Thinking about doing some paddling on the Blue river in southern Indiana. Anyone been on it lately and know the conditions? Any impassable areas?
Paddled down there last year out of a little town and it seemed good. Can’t remember the name right now, but the town had a good size rental canoe outfit.
Maybe there is a better place to paddle on the Blue or around the Louisville area? I’d like to stay on the Indiana side though.
Any thoughts? Thanks!!!
The Blue River
I paddled the Blue last July while speaking at French Lick, on the suggestion of some P.netters. I used that big shuttle/rental operation to take me upstream about 7 miles (their half or short trip). It was a lovely paddle, with beautiful sycamores and limestone. About 3/4s of the way down I saw the biggest otter slide ever; honestly, it must have been 40 feet high and more across! It was in a clay outcropping of a limstone shelf, river left. It certainly isn’t a technical stream, but a really nice trip.
Blue
From the dam(n) at Milltown downstream is nice when the water is high enough. One of my favorite runs in the state. Has decent current & some small riffles. Several limestone caves to explore. Above Milltown the river is very slow but still scenic. Both reaches are full of rental canoes in season so go off season if you want peace and quiet.
Water is too low now for the lower river unless you want to walk a lot. The upper Blue is usually runnable most of the time. Here’s a link to the USGS gauge.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?03302800
The Blue
I have paddled the Blue from Fredricksburg down to Rothrock Mills crossing. As incanoe says the upper is low and slow but it starts topick up a few miles above Milltown.
Below Mtown Dam there are a few nice CI riffles but nothing really exciting. Very scenic paddle through wooded farmland and State Forest.
Above Milltown runs out of water so I wouldn’t recommend trying the upper unless it’s running at least 250 cfs at Milltown.
You can call Old Mill Canoe Rentals in Fredricksberg for info on the upper portion. Phone: (812) 472-3140. The owner, Dick Lambert, is a real southern Indiana character. Just chatting with him is an experience. If you stop by make sure he tells you about canoing, fishing and hunting with Bobby Knight.
When Dick gets wound up he will keep you in stitches with his southern colloquialisms.
I once asked him how far down the river I could go and still have him shuttle me and he replied, “Is New Orleans too far fer ya?”
White River Outfitters & Rentals
You should check out White River Outfitters in Shoals Indiana!!! This river and outfitter were both superior to the others I’ve been to. Normally I’m reluctant to repeat a trip because I would rather use that time to see something new, but I will definitely repeat this one- the wildlife, seclusion, and rocks were beautiful enough to bring me back many times.