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 I love the river experience. I've seen deer plunge into the river and bound across, stared down a herd of cattle from my yellow kayak, gazed in wonder at 30 or more bald eagles circling over my head, paddled with a great blue heron escort on most of my river miles, and watched in awe as the whole river took flight (near Easter Lake in Polk County) as thousands of geese took to the air. The greenbelts to the north and south, the high bluffs by the Kate Shelly bridge near Boone, the magnificent dams from Rutland to Red Rock, the rapids near Ft. Dodge. . . it is a spectacular adventure. 

The condition of the river and the various access points has been most satisfactory. Wildlife is abundant, and the scenery is magnificent.   There are challenges. At times, the river is quite shallow, and at times it is a raging torrent, but those conditions can be predicted by viewing various web sites, such as the Corps of Engineers. On the West Fork, there are  snags that at times block the river. The nastiest obstacle was a barbed wire fence 4 miles south of Estherville (with no warnings or markings). 

The various dams along the route present a portaging challenge, which many counties and  cities have done their best to facilitate (Fraser, with access ramps above and below the dam, comes to mind, as do Humboldt, Ottumwa, Bonaparte and Lehigh). On every trip, friendly Iowans have offered information and encouragement.  These people know they have a treasure in their part of the river, and they very much want to be part of a great river trail that will bring state and national recognition of the glory of the Des Moines River.

I have been impressed with the riverfront improvements all along the river.  There is  riverbank restoration and reforestation in Bradgate,  the restoration of the dam and park in Rutland, and a new boat ramp in Ft. Dodge that opens the 12 mile run to Dolliver State Park that was previously inaccessible due to the low-head dam.  With all the work done on the wonderful old steamboat towns in Van Buren County, they will be a premier stop on the river trail.  Lee County has done a great job of putting up directional signs to Red Wing Access, near the Mississippi.   It  has also been a treat to participate in river festivals where people actually get wet, such as the rubber duck float in Humboldt and the River Ripple canoe float in Ottumwa.

So, as I've paddled in sun and snow, in calm and in strong wind and waves, I've thought about why so few others are out on the water. Perhaps the County Conservation boards should consider Iowa's rivers for Recreational Trail status? The access points are well-established. I've marked every boat ramp along the Des Moines river in my portable GPS (global positioning system), and I have published them at this web site.  With more than 58 access points, the river trail has already been built, and it now has official recognition and support.

With a little clean-up at the access points, the participating Conservation Boards and the DNR could legitimately advertise a Des Moines River Canoe and Kayak Trail. Signs indicating that each access point is part of the river trail, portage trail markings, warnings at obstacles, maybe some amenities like camping facilities and chemical toilets, and VOILA, we have a wilderness experience that rivals anything on either coast or in between. After all, this river was the famous Dragoon Trail and much of it is as it was in the 1830's.  Canoe trails have been established in many other states, and are well-used.

Nothing would promote water quality like drawing paddlers from all over the country, not to mention the tourism dollars that would follow. I'm pleased that 17 county Conservation Boards (Emmet, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Humboldt, Kossuth, Webster, Hamilton Boone, Polk, Warren, Marion, Mahaska, Davis, Monroe, Wapello, Van Buren, and Lee) have endorsed the river trail concept..  I hope that we can start putting up trail signs in the very near future.  The same could be done for our other rivers, but that's a project for another day.

Gigs Rowland

2001