One of the states I am looking to paddle in is North Dakota (trying to paddle in all 50). I am thinking a day or two on lakes and also doing the Pembina river gorge as a day trip and doing a more extended paddle on the “little missouri” (not to be confused with arkansas’ little misssouri.). Water level looks problematic- with the end of April and early May being the best bet for adequate flows but all of that sounds chilly to me and with chances of high flow. I am specifically looking at a 100 mile stretch through the theodore R. natl. park/grassland, sully S.P. to highway 85, with a long distance shuttle hike (Maah Daah Hey Trail) for returning to the vehicle. . If I decide to hike the shuttle I figure on some additional road walking to get to a bridge rather than fording to get across the river. Any thoughts, wisdom, knowledge, experiences, about paddling in North Dakota?
Some info here:
Not as much detail as you’ll want, but it’s a starting place for more research.
thanks, already checked that out.
Also, there’s a FB group called Bismarck Yakkers. Could be some knowledge there.
haven’t checked that out, thanks.
TR is a beautiful park. My only experience with the river was at the south unit in July about 10 years ago; there wasn’t enough water to float a boat. You’ve probably already found the NPS description: https://www.nps.gov/thro/planyourvisit/canoeing-kayaking.htm Looking forward to your trip report!
thanks kevburg, already checked the nps website out. I’ll get a lot of hiking in if it doesn’t run! I ordered lots of maps which included the hiking trails. Weather and water levels could be an issue. I’ll just have to get into something else if that happens.