Starting Out:
This trip we left on Friday evening for a Friday/Saturday camping and floating excursion. Our destination was the Elk River in Missouri. The weather was gorgeous especially for this time of year. Cool but not cold, brisk air in the morning and nice temperatures throughout the day.
Traveling:
The Elk River is located in the South West corner of Missouri bordering Oklahoma and Arkansas in McDonald County. It is easy access from either state either using I-44 from the Oklahoma side or 540 in Arkansas. Highway 71 in Missouri runs right through Pineville so you'll most likely come in on that from either the North or South. We were headed to the Huckleberry Ridge Conservation Area to camp which is about 5 miles from the river just East of Pineville. It was easy to find just keep an eye out for the little brown sign that designates the area. There is a small dirt road immediately after the sign that you'll turn right on to get to a parking area near the camp sites. As far as the float access there are not many public access points on the Elk river, mostly private floats. I'm not sure if the private outfitters would allow you to put-in there or not but we decided to stick to the areas clearly marked as public access. Mt. Shira was very easy to find just to the left past Shady Beach outfitter coming from the North on Highway 59. Cowskin was also easy to find, we simply headed North on 59 to Highway 76 West then turned left (South) onto Highway 43. The access is just down a couple of miles on the right. It has a large parking area and a very nice large concrete boat ramp.
The Elk River is located in the South West corner of Missouri bordering Oklahoma and Arkansas in McDonald County. It is easy access from either state either using I-44 from the Oklahoma side or 540 in Arkansas. Highway 71 in Missouri runs right through Pineville so you'll most likely come in on that from either the North or South. We were headed to the Huckleberry Ridge Conservation Area to camp which is about 5 miles from the river just East of Pineville. It was easy to find just keep an eye out for the little brown sign that designates the area. There is a small dirt road immediately after the sign that you'll turn right on to get to a parking area near the camp sites. As far as the float access there are not many public access points on the Elk river, mostly private floats. I'm not sure if the private outfitters would allow you to put-in there or not but we decided to stick to the areas clearly marked as public access. Mt. Shira was very easy to find just to the left past Shady Beach outfitter coming from the North on Highway 59. Cowskin was also easy to find, we simply headed North on 59 to Highway 76 West then turned left (South) onto Highway 43. The access is just down a couple of miles on the right. It has a large parking area and a very nice large concrete boat ramp.
Floating:
The water level measured 3.5ft for the Elk River the few days leading up to our float trip. This is low but not especially so. The overall water level was good for this time of year (October) and we only had to get out and guide the canoe due to low water a couple of times. Compared to some rivers this is not bad at all in my opinion. The water quality was surprisingly good with very clear water. The current was a little disappointing but not unexpected considering the gradient is only 4 feet per mile on this section of the river. There are a handful of rapids, the best of which are just past the dam portage. Most of the river has a nice continuous current but there's not much in the way of rapids and there are a couple of longer sections where the water is not moving much at all. This is mainly due to the dam area which backs the river up for a good distance and forms almost a lake. The other parts are deeper and there's just not enough gradient to cause very good water flow. Over all though there are some beautiful areas and bluffs. This is not the most isolated floating so it has some different features to enjoy beside the wilderness quality you find some places. We ran across some cows who came down to the river to drink for example. This is not your typical "wildlife" but it still adds some interesting twists to a float trip. I would say the majority of this river below the Mt. Shira put-in is Class I with a couple of spots of rapids possibly Class II. There is certainly nothing more than that. The fishing looked like it might be good, we saw several fishermen who had caught some bass. Overall a fun time and we made surprisingly good time without too much serious paddling. I'd call that a win.Camping:
The campgrounds, Huckleberry Ridge Conservation Area, are deemed "primitive" and that is no exaggeration. They are in the process of making individual camp sites and eventually it will probably be a pretty nice place but for this trip it was just an open spot in some woods with a dirt road. The area had recently been clear cut which made for some nice firewood but not the most scenic camp site. The remote quality of the area is nice and the information and map shows lots of hiking trails throughout. We found a flat spot, built a fire after some difficulty getting the damper wood to light, and enjoyed some good Dutch oven cooking.Public Access:
The public access spots are as follows:
Elk River - Total 23.0 Miles:
- Highway 71 Bridge Access - Mile 24.5
- Mt. Shira Access - Mile 32.0 - Put-in (10/15/2011)
- Dam Portage - Mile 35.8
- Cowskin Access - Mile 45.3 - Take-out (10/15/2011)
Some of the more important gear we used:
Photos:
10/14/2011 - Elk River, a set on Flickr.
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