Rivière Rouge du Nord Trip

Wilderness Tripping
#1

I am curious, not interested/capable of embarking on such a trip. Is this trip even feasible by canoe or kayak?

The Red River of the North starts along the North Dakota / Minnesota Border, heads into Manitoba, joins the Assiniboine River and flows into Lake Winnipeg. The latter drains into Hudson Bay. So that would be the trip, starting in the USA and heading to Lake Winnipeg. Of course, in Spring, the ‘wrong’ end of the river thaws first, leading to floods. Perhaps the mosquitoes take over subsequently.

Obviously, the border crossing is problematic, but I am just interested in geographic etc. constraints. As high school kids (mid 1950s) we used to canoe each year in the Boundary Waters, paying no attention to border crossings – that has changed. But so have I.

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#2

Look up “Canoeing with the Cree”. Eric Sevareid & Walt Port went from Minneapolis to Your Factory on Hudson’s Bay in ~1930.

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#3

We just call it the Red River here in Canada. :slight_smile:

The border isn’t a huge problem. If you have NEXUS, I believe you can do a water crossing anywhere you want and you report by phone. If you don’t, you can stop just before the border and walk over to the border crossing at Pembina, ND/Emerson, MB. It’s not terribly far from the river. Call the Emerson border station before you do the trip, explain what you’re doing and ask them how you can do border procedures if riverbound.

As to navigability, you could probably scout the river out on Google Maps. I don’t believe the floodway around Winnipeg will affect you.