Missouri National Recreational River

Paddle two sections of Class 1 water on the Missouri River with a day off in between, in Northeast Nebraska, Sunday August 13 through Friday, August 18. You may be able to just do one of the two sections depending on interest

 Difficulty – Moderate to potentially difficult if there is a lot of headwind.  This is not a float trip – you must be anstrong paddler, able to paddle 6 to 8 hours a day if necessary, with early starts to mitigate wind issues.

 Hazards – braided river channels, sand and gravel bars, underwater obstructions, log jams and sweepers and perhaps some motor boats or barges.

 Both sections begin below dams and flow is dam regulated.  Current varies between 2 and 7 mph depending on water levels.  Assume an average of 3 mph, plus 3 mph paddling speed = 6 6 mph.  That means 4 to 6 hours of steady paddling will get us 24 to 36 miles of travel without headwinds.  

 “39 Mile Section”  Day 1   28 miles

                            Day 2   11 miles  we may have to switch that if we get too late a start on day 1

Day off/Rest Day     we will do the shuttle for the next section this day

 “59 Mile Section”   Day 1   23.2 miles

                             Day 2   24.1 miles

                             Day 3    10 miles

 Either section may take an extra day if we get too much headwind!  Final take out and camp is at Ponca State Park in NE.  

 The relatively limited camping options are what account for the longer mileages – camping may not be very esthetic some of the nights.  

 https://www.nps.gov/mnrr/index.htm

https://www.nps.gov/mnrr/39guide.htm

https://www.nps.gov/mnrr/59guide.htm

To register for this trip, contact Trip Coordinator, Mat Bozek   [email protected]   after April 10.