What was the Canadian fur trade?

Grab a paddle and jump into a giant canoe! Early Canada was a massive, wild wilderness with no roads—just freezing, rushing rivers. Travel back to the 1600s to discover how early Canadian exploration started all because of... fashion?! That's right! People in Europe were totally obsessed with waterproof beaver hats, and explorers traveled thousands of miles across the ocean to find them. You'll meet the super-strong "voyageurs," who were tough French-Canadian river guides that paddled giant 40-foot birchbark canoes for 14 hours a day and carried heavy 180-pound packs on their backs! We'll explore the giant Hudson's Bay Company trading empire, learn how trading forts packed massive barrels of salted salmon to send all the way to Hawaii, and discover a genius wilderness super-food called pemmican! Plus, find out what happened in 1858 when beaver hats went out of style and 30,000 miners suddenly rushed to the Fraser River looking for shiny gold! It’s a wild adventure full of swamps, waterfalls, and treasure!