World's longest annual canoe and kayak race

Welcome to the official Yukon River Quest web site. The Yukon River Quest is an annual marathon canoe and kayak 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, 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.

GREAT RACE EVERYONE! The 18th annual YRQ is in the books. Of the record 93 teams that started the race, a record 77 teams also finished, including 9 of the 11 Stand Up Paddleboards in the experimental SUP class. View results and replay the race on our RACE TRACKER page above as the teams paddled along the Yukon River for the 715 kilometre journey to Dawson City. Check out the list of Special Awards and see photos on our Facebook page. Watch for official 2016 YRQ Awards List coming soon. Thanks to all volunteers, support crews, safety & communication teams, sponsors, and organizers who helped make this one of the best races to date. A nice touch this year was seeing the 14 flags of the countries represented in the race at major checkpoints. Those 230 or so paddlers really appreciated it!

THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS • YOU MAKE THIS RACE:  This year’s VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION PARTY was held on Wednesday, July 27th at Tony’s Pizza in Whitehorse. Also watch for our BIG THANK YOU ad in an upcoming issue of the Whitehorse Star.  If you would like to help with next year’s race, please contact the race office for more details. Also check out the VOLUNTEER tab above for other opportunities to be involved in our great event. We’ll sign you up for 2017!

2017 RACE DATES: June 28 – July 2. It’s not too early to start thinking about next year’s YRQ. Registration opens in November but you can get some good training in during the rest of summer and fall.

The YRMPA board on Nov. 15, 2015 voted to allow Stand Up Paddle (SUP) boards in the 2016 race as an experimental class with with up to 10 paddlers and no prize money given in this class for the 2016 race. The 10 slots filled quickly and two more were added by the board in December. A supplemental set of SUP Rules have been adopted and are now up on the Rules & Preparation page.

BECOME A MEMBER & SUPPORT THE YRQ : Join the Yukon River Marathon Paddlers Association for just $20 a year or $100 for lifetime. Email the race office for details. See Race Schedule for more information about what happens during Race Week and consider being a Volunteer or Bib Sponsor.

UPCOMING YRMPA BOARD MEETINGS: September 8 at 5:30 p.m. at Sport Yukon.