A coureur des bois or coureur de bois (kuʁœʁ de bwa, woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

s runner; plural: coureurs de bois) was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian woodsman who traveled in New France

New France

New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...

 and the interior of North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. They travelled in the woods to trade various things for fur.

A coureur des bois was an adventurer with many skills, including those of businessman, and of an expert canoeist.