CHARLEY + YUKON
RIVERS TRIP
Multi Day
- Rafting
The perfect Alaska rafting trip for all abilities
Venture deep into Alaska’s wild heart on this 8-day guided rafting expedition down the Charley and Yukon Rivers—a journey through one of the most remote and spectacular landscapes in North America. Starting in Fairbanks, we’ll fly into the headwaters of the Charley River, a designated Wild and Scenic River that flows crystal clear through untouched uplands and dramatic bluffs. Over five days, we’ll navigate fun, splashy whitewater, explore hidden side canyons, and camp on lonely gravel bars beneath endless summer light. Along the way, watch for Dall sheep on high ridges, peregrine falcons nesting in cliffs, and the occasional caribou wandering the riverbank.
As the Charley joins the mighty Yukon River, the character of the journey shifts from clearwater creeks to one of the world’s great wilderness highways. We’ll float past relics of the Gold Rush era, including Slaven’s Roadhouse and an old gold dredge, and tie our rafts together for a relaxing “mega-raft” cruise through the vast Yukon floodplain. With expert St. Elias Alpine Guides leading the way, this trip blends backcountry challenge, natural beauty, and historical intrigue—a true Alaska rafting adventure for those ready to get far off the beaten path.
Due to the remote nature of this trip, we take a simpler approach to equipment and food. You may find this trip not quite as “backcountry luxurious” as our other multi-day rafting trips.
- Float one of Alaska’s least-traveled and most pristine rivers
- Navigate exciting but approachable whitewater and splashy boulder gardens
- Opportunities for wildelife sightings and great birding
- Striking contrast between crystal-clear Charley and one of North America’s largest Rivers
- Historic exploration of Alaska’s Gold Rush frontier
- Logistics made easy for one of the hardest-to-reach floats in Alaska
Tour Details
Trip Length
8 days
Total Mileage
105mi
Whitewater
Class II-III
Launch
Gelvins
Take out
Circle, Alaska
Max Participants
9
Min Age
8 yrs old
2026 Rates
3 Participants
$8,200/person
4-6 Participants
$5,450/person
7-9 Participants
$4,770/person
Group Trip Dates
June 13 – 20, 2026 – FULL!
June 12 – 19, 2027 – Price TBD
We guarantee the 4-6 Participant Rate for all of our Group Rafting Trips, even if fewer than 4 people sign up.
If more than 6 people sign up, we will lower the rate accordingly so you get the best deal!
Private Trips with custom dates may be available. Schedule a call with our Expedition Coordinator to plan your trip today!
The “Alaska Factor”
There is a reason Alaska has such a rugged allure for the lower 48 and beyond: it is still wild! This raw and untamed landscape offers our clients the opportunity to authentically pioneer new territory and have real adventures. Part of embracing the “Alaska Factor” is understanding that things may not always go as planned and expecting the unexpected. Water levels might rise, snow might fall, glaciers may shift and move – the landscape is dynamic and unpredictable is what makes Alaska, Alaska!
All of our trips are customized as they unfold and your guide will fluidly make decisions based on weather, logistics, and group dynamics to maximize each day’s experience. There can be quite a bit of variation, but on each trip we promise a big slice of the real Alaska and authentic adventure!
DAY 0
DAY 1
In the Land of the Midnight Sun, we’ll start the day bright and early with a 4-hour drive from Fairbanks to Circle, a beautiful drive along the Steese Highway. We’ll leave a van here for our takeout on Day 8 on the banks of the mighty Yukon River. A bush plane will then start to shuttle us to our put-in at Gelvin’s Bar on the magnificent Charley River, where we’ll spend the rest of the day setting up gear and taking in the remote landscape. A fabulous dinner will accompany our spectacular views.
DAY 2
Before loading up the boats for our first day on the river, those interested in a short but strenuous hike can join their guides as they navigate to a rarely-visited destination. Near our camp at Gelvin’s Bar, lies the 1943 B-24 plane crash, written about in the amazing story, 81 Days Below Zero, detailing Leon Crane’s miraculous survival after a mid-December plane crash. After a hike or a relaxing morning, we’ll gather up camp and move a few miles downstream, taking in the splendor of the remoteness and crystal clear waters.
DAY 3
Depending on the timing of the prior day, we’ll start the morning (or the prior afternoon) with the splashiest water of the trip. Due to varying water levels, navigation through the boulder garden can be quite the labyrinth and will require scouting and teamwork.
In this bluffy section, keep a eye out for peregrine falcons, gyrfalcons, and cliff swallows, since the cliffs lining this section of the Charley River are prime nesting grounds. We’ll take out a couple times for a few short hikes before finding a lonesome gravel bar to call camp for the night.
DAY 4
DAY 5
DAY 6
Today is all about transition. Prep your mind during breakfast for a change of pace and scenery. We’ll start the day on the water with a few more slow meandering corners before we completely change speeds and enter the mighty Yukon River. Our new river is one hundred times bigger and three times faster than the last few days on the Charley – quite a change of pace! A shorter time on the water, we’ll make our way down to Slaven’s Roadhouse, a delightful stop at an incredibly well-maintained National Park Service cabin. Only a short walk away is a old gold dredge, one of the many remaining artifacts in the area from the Klondike-Alaska Gold Rush in the late 1800s. This evening we’ll share our favorite Gold Rush stories and travel back in time to imagine what an evening out here was like 200 years ago!
DAY 7
DAY 8
The final day! You mull over the journey over a fresh cup of coffee – nearly one hundred miles through a grand and peaceful wilderness. Putting on the water, you’re looking forward to the last few hours on the river, knowing you’ll reach our takeout in Circle soon enough. Our trusty vehicles await, right where we left the vehicles on Day 1. We’ll break all the gear down, load it up, have a quick lunch and start the 4-hour drive back to Fairbanks, where our journey together will officially end. Back in the real world, you’ll close your eyes and breathe deeply – the sound of running water and a gentle breeze on your face – the unreal solitude of the Charley just a memory away.
What’s included?
- Customized trip planning
- Transportation between Fairbanks and Circle, AK
- 45-minute bush flights to access the launch spot
- Your professional guide(s) – 3:1 ratio
- Orientation and a Gear Shakedown
- All the food on the trip – (starting with lunch on Day 1 and ending with lunch on Day 8)
- Group and personal rafting gear (PFDs, dry bags, boats, etc)
- Group camping gear (camp kitchen, groover, tents**)
*Upgrade to a Trip Package and have logistics included with your trip!
**We recommend that you bring your own tent if possible
What’s not included?
- Gratuities
- Personal camping and hiking gear
- Logistics
You’ll need to be in Fairbanks by 6 pm the day before the trip. In Fairbanks, you’ll meet your guides, repack your gear into dry bags, and make sure you are fully prepared to head into the backcountry.
The next morning, Day 1 of the trip, your guides will pick you up early in the morning to make the 4-hour drive to Circle. You will fly out to the put-in from here.
In the early afternoon of Day 8, you’ll take out in the tiny town of Circle. After lunch, breaking down the gear, and packing up the vans, your guides will drive you 4 hours back to Fairbanks. You are due to arrive in Fairbanks around 6 pm this evening.
Any luggage you don’t want to bring on the river with you can be stowed in the vans, and it will meet you in Circle at the end of the float.
You are responsible for your own transportation to and from Fairbanks, along with lodging in Fairbanks before and after the trip. Let us know if you need any help planning these logistics.
This is a Moderate Rafting Trip. 
Our Alaska Rafting Trips are scenic floats through incredible wilderness, and on all of our trips, you’ll hit Class II-III rapids. The glacial rivers we float run fast and cold, so we take a conservative approach, allowing everyone to have a fun and splashy time while mitigating the risks the water presents to the boats and rafters.
On this trip you can expect to go on a short hike or two each day, usually 1-5 mi total and up to ~750ft of elevation gain. Please keep in mind that there is no truly “easy” hiking terrain in the Wrangells, and often the coolest places require a little extra effort to get to. There aren’t any trails where you’re headed, so most hikes will be up dry creek beds or along the brushy edges of the river. Longer and more challenging side hikes may be accessible on certain days of the trip.
You will be camping in the rugged wilderness with no manmade shelters, toilets, or really any type of development. No special physical training or camping experience is required. We recommend our rafting trips to anyone looking for a wilderness experience at a very comfortable pace, those wanting to spend quality time with their group, or those hoping to relax while still seeing a lot. Kids ages 8+ are welcome.
GALLERY
Not sure if this is the right trip for you? Schedule a call with our Expedition Coordinator at a time that works well for you. She’ll help you narrow down which trip to choose and answer any questions you have about our trips, the local area, or surrounding logistics.
TALK WITH
OUR EXPEDITION
COORDINATOR!
FAQ
On Basecamp Trips we fly out into the wilderness and set up camp near the airstrip. From here we explore the area on a series of day hikes with lighter packs or paddles and return to the same camp every night.
Basecamp Trips are recommended for beginner campers, families with younger children, and those with injuries that may prevent them from carrying a heavy pack. We also recommend these trips for those looking for a more relaxing experience, though please note that all the terrain in the Wrangells is quite rugged so some level of athleticism is always required to get around the wilderness.
On Mini-Backpacking Trips we fly to a backcountry destination and strap on our heavy backpacks, taking a short hike to set up our first camp. Over several days, we will explore different areas on day-hikes, moving camp at least once again.
Mini-Backpacking Trips are perfect for those newer to camping and backpacking or those looking for a less physically strenuous backpacking experience in rugged Alaska. Great for kids 12 and up!
On Point-to-Point Backpacking Trips we take 4-8 days to get from backcountry destination A to backcountry destination B, moving camp every night, being completely self-sufficient, and carrying all our gear on our backs.
Our Backpacking Trips are different in difficulty as well as terrain and scenery and each presents a unique series of challenges. Alaska requires more and burlier gear which means heavier packs and the terrain and weather can be relentless – do not underestimate the challenges a trail-less wilderness presents! We do not offer any “easy” backpacking trips and do not recommend these trips for first-time or beginner backpackers.
On Rafting Trips we usually spend 2-6hrs on the river every day, stopping for lunch and short, scenic hikes before making a camp in the wilderness. Our rafting trips are scenic floats, allowing access to otherwise unattainable views and covering more miles than you ever could on foot, with some class II-III rapids in between. Rafting trips allow a slightly more “luxurious” wilderness experience than backpacking or basecamp hiking – easier on the legs, a more casual daily schedule with more time at camp, no backpack burden, more elaborate meals with fresher ingredients, etc.
We raft a few different rivers in the Wrangells and each has unique scenery and logistics, some involving bush flights and some ending way out on the coast! We recommend our rafting trips to anyone looking for a wilderness experience at a very comfortable pace, those wanting to spend quality time with their group, or those hoping to relax while still seeing a lot. Kids ages 8+ are welcome.
On Mountaineering Expeditions we access remote big-mountain terrain, usually landing on ski planes to climb and ski some of the tallest peaks in Alaska’s endless mountain kingdom! We offer small-group objective-based expeditions where the goal is to safely summit and descend a remote peak, play-style expeditions where we set up a basecamp to access some shorter but epic lines, and technical courses where the goal is to learn and practice mountaineering techniques and skills (see below). We climb and ski in a wilderness style – there are no fixed lines, no sherpas, no busy basecamp scenes and established camps, no weather stations, and usually no one on the mountain except our team. This is a different style of climbing and takes strong mental and physical fortitude as teams must be completely self-sustained. All mountaineering trips include Trip Packages with transportation and lodging logistics included (Anchorage to Anchorage).
Our mountaineering expeditions are recommended for those looking to access some of the most remote and wild mountain terrain on the planet. Each trip has a difficulty level, requires vetting and a mountaineering resume. Some trips require guide references.
On Technical Courses the goal is to learn technical skills and put them into practice on Alaska’s unique glaciated terrain. Our courses vary in length and can be highly customizable
Technical Courses are recommended for those wanting to focus on skill-building and excited to learn in an incredible outdoor classroom. All skill levels are welcome. We are not affiliated with any learning institution and these courses do not provide any type of certification. That said, we hope that what we teach you and your experience is memorable and transforms your mountain confidence and abilities!
We pride ourselves on cooking healthy and delicious meals even under the most adverse conditions! Your guide will create a custom menu based on the length and logistics of your trip, and the dietary preferences/restrictions you list in your Trip Application. All our guides are well-trained backcountry chefs and use time-tested recipes from our proprietary cookbook for their trips. We carry a plentiful and varied stock of ingredients and most meals are prepared from scratch (allowing for easy substitutions, additions or subtractions of ingredients). We only use pre-packed freeze-dried meals on summit pushes on our mountaineering expeditions.
On our backpacking and base camp trips, you can expect 3 meals a day, plus snacks of your choice. Breakfasts and dinners are usually hot meals and lunches are served cold. On mountaineering trips lunches consist of a variety of snacks as it can be hard to organize group meals while on a rope team.
We use a combination of fresh, dehydrated, and freeze-dried ingredients to make our delicious meals, however on longer backpacking and mountaineering trips your guides will use more freeze-dried foods than fresh foods to keep pack weights as low as possible.
On our rafting trips, we cook full multi-course meals with fresh ingredients and enjoy hot and cold breakfasts, cold lunches and hot dinners.
Meals for most trips start with Lunch on the first day and end with Lunch on the last day. *
*If you are signed up for a Custom Trip Package with us, it may include more meals. Check with us if you’re not sure. Mountaineering trips also include meals in McCarthy before and after the backcountry expedition.
We understand that you may have luggage or things you don’t want to bring into the backcountry with you so we have a designated area at our headquarters where your guide will label and store your stuff while you’re out. This area is not locked, however, we have never had any issues with loss or damage. If you have a small item of great value that you are particularly nervous about, we may be able to store it in our office for you – just ask your guide.
On the Chitina River, Copper River, Source to Sea, or Custom Trips with different start and end points, any luggage you leave behind with us will be brought out to meet you at the end of the trip.
