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 a 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. For an in-depth account of Yukon First Peoples, read this ECHO (Ethnographic, Cultural, Historical Overview) handbook.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2021 (updated Sept. 22, 2020) • The Yukon River Quest board continues to look ahead to a race in 2021. Right now we have 119 teams registered from the cancelled 2020 event and about 30 on a wait list, so there is huge interest in the race. However, at this time we still do not know if we will be able to have our event. We hope so, but due to the uncertainty we have decided to push our usual registration opening for remaining slots from November 1, 2020 to February 14, 2021 (2 PM PST). By then we hope to have a good idea about what kind of race we will be able to have. Our Rules Committee will be meeting this fall to make some changes to our existing rules, as well as drafting alternative sets of rules that we may have to put in place due to COVID concerns. These could include changes in how we gather, how we start, where checkpoints are located and how they will be run, etc. The board also wants to experiment with a Half River Quest next year, from Whitehorse to Carmacks. This would allow teams that were not able to register for the big event in 2021 to still be able to get on the river with us. We have a lot of scenarios to work on over the next few months and welcome your input. Feel free to make comments on our Facebook page or email us.

NEW VIRTUAL RACE! Paddle at a safe distance in the VIRTUAL YRQ or VIRTUAL HALF YRQ this summer. See INSTRUCTIONS and find registration links for both races HERE!  No race open time, no race close time.  But everyone’s tracks get mapped on to the Yukon River starting from Whitehorse at 12:00 June 24th. See PRESS RELEASE.

March 20, 2020 statement by YRMPA on 2020 race cancellation due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and concerns for health and safety of paddlers, volunteers and communities:  “The 2020 Yukon River Quest has been cancelled. The board of directors of the Yukon River Marathon Paddlers Association regretfully decided last night that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race cannot go ahead.  The 22nd annual marathon paddling race from Whitehorse to Dawson City was scheduled to be held June 24 to June 28, 2020 with a full roster of 125 teams from 15 countries.” Registered racers may defer their entry to the 2021 race (dates will be June 23-26, 2021). See more in our PRESS RELEASE.

22nd YUKON RIVER QUEST – June 24-28, 2020 (MOVED TO 2021) – Registration opened on November 1, 2019 at 18:00 (6 PM) PDT. We had 99 teams registered in the first hour, and the field was full by 03:37 on Nov. 2nd (a record)! There is a total team limit of 125 teams, and limits on the number of solo (50) and voyageur (15) teams. Teams were added from the wait list as teams dropped and it remained full when the decision to cancel the 2020 race was made on March 20, 2020. There were 15 countries represented. Teams were offered a choice of deferring their registration to the 2021 race or receiving an 85% refund. As of September 18, 2020, there were 119 teams listed under the RACERS tab above as registered for 2021, and a wait list of about 30.

BE PREPARED – THIS IS A TOUGH WILDERNESS PADDLING RACE! READ RULES & RACER GUIDE: Become familiar with the RACE RULES. Note: These rules will be updated for 2021; watch for changes late fall/early winter. Read the Preamble about what you will experience out there, and how to prepare for this tough wilderness race.  Also check out the new RACER GUIDE and various items under the RULES & PREPARATION drop-down menu above (currently being edited), such as how much food and fluids are needed to sustain you in a long river race and other essential tips to help you finish;  racer and support crew briefings (they will be updated in April); and our FAQs to learn more about navigation, insurance requirements, support at Carmacks, how to get back from Dawson, and more. Support crews need to become familiar with all of this information to help your team prepare! Check out the SUPPORT link above.

PREVIOUS RACE REVIEW: RECORD FIELD IN 2019! – A record 117 teams started the 21st annual YRQ at noon on Wednesday, June 26, and 86 teams finished by 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 30.  A total of 31 teams (26.5%) scratched during the race (an additional team withdrew just before the start). Most of the scratches were in Carmacks, as several teams were fatigued and/or unable to make the cutoff time there on the evening of June 27. Only 3 teams scratched past Carmacks. Thirteen countries were represented: Canada, USA, New Zealand, Australia, Netherlands, Norway (new), United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Papua New Guinea (new), France, Austria, and Ireland. Pull up 2019 Results and replay the race on our RACE TRACKER page, courtesy of Yukon 1000 Software, and see photos in our GALLERY and posted on our YRQ FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM pages. Read our AWARDS PRESS RELEASE.   

THANK YOU  VOLUNTEERS – LIFEBLOOD OF THE YRQ:   More than 200 of you made our race shine under the Midnight Sun!  A Volunteer Appreciation Party was held in Whitehorse  on Sept. 13 at Mt. MacIntyre and we gave out lots of Air North tickets and other door prizes. Thanks to those who donated! Also see our big THANK YOU AD from the Whitehorse Star published on Friday, July 26, 2019,  Want to get involved for the 2021 race? Sign in on our new VOLUNTEER page and then view the different jobs available. It’s never to early to volunteer, and it’s fun! 

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS – SUPPORT THE YRQ:  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 everyone big and small, including this past year’s BIB SPONSORS!  We have several sponsorship levels to show your support for the race. Our Sponsorship packet and provisions are currently under revision and should be available some time later in 2020.

BECOME A MEMBER OF YRMPA: Join the Yukon River Marathon Paddlers Association for just $20 a year (adults) or $10 a year (juniors 18 & under). Email the race office for details or attend our next AGM (see details below) and consider joining the YRMPA Board to help us plan the race. Meetings are monthly most of the year, and more frequent the two months before the race. See our current board & executive and read our new Vision, Values and Mission statements on our ABOUT US page. 

YRMPA BOARD NEWS:  Plans for 2021 will unfold throughout the fall-winter as we develop Rules and COVID alternatives.  NEXT MEETING:  Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom. If you have questions for the board, email them to info@yukonriverquest.com. Note, our AGM this year will be held on December 10, 2020 (details on how to attend coming in Oct-Nov).