My husband and I live in Franklin County, just west of St. Louis, Missouri. We have both been camping, floating and enjoying the outdoors since before we could walk. Missouri has the most miles of floatable waterways in the country, making it a prime place for recreational boating. This blog is mostly a log of all my float trips in the Ozarks and surrounding areas. My goal is to float every river in the state and to float as many as possible from head to tail. I hope readers of this blog gain some useful information and are inspired to enjoy the natural beauty Missouri has to offer.
If you see us out on the water be sure to say hi! My name is Lee and I’m usually in my yellow Dagger kayak. DW paddles either a green Old Town canoe or his blue & white Perception kayak.
Lee
DW (Derrick)
Fllog 
Good blog, my brother Mike introduced me to this little gem of a web-site! I hope to meet you guys in person soon, take care and stay warm in that water!!
I came across your blog while I was looking for information about an access on the Meramec called Brown’s Landing. I like your blog. My husband and I live in Franklin county also! Its nice to see some other ppl from our area enjoy the waterways as much as we do!
Hi,
You have some beautiful pics on your site. I’m looking for more information about an area you seem to have visited frequently, Red Horse. Please contact me via email when you have a moment. Thanks so much.
Hi Madelyn,
You can find information about Red Horse access at this link: http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/Applications/MOATLAS/AreaSummaryPage.aspx?txtAreaID=7931
Thanks so much, that was great.
Hi Lee! We met this past weekend at a SLAG Meetup….. I love reading your blog, and looking at pictures, some of which are familiar from past floats my husband and I have been on. Just about 2 months ago we camped at Birds Nest Lodge, and floated (probably) the same float you blogged about. It’s nice to know that somebody around me loves the outdoors as much as I do… We will meet again soon. Peace 🙂
Thanks Rebekah! We will usually get back into float season in February. I will be sure to contact you next time we do a float near home. It was great to meet you at SLAG and I look forward to hanging out soon!
I would like to get on the Osage fork again, can you recommend an outfitter fro some city folk from KC? Gasconade Hills appeared to be a little squeamish about putting us on there because of trees blocking the river
Hi Steve,
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I haven’t checked the blog in a while!
Unfortunately, I do not know any outfitters for the Osage Fork/Gasconade area. I would call around different places and ask. Some outfitters are a little more adventurous than others. I do know that many outfitters are more willing to put people on in some places if you have your own boats. They just don’t want customers damaging their vessels in tricky spots. So if you own or can borrow a boat, you might have better luck. If the Osage doesn’t work out for you the Gasconade is also pretty, but it’s a slow river so you will be paddling a lot. The Niangua is an excellent river and moves a little quicker. If you can drive a little farther east the Big Piney is an excellent choice as well.
Hi guys! Some buddies and I are going to be doing our second annual father/son multi day float trip this summer and we are trying to pick a river. We did the Gasconade last year. We will be camping out on the river for two nights. We like to get out away from the crowds. I was thinking of the Current or the Jack’s Fork. I know they get busy but are there some stretches that aren’t so busy? Or do you have another river to recommend? Thanks for the help.
Sounds like a great trip! For something on the Current river, I would suggest starting at Two Rivers or Powder Mill and floating down to Van Buren. There are no outfitters on that stretch, so there are less people floating. We did this float last year in August, see Float #49 on the blog. It wasn’t very crowded at all.
Other rivers that would be good are the Big Piney near Rolla (great fishing), or if you’re up for something more adventurous, the Eleven Point in southern MO. The Eleven Point probably requires a bit more skill than the Gasconade. The water is very cold and some spots have quick runs or small rapids. I have done almost all of the Eleven Point, so look through the blog to read about that one. It’s my favorite river in Missouri.
Hope you have a fun trip and thanks for reading my blog!
wow. what a site! i will be spending hours here taking it all in. nice job! do you have a contact email if i had a question or two that maybe you’d be able to reply? thx. John
Thanks John, glad you enjoy the site. If you have any questions you can leave them in the comments on this page and I will try my best to answer them.
Hi,
I’m an editor at Vox Magazine in Columbia. We’re planning a feature story about float trips in Missouri and would love to use you as a source. Please let us know if you’re willing to help us out.
office number: (573) 884-6432 – Ask for Megan
email: voxmag.me@gmail.com
Wow! What a wonderfully written and entertaining blog…I could waste hours at work looking through all your adventures! I love the Missouri outdoors, especially the rivers! I consider myself fairly well-traveled in Missouri, but you sure have enlightened me to many hidden gems these waters bear.
If “they” ever start trying to “frack” in our state, I am going to start a Missouri Monkey Wrench Gang–and since you are such a great writer, you can be our Edward Abbey…or I guess it should be Edlyn Abbey (since you are female). Thanks again and please keep them coming.
Thanks Trey! I’m glad you enjoy the blog.
I’m looking for an outfitter for Little Piney Creek. The folks on the Big Piney said the person they knew of shut down. I’m trying to do the same as you – run as many Missouri rivers as i can – except by stand up paddle board. You have a terrific, informative site. Thanks for your help!
I do not know of any outfitters on the Little Piney. We always run our own shuttle when floating that stream.
This is a great blog! I just moved back to the St. Louis area after living out of state for several years. I look forward to reading more of your adventures and planning some of my own. Thanks! – Eric