Summer Youth Program Les Voyageurs

What might it have been like to be a French fur trader paddling across the Great Lakes in the 1800s? 

Find out by signing up with Les Voyageurs, a  wilderness camping program for villagers, ages 11-18. History comes alive as you canoe, hike and camp for one, two or four weeks (the last being for high school credit). A special focus of the program is French-speaking Canada. 

Outdoor Adventure

Les Voyageurs embrace the challenge of life in a magnificent outdoor setting textbooks can only hope to describe! Your nametag will be a leather pouch you make yourself. You’ll spend lots of time in l’eau (the water) as well as time around le feu de camp (campfire). And for those who think you’ll miss the comforts of home, you’ll never guess how much fun camper (camping) can be!

Wilderness Skills

Adventure and exploration define every day as you work with your brigade mastering basic wilderness survival skills, cook roubabou (traditional pea soup) over an open fire, or prepare for the upcoming Grand Voyage (an extended canoe trip). And you’ll do it all in French! 

Every night ends with singing and storytelling around a bonfire. Please note that for participation in our Voyageur four-week high school credit program, we strongly recommend that students have at least an equivalent of one to two years of high school French.

Get ready for the Rendezvous at French Voyageur!

With native foods like wild rice and maple sugar, Voyageurs in the 1800s learned to live off the land like their Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) neighbors. Even today, nearly 200 years after the height of the beaver fur trade, many people enjoy learning about that historical time and re-enacting it in outdoor museums or re-enactment festivals. Here are some online resources about festivals around the country, Voyageur food, clothing and fun facts. Voyageur Villagers must be at least 11 years old. Click here for the Voyageur summer schedule.

White Oak
A fur trade historical center with a 1798 Northwest Company Fur post located in North America with links to many other Voyageur sites.

Northwest Journal
Articles about the fur trade, from making birchbark canoes to building fires with flint and steel.

History Comes Alive
A Canadian historical site with links to Canadian Voyageur sites.

Minnesota Historical Society
Background on the Minnesota fur trade.