The Land Canadian Adventures.
ORCKA, WFR and NLS-certified backcountry canoe tripping and outdoor education out of Apsley in North Kawartha
The brief.
The Land Canadian Adventures is a family-run outdoor education and wilderness guiding company based at 10026 Highway 28 in Apsley, in North Kawartha Township. Cofounders Briagh Hoskins-Hasbury and Bretton Clark hold ORCKA, Wilderness First Responder, and National Lifeguard Society certifications, and their team runs four-season backcountry trips across Algonquin, Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park, French River, and the Lower Madawaska River, with a partnership for bushcraft instruction through Caleb Musgrave of Canadian Bushcraft. Programs span youth canoe-tripping camps, cottage-delivered kids' programming, guided day paddles, team-building courses on Trent University and Fleming College campuses, and wilderness leadership certifications. The operator is in its eleventh year and has paused new bookings while licencing its program library to associate organisations.
11. ways in.
- 01
Paddle to the Pub
For: Adults and groupsWhen: Contact for detailsA guided canoe day trip down Eels Creek and High Falls, or across Lake Katchewanooka, ending meters from the Canoe and Paddle pub's patio in Lakefield for a pint and a plate. Every paddle begins with a dock-talk and on-water lesson, and The Land supplies gear, refreshments, and shuttle service.
Contact for details
- 02
Young Trippers
For: Teens with prior camp experienceWhen: Contact for detailsA six-day overnight backcountry canoe trip in Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park — paddling, portaging, and campfires. Positioned as the step-up program after the Camp-to-Cottage age range.
Contact for details
- 03
Camp-to-Cottage
For: Kids ages 6–11When: Contact for detailsA "we bring the camp to you" format for cottage families: one guide travels to the cottage property for three hours each morning with up to five campers. Activities are personalised — paddling, swimming, fire building, plant and animal identification, fort building. The program originated from a Jack Lake pilot.
Contact for details
- 04
Custom Backcountry Trips
For: All experience levels; familiesWhen: Four-seasonCustom-planned guided trips across Algonquin, Kawartha Highlands, and French River, including Family Backcountry, Winter Family Backcountry, a Forest Therapy Paddling Retreat, and a Winter Camping Workshop co-led with Caleb Musgrave of Canadian Bushcraft. Bookings run through The Land's Custom Experience Intake Questionnaire.
Contact for details
- 05
School of the Wild Arts
For: Adults pursuing arts and traditional skillsWhen: Contact for detailsA catalogue of half-day, all-day, and overnight backcountry experiences blending paddling with creative practice: Path of the Masters (plein-air painting referencing Bill Mason, Tom Thomson, and the Group of Seven), Wild Foodies (wild edibles and medicinal plant foraging), Bushcraft Skills (knife and axework with a survival scenario), and F-Stops and J-Strokes (paddling photography). The Festival of the Wild Arts Retreat combines the four formats.
Contact for details
- 06
Young Leaders
For: Young paddlers with prior canoe experienceWhen: Contact for detailsA six-day whitewater canoe trip down the Lower Madawaska River, advancing paddlers beyond flatwater basics into rapid-control technique. Participants earn ORCKA certifications recording their progression.
Contact for details
- 07
Wilderness Leadership Training
For: Aspiring full-time outdoor educators and wilderness guidesWhen: Contact for detailsCoursework in the core credentials for full-time outdoor work — National Lifeguard Society, Wilderness First Responder through Wilderness Medical Associates, and ORCKA Canoe Trip Leadership — plus Ontario Wilderness Living Skills™ certifications in Safe Axe and Knife Handling, Fire Building and Management, and Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants.
Contact for details
- 08
Learning Languages Outdoors
For: Kids and teensWhen: Contact for detailsOutdoor programming designed to upgrade campers' language skills, offered in core French and English as a second language, in partnership with Lakefield College School.
Contact for details
- 09
Obstacle Course (team building)
For: Teams and groupsWhen: Contact for detailsA mudder-style team-building course built on Trent University's or Fleming College's campus drumlins and river valleys. Stations include a haybale steeplechase, lava pit, military crawl, and a 50-foot mudslide; teams complete the loop in 20–30 minutes.
Contact for details
- 10
Speaking Engagements
For: Organisations, conferences, schoolsWhen: Contact for detailsWorkshops and keynote talks delivered by cofounders Briagh Hoskins-Hasbury and Bretton Clark, drawing on outdoor adventure guiding and the operator's own entrepreneurship story.
Contact for details
- 11
Gifts & Gear
For: Supporters and paddling friendsWhen: Year-round (mail order)Two merchandise items — the Canoe Critical Mass Puzzle (jigsaw commemorating the Lock 'n Paddle event) and the Iconic Drone Shot Print (commemorating National Canoe Day in Peterborough). Payment by etransfer only.
$30 / $47.77 (Canoe Critical Mass Puzzle, pickup vs Ontario delivery); $22.60 (Iconic Drone Shot Print, pickup or local delivery)
Worth knowing.
- 01The Land is currently winding down: "now in its eleventh year… it is time to close this chapter of our work. We are not taking on new projects at this time."Source ↗
- 02Co-founded by Briagh Hoskins-Hasbury (BA, ORCKA Instructor, WFR, NLS) and Bretton Clark (BA, MAEd, ORCKA CTI2, WFR, NLS).Source ↗
- 03Based at 10026 Highway 28, Apsley, ON, in North Kawartha Township.Source ↗
- 04Wilderness leadership training offered in National Lifeguard Society (NLS), Wilderness First Responder via Wilderness Medical Associates, and Canoe Trip Leadership via ORCKA.Source ↗
- 05Traditional-skills instruction delivered through Ontario Wilderness Living Skills™ — Safe Axe and Knife Handling, Fire Building and Management, Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants.Source ↗
- 06Bushcraft Master Trainer partnership with Caleb Musgrave (founder of Canadian Bushcraft) for traditional-skills instruction across all team members and a four-seasons outdoor skills partnership.Source ↗
- 07Young Trippers — 6-day overnight backcountry canoe adventure in Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park; Young Leaders is the whitewater follow-on, a 6-day trip down the Lower Madawaska River with ORCKA certifications.Source ↗
- 08Paddle to the Pub is a guided day trip down Eels Creek and High Falls or across Lake Katchewanooka, in partnership with the Canoe and Paddle pub in Lakefield; The Land provides gear, refreshments, and shuttle.Source ↗
- 09Team-building Obstacle Course built on Trent University and Fleming College campuses — haybale steeplechase, lava pit, military crawl, and a 50-foot mudslide; teams complete in 20–30 minutes.Source ↗
- 10Camp-to-Cottage is a "we bring the camp to you" format for ages 6–11 — one guide for up to five campers, three hours per morning, delivered to the family's cottage property; originated from a Jack Lake (Apsley area) pilot.Source ↗
- 11Learning Languages Outdoors is delivered in partnership with Lakefield College School in core French and English as a second language.Source ↗
- 12School of the Wild Arts™ catalogue: Path of the Masters (plein-air painting), Wild Foodies (foraging), Bushcraft Skills, F-Stops and J-Strokes (paddling photography), and the Festival of the Wild Arts Retreat — offered as half-day, all-day, and overnight experiences.Source ↗
- 13Land acknowledgement to Nogojiwanong and The Land Between, with explicit commitments to share Indigenous-rooted natural history through wild edibles, food preparation, and site interpretation.Source ↗
Get in
touch.
- Website
- canoecampingtrips.ca
- Email (Cofounder Bretton Clark / Gifts & Gear etransfer)
- bretton@thelandcanadianadventures.com
- Phone
- (705) 927-2174
- Phone (Sally Russell, Program Coordinator)
- 705-931-5305
- Address
- 10026 Highway 28, Apsley, Ontario, K0L 1A0