Officially the canyon is described as unnavigable by any watercraft, however there have been numerous successful descents made by expert whitewater paddlers since the first attempt in 1981.

In 1980, BC Hydro began to study the feasibility of building a five-dam project in the Grand Canyon, but the plan was vehemently opposed by conservation and indigenous groups and led to a long struggle over the fate of the river.

The first one day descent of the river was completed in 2005 by Daniel DeLaVergne, John Grace, Tommy Hilleke, and Tobin MacDermott.

[3] If an emergency climb from the canyon is successful, the paddler will then be faced with a long and difficult hike through the Canadian wilderness, which can last many hours or days, before reaching a road.

In 1981 Lesser, accompanied by kayakers John Wasson, Lars Holbek, Don Banducci and Rick Fernald made the first descent attempt supported by a helicopter and a film crew from ABC's American Sportsman.

The team completed 60% of the canyon before the film crew, satisfied with their footage, cut the trip short after Site Zed, leaving the difficult lower section un-run.

Delays due to wildly rising and falling water levels and the careful scouting that was needed to analyze the rapids, caused the descent to last several days longer than planned.

This ultimately led to the film production crew withdrawing its helicopter support in the Lower Narrows due to cost overruns.

Kayakers Lesser, Holbek and McDougall continued, running V-Drive and completing the final section and thus the first descent of the entire canyon, with the exception of the Site Zed rapid.