team Limit of 50 (C1, K1, SUP), but there will be no solo lottery this year. It’s first come, first served for those slots until they fill and a wait list begins. Same goes for the usual 15 Voyageur Canoe (VC) Team Limit. Total overall team limit remains at 125. The 2019 Rules have been approved and are now posted.

20TH ANNIVERSARY RACE  REVIEW: Our 20TH ANNIVERSARY race week was incredible, featuring a great race in which a record 103 teams started and 76 teams finished through all kinds of weather.  We had wonderful events surrounding the race with a Meet & Greet at the SS Klondike, a Volunteer Appreciation Party at Carmacks, and a great 20th Anniversary Tent Gallery by the finish line in Dawson City. Following the race, more than 300 YRQ paddlers, support crew members, and volunteers marched in the Canada Day parade. See photos on our YRQ Facebook and YRQ Instagram pages.  During our Awards Ceremony, we unveiled our GREAT RIVER CLUB of 5,000 and 10,000 kms paddlers!  Click on our outstanding YRQ RACE TRACKER courtesy of Yukon 1000 Software, where you can see complete results in every class and category and replay the whole race!  Also see our AWARDS PRESS RELEASE for the top 3 winners in each class, Special Awards handed out at our Awards Banquet, and Race Notes.  Yukon Wide Adventures repeated as overall champion, beating Paddlesport Mongrels from the United Kingdom by about an hour, and a new Mixed K2 Record was set by the third place overall team, The Kiwis. Congrats to all finishers!  We had 116 teams officially registered but a few dropped out before the start. When the SS Klondike’s starting whistle sounded, we saw 242 paddlers from 14 countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States of America. You can link to each of their bios from the Results page.

VOLUNTEERS – THANKS FOR VOLUNTEERING!!!: More than 300 of you made our race shine under the Midnight Sun! All volunteers signed up this year and past volunteers were celebrated at our Meet & Greet on Monday night in Whitehorse, in Carmacks after the start, and in Dawson City. See our big Thank You Ad from the July 27 Whitehorse Star (now on Volunteer page). For those who did not get shirts last year, more are on the way for those who contacted us.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS!!! We have a lot of great sponsors who help us immensely in making this a great race. Please view our SPONSOR PAGE for a list of all sponsors big and small. Also check out our 2018 BIB SPONSORS for our 20th Anniversary Race!

RACERS & SUPPORT CREWS INFO: Racers please go through the RULES & PREPARATION part of our site to view our Rules and Racers Briefing, and see what you are required to carry on this journey. Check out the FAQs to learn more about navigation, insurance requirements, support at Carmacks, how to get back from Dawson, and more. Support crews should check out the SUPPORT link above to view a separate Support Briefing and learn more about what you need to do to help your team get to the finish line! Finally, take advantage of the three shuttled training runs prior to the race (see Schedule). 

BECOME A MEMBER & SUPPORT THE YRQ : Join the Yukon River Marathon Paddlers Association for just $20 a year (adults), $10 a year (juniors 18 & under), or $100 for lifetime. Email the race office for details or attend our December AGM. See Race Schedule for more information about what happens during Race Week and consider becoming a Volunteer or Sponsor. We have several sponsorship levels and the popular Bib Sponsorships to show your support for our teams and the race.

YRMPA BOARD NEWS:  At its Oct. 11 meeting the board approved the 2019 Rules and also approved an agreement with Listers Motor Sport for the purchase of five C4 canoes for the YRQ rental fleet. See new Canoe Rentals page.  Upcoming Meetings: YRMPA Board Thursday, November 8 at 5:30 p.m. in Sport Yukon Room 2;  ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: Thursday, December 6 at 5:30 p.m. in Sport Yukon Room 2. Become a Member and think about joining our Board!  See our new Vision, Values and Mission statements on our ABOUT US page.