Highlights
- The folks of the Missouri Whitewater Association are fabulous and “The Saint” is their goto river for whitewater. Their member are do a variety of trainings: pool sessions, moving water sessions, swiftwater rescue, and more. Plus, many are happy to lead you down the river and do their best to keep you safe. Friendly, fun, helpful, and selfless. If you dig whitewater, you’ll quickly have a new group of friends.
- While Missouri is mostly known for it’s laid-back (and sometimes drunken) float trips, the Saint offers a real whitewater experience (when the water is high enough).
Lowlights
- The Saint Francis is not spring-fed or dam fed and thus only has enough water when it has been wet a bunch or there was a big rain. In Winter and Spring, it is usually runable. In Summer and Fall, it usually is not. You have to keep an eye on the guages and more specifically, the updates on the D-Bridge level from the Facebook Group.
Links
- Missouri Whitewater Association – If you want to paddle the whitewater section of the St. Francis
- MWA Facebook Group – this is the best place to learn about the river level, groups meeting to paddle, see what the crazy people do when the river and creeks get really big, and just generally connect with the MWA folks.
- The Rapids of the lower Saint – A good video showing running of all the rapids of the lower saint with labels so it is clear which is which.
Tags
When it comes to adventure, for me, it doesn’t get any better than whitewater kayaking. Options for whitewater in Missouri are very limited. The St. Francis, though, checks all the boxes for an excellent whitewater experience.
The main challenge is that the Saint Francis is fed only by run-off of rain water from the surrounding hills so the whitewater features are only runnable when there’s been enough rain. In Winter and Spring, it is often runable. In Summer and Fall, it is generally only runable after a big rain. The diehard folks, and there are lots of them, will paddle through the winter in dry suits. The Roselle gauge generally has to be above 3 feet for the river to be at its best. But the best way to know is to follow the Facebook group. The campground host and other folks will generally post a pic of the D-Bridge level when it is high enough.
When the water is high enough, people meet up at “D-Bridge” (the parking lot near the old Highway D bridge), at Silver Mines recreation area. Often at 10am .
