St. Francis River - Whitewater Paddling Sections

Whitewater Paddling Sections

General overview and logistics:

The most popular section of the St. Francis river for whitewater boating is divided in to two sections, the Upper and the lower. The Upper section's put in is near Fredericktown Missouri, off of HW 72 just after it crosses the river. the put is also located just upstream of where Stouts creek joins in with the St. Francis River. The take out for the upper St. Francis is at Millstream Gardens Conservation Area or slightly downstream of that at Tiemann Shut-ins which also serves at the usual put-in for the lower St. Francis. The total 5mial stretch that encompasses both the upper and the Lower St. Francis River ends at Silver Mines Recreation Area (old highway D bridge).

Upper St. Francis:

The upper section of the river is much less technical than the lower and also has extensive flat water sections between rapids. The upper section is the longer of the two section at 3.2 miles. At the put-in for the upper section the water is very calm and is a great place for beginner paddlers to practice skills and rolling. Following the calm pool the river constricts slightly as it makes a large right turn and a great eddy line is formed to practice in. The first rapid encountered on the upper is Entrance Rapid. Entrance is a long, wide rapid with a series of ledges, steeper on the right, which provide good play waves for more technical boaters at lower levels. At flood levels, Entrance Rapid can be hazardous due to the willows growing along the sides and can present a challenge greater than the whitewater! The second rapid on the upper is Kitten’s Crossing and consists of a series of 3 drops with the third having a sizable surfing, wave/hole and a service eddy on the left. The final rapid for the upper is Land of Oz and has two back-to-back surfing waves on the left but the drop just below that collects wood and debris, so be cautious. (Land of Oz is named in honor of Oscar “Oz” Hawksley, an early exploratory paddler from Missouri and officer in the American Whitewater Affiliation.) After a several pools, the river makes a bend to the right before the take-out at Fisherman’s Access in Millstream Gardens Conservation Area.

Lower St. Francis:

The lower section is the much more exciting half of the river and contains the largest rapids, but is also the shorter section of the river at 2.3 miles in length. "This is Missouri's premier whitewater run. Probably 80% of the whitewater paddling in Missouri occurs on this section of the St. Francis River with the other 20% taking place either on the Upper St. Francis, on the whitewater creeks close to the St. Francis, on the Mississippi River Chain of Rocks at St. Louis, or at park-and-play spots around the state."

The put-in at (Tiemann Shut-ins) in Millstream Gardens Conservation Area, marks the beginning of a granite gorge with the river dropping 60 feet per mile. The whitewater action picks up immediately and continues through four major drops known as Big Drop, Cat's Paw, Double Drop, and Rickety-Rack. Throughout the lower St. Francis there are numerous play-spots with surfing waves/holes found everywhere. Downstream of Rickety-Rack, a high bluff can be seen on the right where Mud Creek enters on river right. The entrance of mud creek onto the Lower St. Francis is a good place to stretch you legs and take a small hike up the creek. The creek can be floated down at really high water, but an inner-tube would probably work best. After mud creek and a slow section, Turkey Creek enters on the left at Turkey Creek Picnic Area, part of the USFS Silver Mine Recreation Area. Following this the river bends to the right and is divided briefly by a forest of willow trees. This section contains some small happy white water and slightly higher levels can produce some small surfing waves. The left rout in the Willow jungle contains a small squeeze between two rocks. After the willows the river flows into a pool formed by the Silver Mines Dam, left over from long-ago mining activity. A breach blown in the left side of the dam provides a class II - II+ rapid at normal to moderate river levels. At higher levels when the river is near or over D bridge(6ft), a dangerous hole forms, that just keeps getting bigger as the level rises. When the river is high enough for the entire dam to be covered (8ft), the extremely hazardous pour-over is best if portaged around on river-right. When at lower levels, due to the large flat rocks bordering river left and the huge eddy one river right, the Dam is a very popular spot to stop and rest/eat/play. Downstream from the dam the only remaining rapids of note are Little Drop and Fat Man’s Squeeze. At levels below 5ft, Little Drop makes for an amazing surfing hole/wave. The river continues fairly slow until the take-out at the low-water bridge in the USFS Silver Mines Recreation Area.