2024: Aug 22 - 30
2025: Aug 9 - 17 or Aug 17-25
70 km (44 miles)
$4,750 CAD + 5% GST
9 days
Kayak
Novice to Intermediate
Yellowknife, NWT
This trip on the East Arm of Tinde’e (Great Slave Lake) features deep, clear water with abundant islands, narrow channels with tall red cliffs, and world-class fishing. With craggy cliffs and rocky islands, the islands of the East Arm support bald eagles, terns and gulls. Breathtaking cliffs are built from rock as old as 2.7-billion years (the oldest in the world), making for some of the most epic campsites you’ll ever experience. If fishing is your thing, you’ll definitely want to bring a fishing rod to enjoy the seemingly bottomless depths surrounding these islands. They are swarming with trophy-sized lake trout. And because the lake is clean and cold, fish keep near the surface in summer, making for plenty fishing opportunities from a kayak and from camp.
To add an element of magic to these expeditions, you can take advantage of autumn Aurora season for our late season departures (early-August to end of Sept). As you tip your head back in awe to catch the glittering lights dancing across the sky, we’ll show you the best of our spectacular Aurora. Great Slave Lake lies directly in the magnetic “Aurora Belt”, which means it’s one of the most reliable places on earth to spot the northern lights.
Alternatively you can book on an earlier departure in July to early-August and enjoy the warmer weather of the short, but spectacular summer in the North.
If the North has been on your bucket list for ages, the majestic East Arm offers a place like no others: unspoiled, remote, and iconic.
This expedition offers a chance to experience Canada’s newest national park: Thaidene Nëné, or “Land of the Ancestors” in the Denesoline Yati language.
Great Slave Lake, located in the southern half of the Northwest Territories, is the 11th largest in the world and, after Great Bear, the biggest entirely within Canada. It measures in at 28,568 square kilometres, roughly the same size as Belgium. Great Slave Lake is also North America’s deepest lake, reaching a maximum depth of more than 615 metres in it’s East Arm– deep enough to cover the CN Tower.
Book your East Arm Great Slave Lake kayak journey today! Give us a call at 867-445-4512 to chat about a trip.
For another kayak trip on Great Slave Lake, check out our North Arm trip!
The beauty of this rugged untamed wilderness is something that has to be experienced to be understood. Venturing out into the vastness of the Great Slave wilderness by kayak imparted a humbling sense of vulnerability as I found myself at the mercy of the Lake, taking safe passage only when it is offered and seeking shelter a shore when it is not. In this modern age of high speed internet and digital connectivity, it is grounding to be placed in a situation where mother nature sets the pace. The trip provided a perfect blend of adventure, excitement, and camaraderie. Among the souvenirs from taken from the trip were several new friendships made along the way with both fellow guests and guide staff. No trip testimonial would be complete without mentioning the Lake Trout fishing which was just phenomenal. While they didn't technically jump in to the boat, one did actually beach itself while chasing my lure to the shore. I can't wait to return.
Each campsite was unspoiled and pristine and had more types of wild berries than I knew existed in the NWT. At one campsite, you could hardly step, without crushing the blueberries underfoot. I pine to return.
In the morning, we board our boat shuttle to the East Arm. As our fast and comfortable boat powers out of Yellowknife Bay, we get a great view of the spectacular Canadian Shield as we travel deeper into remote wilderness. Once at camp on a majestic rocky island, we take in our new surroundings: pristine air and clear deep water. It doesn't take long to reel in our first lake trout. Fish fry for dinner?
We spend our days moving to a new location each day, setting up camp on beautiful natural sites on the subarctic shield. As we work our way to the North end of Etthen Island, the scenery grows bolder. Spectacular granite cliffs rise along the shore. We are treated to Aurora that dances in the sky above our tents. The fishing is non-stop, and world-class. If the weather permits, we cross over to Utsingi Point for a day trip to hike and explore this stunning peninsula.
We paddle around the North end of Etthen Island and are treated to spectacular granite cliffs rising along the shore. It's a breath-taking and stunning scene that few will ever experience. We continue to paddle South, enjoying some of the most unique and beautiful campsites in the Northwest Territories. Perfect paddling on the profound blue depths off Etthen island will offer exciting days. Often, we spot wildlife such as moose or bears. Eventually, we are back to our original campsite having successfully completed our 70 km circumnavigation of Etthen Island.
One last chance to pick our fill of wild berries before the boat shuttle roars in to whisk us 200 km back to the nearest civilization of Yellowknife. After hot showers we meet up in town for cold celebratory beers and final farewells!
– Boat shuttle from Yellowknife to the East Arm of Great Slave Lake, return
– Shuttles from the airport when in Yellowknife
– Certified guides with a maximum ratio of 5:1
– Expedition kayaks
– Paddle & lifejacket
– Group gear for each expedition (tarp, kitchen equipment, utensils, water filtration, etc)
– Expedition first aid kit and canoe repair kit
– Emergency satellite phone, two-way radios for guide staff
– Expedition tents
– Hearty and nutritious meals including snacks while on trip
– Group will be limited to 8 participants + 2 guides
– Off-lake accommodations in Yellowknife
– Commercial flights to Yellowknife
– Personal gear including drybags, sleeping bag, sleeping pad (avaliable for rent)
– Meals in Yellowknife before and after the trip (Day 1 Breakfast and Day 9 Dinner)
– Gratuity for guides
– Wine or spirits
– Insurance including evacuation, medical and trip cancellation
– Northwest Territories fishing licence available online
– Drysuits (mandatory, but available for rent)
Really good. We’ve fine-tuned a delicious, nutritious and well-balanced backcountry menu of unique and tasty dishes from years of expedition tripping – and look forward to sharing it with you. Our flexible menu can accommodate vegetarian and gluten-free preferences, and will be tailored in advance for participants on each trip. Guests are always welcome to join guides in cooking and learn to cook our authentic, backcountry recipes.
Breakfast will include fresh fruit and a main course, like eggs and bacon or blueberry pancakes. Lunch features locally-smoked sausages, fruit, hummus, salads, breads and naan with a spread of cheese, jams, and a variety of nut butters. Dinner will offer an hors d’oeuvres, main course, and dessert! Snacking will take place throughout the day.
“Five-star campsites, with gourmet meals included” – Dave S, USA
You bet!
We are proud show off our local fresh fish recipes while on trip. The trout fishing is world-class on the East Arm so we’ll be supplementing our meals with freshly caught lake trout.
Jackpine Paddle is excited to offer Barren Ground Coffee on all of our paddling tours. Barren Ground Coffee locally-roasts fair trade and organic speciality coffee, 5 kilos at a time, on a beautiful craft roaster in Old Town, Yellowknife. Thanks to our partners at Barren Ground Coffee, we look forward to serving you the freshest roasted coffee in the Northwest Territories.
“We picked wild blueberries to top of the cheesecake” – Sophia D, Canada.
The East Arm is a remote location, so previous paddling experience in a kayak is an asset. Participants are not required to be highly-skilled paddlers, but should be familiar with multi-day kayaking including the ability to wet-exit. Previous experience camping in the back-country is required.
“Our guide was always thinking, keeping the abilities of his clients in the forefront” – Kim M, USA
It’s easy to fly to the Northwest Territories. There are direct jet flights to Yellowknife from Calgary (2 hours), Edmonton (1.5 hours), Ottawa (4 hours) and Whitehorse (1.5 hours).
A detailed personal clothing and gear checklist , specific to your trip,
will be emailed to you in a registration email.
Check out the Youtube videos below with our tips and advice for packing your gear and personal clothes:
Essential Gear – Packing Tips for a Canoe or Kayak Trip
Clothes & Outwear – Packing Tips for a Canoe or Kayak Trip
Before you register for an expedition, please ensure each participant for whom you will be submitting a deposit payment (including yourself) has carefully reviewed the following:
– our Safety & Risk Awareness webpage
– information on your trip webpage (inclusions, exclusions, dates, etc)
– our Liability Waiver
Once you have reviewed the information above and you are comfortable with proceeding, we require a 10% deposit of the trip fee and online booking form completed, done through the “Book Now” button on the trip webpage.
Your trip deposit is fully refundable up to 90 days prior to your expedition start date. On this date, your remaining trip fees are due and all payments become non-refundable.
Once your expedition is within 90 days of departure we are unable to offer a refund for any reason if you cancel your participation.
Please read carefully: Should your expedition departure have to be cancelled, postponed or altered by a force majeure (including but not limited to: weather, poor visibility, or mechanical breakdown causing delayed or cancelled charter flights or helicopter journeys, fire, flood, pandemic, highway closures, community evacuations, ongoing or newly introduced travel ban or government statement), Jackpine Paddle and its partner operators are not obligated to provide a refund or offer alternative travel services.
We strongly encourage you to purchase:
1) Emergency Medical/Evacuation Insurance,
2) Trip Interruption Insurance and
3) Trip Cancellation Insurance – so that you are covered in the event of an unexpected change of plans.
To review our complete Terms & Conditions for Booking, Payment, and Cancellation – please click here.
Age is a mindset, and kayaking is an activity that is truly for everyone. Age is not important. What counts is your spirit and that you are reasonably fit. We have had people paddle with us in their early nineties.
If you are a single paddler, you are more than welcome to join us on one of our trips.
There are additional fees if you opt for a solo tent, or local accommodations when provided – as these are based on double-occupancy.
Our trips typically have 2-3 guests who are traveling alone, so you will have the opportunity to meet and paddle with other like-minded individuals.
One of the best parts of our guided trips is the chance to meet and get to know other paddlers. We hope to see you on one of our trips soon.
If you have questions, we are happy to answer them!
You can get in touch with us at the bottom of this page, or at info@jackpinepaddle.com.
To check out our detailed Getting Started trip planning resource, click here!
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