Mississippi canoeing

[kb1965]

Has anyone canoed the mississippi from Brainerd to St. Cloud? Couple of us are looking at doing a 3 day trip this summer and am looking for any helpful hints on our trip.

Kevin

[Sartell Angler]

Kevin-
I know people do it quite a bit...I live in Sartell and we have canoed from the Rice bridge to Sartell, and also from Sartell to St.Cloud. The river is really wide and slow moving from the Rice Bridge to Sartell, and this distance probably takes about 5+ hours. Once you get below the Sartell dam and are heading towards St.Cloud, it goes a lot faster since there is more current and no boat traffic. I am unfamiliar with anything further north than the Rice Bridge. As far as portaging goes, there is the Sartell Dam, the Blanchard Dam (Royalton), and then possibly a dam in Little Falls (not sure about this)....anyways, it sounds like a good trip and I'm sure you could catch plenty of smallies along the way if you are into fishing. Be sure to post back your results if you do decide to make the trip, because I was thinking of doing the same thing last year, but maybe just from Little Falls back to Sartell...I'd probably do it sometime in August once my baseball and work schedules begin to wind down.
Hope this helps and good luck/have fun.

Sartell Angler

[Navigator]

kb,
Brainerd to Little Falls is an excellent stretch for canoeing and the 1st few miles south of the Blanchard dam, but the other portions south are pretty slow. Nav

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Jon Navratil
Navigator Guide Service
www.naviguides.com
Central MN rivers & lakes

[kb1965]

Thanks guys, and yes the fishing gear is a must for me. Only problem is trying to keep tackle to a minimum. I will have a camera with and will post pics when I get back hopefully.

Kevin