"Greg Smith" wrote
I need advice snip Our criteria are pretty simple:
- Ozarks region (paddlers are coming from Ohio and Texas)
- Clear (or at least clean) water
- Gravel/sand/rock bottomed riverbed. Mud-banked rivers
suck. That's
all we have in Ohio.
- Scenic vistas. Cliffs, bluffs, caves, etc. better than
large, flat,
open spaces.
- Long enough river to paddle for 6-7 days
- Minimal civil infrastructure. We'd like to see/hear
zero cars for at
least a few days.
(do any other these rivers flow through towns?)
- Good availability of shoreline camping but not at road
accessible
campsites/campgrounds.
- Minimal local rental traffic (meaning avoiding the most
heavily used
stretches of river)

The rivers I am looking at are the Current and Eleven
Point in Missouri
and the Buffalo in Arkansas. Based on my criteria stated
above, does
any one river stand out as the best choice?

I like the clear/cold water and springs of the Current
River but I am
beginning to get the impression that it is scenic but not
very wild.

Also, any recommendations on rental liveries/shuttle
services? Who has
good rental rates and nice canoes? Some of us don't own
canoes and will
have to rent.

If you paddle the rivers in this region, do you paddle a
poly or
fiberglass/kevlar boat? Is it possible to paddle a kevlar
boat on these
rivers without trashing it completely. A few scrapes are
no big deal
but I don't want to punch holes in my canoe either.

Links to trip reports, photo albums, and subjective
opinions are all
welcome. I've been Googling the subject for a day or so
now and I'm
finding more commercial livery info than personal trip
descriptions.

This is a once-a-year, week-long trip for me and I have to
make every
day count. If you had 6-7 days to paddle, where would you
go in the
Ozarks?

Thanks.

Greg Smith

I recommend the Buffalo River in Arkansas as the river of
choice based on your criteria. I made a few trips on this
river during spring break in March. in late March the
redbuds are generally blooming.

These rivers have mostly gravel bottoms and are clear unless
near flood-stage. The Current is the most spring-fed and is
better suited than the others in summer and fall. In the
spring, having too much water is commonly more of a problem
than not having enough. Since you are planning to come a
long way, you may wish to have a backup plan. If the
Buffalo R. is too high, the Current R. may be okay.

The Current R, has more access via primitive roads than does
the Buffalo R. Van Buren, a small town is on the lower part
of the river.

Along the Buffalo R. there are some very scenic side trips
that you may want to leave time for in your trip plans: Goat
trail on Big Bluff, Hemmed-In Hollow, The Narrows.

I don't have much experience with any of the outfitters, but
one on the upper Buffalo is http://www.buffaloriver.com/
They give the river levels at the old Ponca bridge.

I paddle various boats (Royalex), mostly on the Current,
Jacks Fork, and Eleven Point Rivers. My newest boat is a
Mad River Horizon 18 (Kevlar). I would take it on any of
these rivers so long as there is enough water. The gravel
does scratch the bottoms.

Mississippi Dan