The Missouri Posted by: alan_gage on Jul-11-12 3:56 PM (EST)
Depending on what kind of water you're looking to paddle you might be interested in paddling the Missouri below the dam at Yankton, SD. It's actually a national park and one of the few stretches of river left that's supposed to be somewhat close to its natural state. It's wide, twisty, and has LOTS of sand bars. Much of the rest of the Missouri along there is reservoirs or channelized. Some rarish birds, if you're into that sort of thing, rely on that stretch for the habitat of sand bars (Piping Plover and Least Tern). I'm in between your scheduled stopping points (Estherville, IA, about 20 miles south of I-90) but would be happy to show you some paddling spots around here if you decide to have a short driving day. Nice river flows through town (which may or may not have water when you're coming through) and some really nice lakes nearby. Alan