Any paddling near Kansas City, Mo?

Advice
#1

A friend is moving there.

#2

Thanks String
Yep, Bonnie and I are moving to Kansas City, actually Grandview, which is south of KC, MO. Found a few local lakes, Big Spring, Jacoma, Longview. And there’s always the Missouri River.



Also found an awesome dealer here, Kansas City Paddlers. Seems to have almost every manufacturer represented, P&H, Valley, Epic, Wilderness, Dagger, Bell, et al.

#3

You really NEED another boat.

#4

There’s a Kansas paddling group
whose website you can find without much googling. The main value is to see where people in east Kansas go when they want to paddle. Mostly to Missouri, Arkansas, and the Rockies.



While Missouri has lots of accessible rivers, I guess few are near Kansas City. Kansas has fewer nice rivers, and very restrictive river law. Recently I was scouting Kansas every way I knew how, trying to add to my states-paddled list (now up to 35). SE Kansas looked the most promising, and I focused on the Fall River which runs down through Eureka and into a reservoir. But when we got there in August, the river was way too low. Recently, SE Kansas has been very “wet,” and even some smaller rivers are runnable.

#5

KC Paddler
KC Paddler is blowing out demos, old stock, and used boats right now. Got a great deal on a couple of boats that may have been on the water once. Picked them up today. About 40% off.

#6

Found several more places
Within about 40-60 minutes from where we’ll be living.

Hillsdale Lake - 4,500 acre Lake with State Park

Clinton Lake - 35 sq mile Lake with State Park

Perry Reservoir - 12,500 acre Lake with State Park

All in Kansas.

#7

I’m from KC-
Lake down south where I live… Hillsdale is 10 minutes away, not too bad, but very windy and can get pretty busy. There is also the Kaw (or Kansas River) Typical Kansas river, big wide and muddy but a decent paddle with a slow current.



But the best paddling is in the Ozarks- closest nice river is the Elk, Big Sugar or Indian Creek… they are 3 hrs away, mayne 2.5 from where you will be living. Add another hour and you can paddle about 15 great Ozark streams.



KC Paddler is great - it’s where I got my boat as well. If you have any questions I can try and help

#8

Smithville
Smithville Lake just north of Kansas City is a fun lake to explore, especially the northern part. Lots of shore line and interesting wildlife. Some really good (and free) places to put in, also.

#9

Actually…
the farther you get from KC in MO, the better the rivers get, but there are some possibilities a little bit closer than the Elk and Big Sugar. The closest river that has somewhat of an Ozark character is the upper half of the Lamine, probably a little less than two hours away. Other rivers that are no farther and maybe a little closer than the Elk are the lower Osage below Lake of the Ozarks, the Niangua, the Pomme de Terre below Pomme de Terre Lake, and the Sac below Stockton Lake. Of those, the Sac can be heavy water if they are generating power, the Pomme is rather small, slow, and somewhat murky, the Osage is big, slow unless there is power generation, but fairly clear and quite scenic in many places, the Niangua is a true Ozark stream, relatively fast and clear and quite beautiful. It’s the only one that has canoe rentals where you can get a shuttle. There are other smaller creeks in that whole general area that are fun in higher water levels and have plenty of solitude.

#10

Just found
John Redmond Reservoir in Kansas. All this time I didn’t realize I had a reservoir named after me. I think they at least should have let me know.



Definitely gonna have to go and check out my reservoir sometime. You know, make sure they’re taking good care of it and all.