Mississippi River Expeditions, led by University of Mississippi alumnus Matthew Burdine, offers guided canoe adventures on the Mississippi River for individuals and groups of all experience levels.
Based in Memphis, the company runs privately chartered trips ranging from half-day excursions to multi-day camping experiences, with departures launching from the Mud Island Marina near downtown Memphis.
Designed to give participants a unique and immersive way to explore one of the largest rivers in North America, these trips offer a fully guided, all-inclusive adventure that lets guests connect with the river’s natural landscape without prior canoeing knowledge.
“I opened this company about five years ago to bring a Grand Canyon-style expedition experience to the Mississippi River,” Burdine said.
Burdine provides a variety of trips, including 2-hour, 6-hour and multi-day trips. The shorter trips give participants the opportunity to see the river from a new perspective while staying close to home.
“What we’re doing on the Mississippi River is what people have been doing for thousands of years,” Burdine said. “Native American cultures have traveled up and down this river, and it looks exactly the same as it did back then.”
Despite its muddy and uninviting reputation, Burdine believes the river reveals a different kind of beauty — one that is expansive and immersive.
“The canyons of the west, the mountains and deserts are these vertically grand worlds, but on the Mississippi River, you’re in a horizontally grand world that has the same effect as those big worlds out west,” Burdine said.
Burdine graduated from UM in 2008 with his bachelor’s degree in finance and in 2010 with his master’s degree in business administration. Instead of choosing a career based on his degree, he ultimately followed his childhood passion for nature and moved west to become a whitewater river guide and ski instructor.
“I have always loved being outside in nature, especially on the water,” Burdine said. “Growing up between the Mississippi Delta, Colorado and Florida, water was always a part of my life. Once I got to college, my canoe became a magic carpet I would take to all the lakes and rivers around Oxford.”
Burdine set out on a solo canoe trip down the Mississippi River in 2015. At the time, solo journeys were less common and drew attention from the press. He took the opportunity to raise funds for breast cancer research with the title “A Million Strokes For a Cure.”
“It was my own spiritual odyssey,” Burdine said. “I partnered with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation because I lost my mom in 2003 to breast cancer, so that gave me motivation and a cause while paddling.”
Burdine hopes to share his love for the Mississippi River with more than just Memphis locals. He hopes to partner with university organizations to recruit college students to explore the river located just an hour from campus, but he has not developed any partnerships yet.
“I’m just trying to show as many people as possible this magical wilderness world that’s right off our doorstep,” Burdine said. “Oxford is right off Memphis’ doorstep, which is a big river wilderness that needs to be seen.”
That sense of accessibility is what drives him to invite both locals and visitors to step outside their routines and into the water.
“Oxford is a paradise, but get out of that bubble and get on the river with your friends,” Burdine said. “Put together a crew and make a trip out of it, or just come out for the day.”
For those who take the tour, the experience becomes far more memorable than expected. UM alum Robert Skremetta first connected with Burdine during college and has experienced Burdine’s tour.
“I have done the Mississippi River expedition with Matt where we departed for the launch north of Memphis after breakfast and coffee on Mud Island,” Skremetta said.
Skremetta’s time on the river reflects the kind of adventure Burdine aims to create — one that blends exploration and genuine appreciation for the river. What stood out most, he explained, was not just the journey itself but the depth of the experience.
“Matt (Burdine) was an enthusiastic guide showing off the river, and (he has) his really cool 27-foot canoe with a sail, similar to the voyager-style canoes used by trappers and explorers,” Skremetta said. “It was thoroughly interesting and relaxing all at once. We found fossils, a wild watermelon patch, saw wildlife and got some great stories from Matt (Burdine), a skilled story teller. We returned around sunset and took a lot of great photographs and drone shots along the way.”
