There are three popular trips, each taking between one and two weeks to complete and each requiring a different skill level.

Upper Stikine from Tuaton Lake to the Highway 37 bridge
This trip traverses 264 kilometres of river up to Grade 2. At least 8 to 10 days are required to canoe this route, with extra days needed for hiking or relaxing. When doing this trip, it is recommended that you stay at Tuaton Lake for a couple of days if you wish to include hiking. Another option would be to fly into the lake for any length of time, and be flown out again. The fishing on the three headwater lakes (Happy Lake, Tuaton Lake and Laslui Lake) is very good. Rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, Arctic grayling and mountain whitefish are the principal species. A B.C. fishing license is required to fish in the lakes or river. Hiking is very good around the headwater lakes, with some bushwhacking required to get into the alpine, but unlimited hiking once there. Once you commit to the river, the hiking is limited.

The float plane operators may tell you that you can choose from three put-ins, either Happy, Tuaton or Laslui Lake. Of the three, Happy Lake is the highest, Tuaton next and Laslui the lowest. Most people choose Tuaton Lake, with access to fantastic hiking. There is a required portage around a waterfall below Happy Lake. We ran into a group who had been dropped at Happy Lake and had nightmarish stories of the portage! They found a distinct lack of trail, but plenty of swamp and bugs! However, I'm sure the lake is beautiful, and also has access to great hiking. Tuaton makes a great trip start, or the trip can be shortened by one day by starting on Laslui Lake. Be warned that there is a fishing lodge at the west end of Laslui Lake with a generator, so if you plan to camp on the lake, choose the east end to avoid the constant hum. There are four rapids of significance on the river from Tuaton to the Highway 37 take-out, three of which have portage trails. These rapids can be tricky at any water level.

The Spatsizi and upper Stikine
This trip is slightly easier than the upper Stikine, as its beginnings are without major rapids for one third of its 253 kilometres. This trip is the Spatsizi and upper Stikine. The most popular access to the put-in is by driving up the abandoned B.C. Rail railway grade through the Klappan Valley. Once reaching the trailhead, a five kilometre-long portage takes you to the river. Flying in to the headwaters is also an option. The Spatsizi flows into the Stikine above two major rapids, one of which does not have a portage trail, thereby requiring river skills to do this trip. The take-out is at the Highway 37 bridge. An alternative take-out could be at the Upper Stikine River Outfitters lodge on river right just downstream of the confluence of the Stikine and Spatsizi. The trip would be cut down to 3 or 4 days, and one would have to fly out of the lodge.

The lower Stikine
This stretch has a few Class I chutes and a few tricky currents, but is virtually without technical rapids. The lower Stikine takes approximately one week to canoe, covering between 180 and 240 kilometres, depending on your final destination. The put-in for the lower river is below the Grand Canyon at Telegraph Creek. The usual take-out is across the international border at Wrangell, Alaska, where a float plane (if you have a folding or inflatable boat) or jet boat can take you back to your vehicle. Some parties charter a float plane to pick them up at the International border, saving a couple of days of paddling, but missing such delights as Chief Shakes Hot Springs.

Tauton Lake