From British Columbia to Newfoundland and everywhere in between across Canada, unlimited recreation opportunities abound. And although it feels like there are as many tour companies offering guided experiences as there are residents of Yukon, the best way to explore and learn is with the regions’ original guides.

Indigenous-owned and led guiding companies invite adventurers to slow down and take a closer, more appreciative look at the world around them. Our three favorites, listed below, promise exploration that also respects and highlights regional Indigenous culture. While hiking in the guides’ ancestral lands, these organizations also teach histories you likely didn’t learn in school while offering an authentic perspective on the places we recreate.

Gros Morne Adventures: Multiday Outdoor Tours in Newfoundland

In eastern Canada, on the deceptively large island of Newfoundland, is a sprawling natural playground: Gros Morne National Park. And there is no better way to explore it than with Mi’kmaw-owned Gros Morne Adventures. The tour company, operated by Qalipu First Nation member Kristen Hickey since 2018, offers a multitude of outdoor experiences steeped in Indigenous culture and history, from extended dayhikes (up to 17 kilometers) to four-day backpacking trips on the Long Range Traverse with educational guides who aren’t all Indigenous, but always share local Indigenous history and culture.

As of June, the company introduced a brand new all-inclusive week-long tour, a partnership between Gros Morne Adventures and three other Indigenous-owned businesses—Upper Humber Settlement, Under The Stump, and Spirit Horse Therapeutic Arts. The five-day experience is packed with Indigenous knowledge and guided exploration. It offers highlights of the national park via hikes on pebbled bays and treeless tablelands, sea kayaking excursions, history lessons about the area’s original inhabitants, and insights into seasonal living. Of course, it’s all peppered with personal stories from multiple Indigenous guides who live and work in their ancestral lands. 

Point Grondine Park: Full-day Hiking and Paddling Adventures in Ontario

Located in Ontario between Killarney and French River provincial parks is Point Grondine Park, an 18,000-acre wilderness space owned and operated by the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory. In addition to hiking and paddle trails throughout the park, which you can explore on your own, there are multiple guided adventure opportunities available, including a half-day medicine hike complete with a history of the park and insight into some of the sustenance and healing the rich landscape offers. 

For those craving more adventure, there’s also a full-day Paddle the Park excursion from Mahzenazing Lake to Cedar Lake. This out-and-back excursion involves 5 km of kayaking and portages that takes participants into the backcountry of Point Grondine Park. The journey highlights park history, passes waterfalls where you can take a dip on hot days, and offers opportunities to spot flora and fauna like old-growth pine, moose, and beaver. It even includes a lunch of traditional foods like smoked fish and wild rice at a shady campsite at the turn around point, all in the company of skilled Indigenous guides.

Zuc’min Guiding: Custom Backpacking Itineraries in Alberta and B.C.

For those who want a more intimate and customizable experience on Canada’s wild and wonderful trails, turn to Zuc’min Guiding. Tim Patterson and his team of Indigenous guides offer highly personalized trips as opposed to pre-packaged tours. You decide where you want to go and for how long, and Zuc’min does the planning. The one exception: their Ice Walks, which invite guests to don crampons and head out on the Athabasca Glacier.

The team offers tailored hiking trips in the mountains of Alberta and British Columbia, from Hope to Banff. Along the way, guides will share Indigenous history of the surrounding parks and trails, point out important landmarks, and regale hikers with stories from the region’s first residents who still call the area home.