Review: Be Inspired to Start a New Life in the Canadian Wilderness with National Geographic’s “Northwoods Survival”

Explore the journeys of several aspiring homesteaders as they create new lives living off the land.

The upcoming National Geographic series takes viewers through the vast and treacherous Canadian wilderness. Braving all four seasons, several homesteaders will face the harsh conditions of the country’s rugged landscape they strive to call home.

It’s time to leave the city behind. Northwoods Survival introduces viewers to Margot, Matty, Billy, and Emilie and Gilbert, all aspiring to find a life living in different areas of Canada’s sprawling wilderness. In the first episode, winter is fast approaching. Margot, a young French woman, decides to begin a new life in Yukon. Matty, who has found a home in Newfoundland, needs to prepare his homestead for winter. Billy begins preparation for winter to upgrade his cabin. Emilie and Gilbert make their first moves on their journey to create the perfect backwoods home for their family. Throughout the first four episodes, viewers will get to see how these individuals thrive off the land. While all of them have a collection of modern tools, for the most part, these nature-inclined survivalists create impressive homes and lifestyles purely living with the land. Viewers will get to see how each individual crafts their homesteads, how they hunt, where they find their resources, and the joy they all share from being connected with nature.

I had the pleasure to check out the first four episodes of Northwoods Survival. While I’ve always been city-folk, this series was a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of living in a major metropolitan area. These people are tough, down to earth, and highly skilled, making their journeys a thrill to experience. While the beauty of nature is the highlight of this easy watch, seeing how each individual uses their skills to survive in the many regions of Canada’s forests made me want to try my hand at living in the wilderness. While I know I couldn’t build a cabin on my own, these people make it look so easy, peaceful, and rewarding. Getting to step into their world as they build bridges across streams, create stoves to keep their cabins warm for winter, hunt and gather food, and even raise entire cabins up off the ground to protect them from water damage allowed me to escape into a simpler lifestyle. Northwoods Survival is probably the closest I’ll ever get to an isolated life in the wilderness, but I’d be lying if I said this show didn’t make me consider it. If you are looking for a lowkey series that allows you to escape into another life, Northwoods Survival is a must-add to your watchlist.

Northwoods Survival premieres on National Geographic on October 15th with new episodes premiering every week through December 10th. Episodes will stream the next day on Hulu.

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Maxon Faber
Based in Los Angeles, California, Maxon is roller coaster and musical theatre nerd. His favorite dinosaur is the parasaurolophus, specifically the one in Jurassic World: The Ride.