Iowa is blessed with a variety of rivers, creeks, and lakes offering a number of different types of experiences for beginner to expert paddler. 18,000 miles of navigable streams await exploration by curious paddlers from across the state. The Iowa DNR wants you to enjoy, appreciate, and respect Iowa's rivers. We hope you find this site very useful.
What is a Water Trail?
Water Trails are recreational corridors and routes on rivers and lakes that provide a unique experience for canoeists and kayakers. Water trails provide adequate access points that can be used for planning your trips at various lengths and difficulty. A water trail may also provide access to riverside campgrounds, primitive campsites, amenities such as shelters and restrooms in city, county or state parks. A water trail will have a detailed map showing access points and river mileage and may even provide information on history and area culture, wildlife viewing opportunities and more. Water trails can help re-connect Iowans to their history, heritage, geology and wildlife. A water trail promotes an ethic of caring that makes us more aware of our surroundings and environment and can be thought of as educational venues. Whether they are used for relaxation, health and fitness, education or just for spending time with family, water trails provide in-state destinations for recreational river users that can even help boost local economies.
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Lizard Creek Water Trail: COMING SOON!
The Lizard Creek Water Trail, located near Fort Dodge in Webster County, will be the next water trail designated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The designation and paddle is being scheduled for Friday, July 13th, 2012. Lizard Creek can be a challenging paddle with small class 1 and class 2 rapids, numerous riffles and twist bends. It is recommended that you have good boat handling skills if paddling this water trail.
The Lizard Creek Water Trail will be Iowa's 18th designated water trail with more coming in the near future. Keep watching here for full information on the designation schedule and activities that will be a part of this celebration. The public will be invited!
Dubuque "Mines of Spain" Water Trail: Coming June 23rd, 2012
Keep checking back for details.
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Summer of Paddling 2012
Summer of Paddling 2012 is a series of paddling events on the Mississippi River for new and experienced paddlers. Events will be hosted by a variety of agencies from Lake Itasca to New Orleans. Browse the calendar at the SOP website to find a paddling event that fits your style and join us in America’s Great Outdoors this summer. There will be many Iowa events on tributaries that will fall under the SOP banner. These include a "Take a Friend Paddling Day" on the Iowa River in Hardin County and water trail designations across the state. Keep watching the SOP site for details on upcoming events near you and check out what is already listed. The Summer of Paddling is a great event to start getting fit with. With all of the paddling oppurtunities on deck all sumer long, the Iowa DNR wants you to get healthy while being outside on the water! Read below on how you can have fun and even win a prize by tracking your calories burned and over all paddling health. sop2012.org
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Get Outside, Get Healthy and Stay That Way Through Paddling
With the Summer of Paddling in full swing, it's a great time to keep track of your health while paddling. The Iowa DNR and Livestrong .com wants to help you keep track of your progress. Read the press release by following the link below and register at Livestrong.com for free, today. The site will also teach you about intake and there is a huge amount of fitness and health information avaialbe. Whoever burns the most calories from now through September 1st will win a fantastic prize. Read and find out.
Livestrong Fitness
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Charles City Challenge and WhiteWater Weekend! June 15-17, 2012
Join local and national whitewater boaters at the first ever whitewater festival in Iowa! The wekend will include events for the entire family. The Charles City WhiteWater Park is nationally known for being one of the top 5 whitewater parks in the country. The world class 1200' long course will be the playground for a series of events to challenge kayakers and stand-up-paddleboarders at every skill level. Events will include freestyle, downriver sprints. attainment races, best tricks and other really sweet events! There will be music and many other family activities. Make plans to attend now and mark it on your calendar! Follow the link to the Charles City WhiteWater Park. Registration is happening NOW!
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American Canoe Association (ACA) Classes for 2012
The 2012 schedule of ACA canoe classes that the Iowa DNR will be hosting for naturalists and trip leaders, is now up! Learn all about leading groups down river, risk management, how to paddle more efficiently and how to be safe while doing it. These classes fill fast so please sign-up today! 2012 paddlingschools.pdf_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Water Trail Designation 2011 Re-cap:
The Middle River Water Trail in Madison County was designated on October 1st, 2011. Middle River is a beautiful stream and makes for a wonderful family "stay"cation for anyone near the metro area of Des Moines. You can find the Middle River Water Trail brochure here: Middle River Water Trail.
The Red Rock Lake Water Trail was designated on October 8th, 2011. Follow the link for information from the pre-designation release. http://www.iowadnr.gov/home/ctl/detail/mid/2822/itemid/454 .
The Red Rock Water Trail was the final designation of 2011. The water trail, a 36 mile loop route, travels past eagles nests, a sea cave along Elk Rock Cliffs and past many scenic views. Hickory Ridge makes a great paddle-in/paddle-out base camp and provides a total wilderness experience. A Bald Eagles nest is only a short paddle from camp and if camping, expect to hear lots of Barred Owls and Coyote. Speakers from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, USACE and the Red Rock Lake Association were present at the ceremony on October 8th. This water trail now brings the total number of state designated water trail miles to 892.9. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Charles City WhiteWater and Riverfront Park NOW OPEN!
The nations newest whitewater play park is open for enjoyment in Charles City, Iowa! See why it's turning heads across the state and across the nation! Paddlers from as far away as Oregon and Arizona have come to paddle the nations newest whitewater park and to enjoy the entire riverfront in Charles City. A full review of the project will be found right here soon so keep checking back. For now, please use the following link for more information! Charles City Whitewater Park
It's not just about whitewater. Charles City is dedicated to improve it's local watershed in a number of ways. Check out how they have connected to their river! Watershed Success
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2011 River News Archives:
Vernon Springs Dam Converted to Rapids
The Vernon Springs Dam was converted to rapids in August, resulting in immediate reconnection of the upper Turkey River to the lake upstream and the river's two main tributaries in Howard County for aquatic species. The structure eliminates re-circulating currents that contributed to past drownings while maintaining water elevation for a popular lake.
Charles City Whitewater Course and Fish Passage Project Underway
Boulders are being placed and grouted in the first dam mitigation project that promotes in-water recreation as a primary objective.
Delhi Dam and Head Cut Update
The DNR rivers team has been managing the effort, in cooperation with DNR engineering and NRCS, to survey the ongoing head cut through the former lake bed and develop a plan to halt ongoing damage.
Delhi bed stabilization projects complete
DELHI - Two projects in the Maquoketa River designed to stabilize the former bed of Lake Delhi are nearly complete.