I am hoping to take my son on a hike and float trip in 2 weeks. Maybe like a 15 mile hike, then float back to the start, or near it at least. I don't own any rivercraft, but have been rafting and kayaking on class III/IV. My son is 10, and is a strong swimmer, but I don't want to take him on anything aggressive. Does any know of a good hike that would take me to a put-in where I could rent a raft or canoe that I could take back to the start and would be picked up by the place I rented it from? I would prefer places in Wisconsin, UP, or Indiana, but I would take suggestions in Missouri and Illinois. I posted in the r/rafting community, but am also posting here in hopes of receiving good hiking recs that also have a float component. Thank You
Thanks for the reply. I emailed the Missouri Whitewater Association and got a reply. They gave me some decent recs.
Nice, that's great to hear.
I have been on the Current, Jacks Fork, Black, and Huzzah Rivers in a canoe. My spouse has also been on the upper Meramec, maybe Courtois. They are beautiful. Some may be low-ish this time of year, though it has been raining occasionally. From what I've seen and read, I think the Current and Jacks Fork may be the most scenic.
I saw in another post you only have a day. Keep in mind it's a lot of driving windy roads getting around there and that can be a good chunk of the day depending on where you're coming from/leaving to. Daylight is shorter now too. Staying a night nearby helps a LOT.
This time of year you are fully avoiding the weekend booze floats :)
At this time of year water temperature is a real safety concern in the upper Midwest. I think your trip would still be doable but be prepared. There's some good easy paddling on the Wisconsin River but I don't know of any trails that fit your plan
Same. I've been looking, and contacting and asking, but no one has given me a good answer. I've talked to people at Shotgun Eddies, Wildman, True North Outfitters, Kosirs and Wildwood. Either they're already shut down, which speaks to your point, or they don't have any recommendations that approximate the trip idea. Thank You
It's going to be hard to beat the Buffalo River Trail for a hike and float if you're willing to do to 35 miles. Perhaps the Current River section of the Ozark Trail.
BRT looks great. It's a little further than I wanted to travel. Plus my kid only has an extra day. And, while he is adventurous, in order to complete this in time I'd probably have to dragged him through it, which wouldn't be a great experience for either of us. I'm gonna keep this one in mind.
The Current River was a suggestion from the Missouri Whitewater Association. They actually have something called the Current River Challenge that is easily doable. You can look it up to find out more.
If I opt for Missouri, I might do the Challenge, or the Onodonga section of the Ozark Trail, heading east to Bass River Resort, rent a canoe and take it back towards the TH. We'll see. Still waiting on responses from places in Indiana and WI.
Thank You
Manistee National Forest, Michigan. Park at Red Bridge trailhead and hike north on the NCT or the MRT (Manistee River Trail has more water access)
When you get to the bridge up north that links the two trails again below the dam, inflate pack raft (get the Cheapos on Amazon) and float back to your car.
This is an excellent idea. And I'm gonna look at the pack rafts you mentioned. Thank You
Feel free to PM me for more details if I can be of any help. Happy to share a Gaia or CalTopo file if helpful.
Tahquemenon in the UP, start at the falls and hike to Lake Superior (on the north country trail) and then paddle back to the falls (or vice versa) I’ve never done the paddle but the hike is really nice.
Gonna take a look at this later today. Thank You
I think it's too late in the year for canoe rentals around here, but in case you want to plan a future trip or call to confirm...
Turkey Run and Shades State Park in west-central Indiana both have plenty of trails to easily rack up miles and are close enough you can hike either/both. It's about 10 miles between the two. Both have canoe/kayak rentals nearby. Pretty sure they quit running sometime in October, but I think it's pretty weather dependent, so you could always call and check. Water is getting chilly though.
Sugar Valley Canoes is a short trip down the highway from TRSP. Clements canoes is right outside of Shades/Pine Hills Nature Preserve.
Sugar Creek is more of a lazy float type of creek, but it's a pretty scenic trip from Shades through Turkey Run. Definitely kid safe, most stretches are pretty shallow.
Hey there! I looked into this. If I could link a Turkey Run-Shades hike, rent a float in Shades and take it back to Turkey Run it would be doable. But the only way to link the two is by road. And to make miles in Turkey Run you have to walk in circles which takes away from the experience of floating back to the start. And the "runs" offered by the only rental company I found stop before Turkey Run I believe. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Strict criteria? Idk, maybe. But I'm just exhausting my options before relenting and changing my idea.
There's no good way to hike Turkey Run to Shades or vice versa unfortunately. I drove by the canoe rental this morning and I didn't see anything out, so I'm guessing they are done running for the season anyway.
Sugar Valley Canoes' long trip (A to C on their map) will take you from the upstream side of Shades to the downstream side of TRSP. You'd be shuttling from TRSP up to Deers Mill and floating back through TRSP. I don't know how feasible it would be to do any hiking at Shades before you launched though.
I know there are some canoe and kayak rentals all over southern Indiana. Between the state parks and Hoosier National Forest, I guarantee there's a trail + float combination that would meet your criteria. I'm just not familiar with any of the rental companies down there, just a lot of the parks and trails.
You may want to look into something like https://www.pathfinderoutfitters.com/ I know they do private shuttles and kayak rentals all over southern Indiana. I had them and another couple places bookmarked when I was planning my Knobstone Trail hike. I had a family member available to pick me up, but wanted a back up in case my ride became unavailable for any reason. There are several other similar companies. I've never worked with any of them, so no recommendations. But I guarantee several offer what you're looking for.
Funny you mention them! Last night I looked up Knobstone shuttles knowing there was an independent outfitter or two who I could pose the adventure idea to. Seeing that service at the top, I actually reached out to Steve from https://www.pathfinderoutfitters.com/ this morning. He's putting something together for me right now. I was going to wait until it was all planned before updating the post. It will be a section of the Tecumseh and then a float down the White River. Or something like that. Details aren't all hammered out yet. Thanks though for the time you spent on this!!!!!
You could check out sections of the ozark trail. I loosely planned a hike around the current river section, but never considered if there were boat rentals anywhere nearby
Looks like Missouri might be the best option considering temps. Thank You
Not sure, but it might be worth checking out if you can string something together in the kickapoo valley reserve. There are quite a few rental places on the kickapoo, and it's a great little river for paddling. Starting with the float and hiking back might be logistically simpler, although the season is likely over at this point.
In western WI? I tried. Looked at various maps. You would have to hike north, float south. There are trails throughout both Kickapoo Valley Reserve and Wildcat Mountain State Park, but they are dispersed and don't connect except by road. Correct me if I'm wrong though. Thank You
Manistee River Trail
Missouri has some fantastic rivers, some National Wild and Scenic Riverways, some going through large state parks, Mark Twain NF.
I don’t think anything in Illinois will match it. Though if you want flat for the hike, Illinois might be better.
I’m familiar with MO and IL, but sorry, not familiar with Wisconsin, UP, or Indiana.