About Us
Our Story & Mission
Our Adventures
Born of originality, a commitment to unparalleled off-the grid service, and a passionate desire to connect all people to the restorative majesty of Algonquin's wilderness - our adventures have a character that simply cannot be replicated.
Our Story
Voyageur Quest came from an idea I had during a long arduous canoe trip in Northern Ontario. I was working for another company at the time that specialized in taking people out of their comfort zones for 23-day canoe trips. The days were long and the food limited. The scenery however was spectacular. Waterfalls, jack pine forests with sphagnum moss, caribou swimming across lakes, pike and walleye on every second cast. It was so unfortunate that we had to rush through it on another day paddling and portaging from sunrise to sundown. Why couldn’t we come back here and stay for a week! Have nowhere to go! Explore, swim, fish, – and bring lots of good food! Why not come back with friends and have a comfortable time in the wilderness! The idea of a comfortable wilderness vacation was born and Voyageur Quest took out its first comfortable adventure to Algonquin Park the next fall. It was 1991. Over the last 29 years, Voyageur Quest has built all of our trips on the idea that a trip in nature can be a vacation- something fun and enjoyable. Choosing Algonquin Park, and more specifically the northwest corner of Algonquin Park, to be our home was less arbitrary. The Algonquin area has deep roots in my family. My mother Marion Langford (nee Barker) was Head Counselor of a summer girl’s camp, Camp Inawendawin on St. Mary’s lake near Dorset, Ontario in the 1950’s. Her days were spent tripping through Lake of Bays on sailboats or into Algonquin in canoes. Prior to working at Inawendawin, my mother spent all of her summers with her grandparents on Lighthouse beach on Lake Nipissing and their house in Powasson. Powasson and this part of the South River are just a short drive away north from our present day Algonquin Log Cabin and canoe trip outpost locations on Surprise and Kawawaymog Lake.
My grandmother and great grandfather, T. H. Reid, on Lake Nipissing , 1920
Elzwood Barker, my grandfather , on the South River. June 1921
On the other side of my family, Ken Langford, a cousin of my father’s great grandfather, started one of Canada’s oldest canoe companies Langford canoes, located in Dorset, Ontario. My love for the Algonquin area, canoes, and a sense of adventure come from these family roots.
Since taking out our first trip in the summer of 1991, Voyageur Quest has evolved from a one-person operation to one of Canada’s most recognized adventure travel companies. Our journey has been immensely satisfying. Growth has been slow and steady- one customer at a time. Our customers are what have made this journey feel so special. Our business is small and unique, not exactly the type of place you find in mainstream travel agencies. Our customers have had to search to find us and when they did find us, it was like a reunion of old friends. Kindred spirits who love to be off to be off the beaten track. We have been so incredibly lucky to work in a business that attracts such interesting and well-traveled guests.
Our Algonquin Log Cabin, built in the fall of 1997, was created as a way for our guests to enjoy a wilderness trip but avoid camping. Our Algonquin Cottage Outpost purchased in 2000 and renovated in 2003, offers deluxe solar -powered comfort for those couples and families looking for a private adventure.
In 2009, we purchased what was locally known as “Wattie’s Island” in the middle of Kawawaymog Lake. Once owned by Algonquin Park Ranger Tom Wattie, the Island has a great historical to past Ranger life connection to famous Canadian painter Tom Thomson. This tiny island is a wonderful spot for couples and artists keen to paint and photograph.
Our adventure vacations are considered “Best in Class“. Going all the way back to 1998, the Canadian Tourism Commission selected our 3-day Algonquin Park winter adventure, Footsteps of the Pioneer as the Best Winter trip in Canada in the Learning and Culture category. In 1999 and again in 2000, Voyageur Quest was again selected by the CTC as one Canada’s top 50 Ecotourism and soft adventure companies. We are proud of our past but continue to work very hard to find new ways to improve our trips and offer excellent value to our guests. In 2011, and continuing to today, Voyageur Quest’s Algonquin canoe and log cabin adventure has been selected by the Canadian Tourism Commission as of of Canada’s “signature experiences”.
Our growth continue as we continue to search for new ways for our guest to discover Algonquin. In 2013, we added Voyageur Outfitting, a canoe outfitter to our operation. Perfect for a DIY adventure, Voyageur Outfitting offers canoe, kayak and SUP rentals , overnight cabins before and after your trip and best of all – the Broken Paddle Patio . The Patio is liscened with cold beer , wine and excellent BBQ fare.
Voyageur Quest today is a small team of hard working individuals who are determined to provide the best possible adventure experience to our clientele. Collectively, our mission continues to be to outdoors in a fun and comfortable way.
Hope to see you soon,
John
John Langford
Director and Owner
Voyageur Quest and Voyageur Outfitting
Our Mission
Voyageur Quest creates adventure and opportunities for connections between people and the natural world while being active. We work to offer first-class Algonquin adventures with unparalleled off-the grid service. We believe the outdoors is for everyone. Today more than ever, we aim to nurture the craving to connect: to laugh around a fire, share the ritual of morning dip, cast a line and share the anticipation. It's always been about this natural connection.... to the place, to the people, to the rhythms of Algonquin Park. We firmly believe these connections make us happier and healthier.
We Support
Our mission includes supporting issues of mental health and the environment that affect all people. We wish to recognize and celebrate the organizations who work tirelessly to honor, help preserve and spread the word on both issues of mental health and the environment. We hope you will connect with the work that these organizations do.
Mental Health
The Environment
We Support
and hope to encourage involvement with these organizations.
Canada’s pre-eminent conservation organizations. They protect wilderness. They collaborate with communities, governments, First Nations, scientists and progressive industry to protect nature and find solutions that work for the planet and for all.
A human connection movement whose mission is to make the world a happier and healthier place by reminding people about the importance of face to face social connection.
ACCESSIBILITY AND DIVERSITY
Our Committment to Diversity and Inclusion to our guests
At Voyageur Quest, we are proudly Canadian and deeply committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive environment where all our guests feel safe, respected, and truly at home in nature. Nestled in the beauty of the Algonquin wilderness, our experiences are shaped by the belief that the outdoors is a place of connection—where people from all walks of life can come together, unplug, and feel a sense of belonging.
While our adventures may involve physical challenge, they are grounded in care, kindness, and community. We warmly welcome guests from across Canada and around the world, and we are honoured when people choose to spend time with us. In a time when many people are searching for active and meaningful experiences, we strive to offer adventures that create a sense of connection to nature, to family and friends (both old and new), and to a sense of place.
We celebrate the diversity of our guests and do not discriminate based on nationality, identity, gender, culture, age, sexual orientation, or belief. Whether you’re travelling solo, with family, or with friends, our goal is to offer an experience rooted in respect, authenticity, and a shared love of outdoor activities and Algonquin Park’s iconic beauty.
Our Committment to Diversity and Inclusion to our staff
Voyaguer Quest is committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.
All of our employees are the most valuable asset we have. Our achievements, culture and reputation are the result of the sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities and talent that our employees offer and invest into our adventure tour company each and every day.
We embrace and encourage our employees’ differences in age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make our employees unique.
Voyageur Quest’s diversity initiatives are applicable—but not limited—to our practices and policies on recruitment and selection; compensation and benefits; professional development and training; promotions; layoffs; terminations; and the ongoing development of a work environment built on the premise of gender and diversity equity that encourages and enforces:
- Respectful communication and cooperation between all employees.
- Teamwork and employee participation, permitting the representation of all groups and employee perspectives.
- Work/life balance through flexible work schedules to accommodate employees’ varying needs.
- Employer and employee contributions to the communities we serve to promote a greater understanding and respect for the diversity.
All employees of Voyageur Quest are expected to exhibit conduct that reflects inclusion during work, at work functions on or off the work site, and participative events. Any employee found to have exhibited any inappropriate conduct or behavior against others may be subject to disciplinary action.
Website Services and Accessibility
Voyageur Quest strives to ensure that its website services are accessible to people with disabilities. Voyageur Quest has worked to ensure that its website is made easier to use and more accessible for people with disabilities, with the strong belief that website accessibility efforts assist all users and that every person has the right to live with dignity, equality, comfort and independence.
www.voyageurquest.com makes UserWay’s Web Accessibility Widget available which is powered by a dedicated accessibility server. The software allows www.voyageurquest.com to improve its compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1).
The www.voyageurquest.com accessibility menu can be enabled by clicking the accessibility menu icon that appears on the corner of the page. After triggering the accessibility menu, please wait a moment for the accessibility menu to load in its entirety.
Voyageur Quest continues its efforts to constantly improve the accessibility of its site and services in the belief that it is our collective moral obligation to allow seamless, accessible and unhindered use also for those of us with disabilities.
In an ongoing effort to continually improve and remediate accessibility issues, we also regularly scan www.voyageurquest.com with UserWay’s Accessibility Scanner to identify and fix every possible accessibility barrier on our site. Despite our efforts to make all pages and content on www.voyageurquest.com fully accessible, some content may not have yet been fully adapted to the strictest accessibility standards. This may be a result of not having found or identified the most appropriate technological solution.
If you are experiencing difficulty with any content on www.voyageurquest.com or require assistance with any part of our site, please contact us during normal business hours as detailed below and we will be happy to assist.
If you wish to report an accessibility issue, have any questions or need assistance, please contact Voyageur Quest Customer Support as follows:
Email: [email protected]
Canoe Trips
Winter
Family
Canoe and Lodge
Sea Kayaking
Algonquin
Log Cabin
Wildlife and Photography
Algonquin Cottage Outpost
Toronto Island Team Building
The Duke of Edinburgh
Schools and Outdoor Education
Weddings
