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Explorer Series | Paddle Iowa: Why My Favorite View of the State Is From the Water
Paddle Iowa: Why My Favorite View of the State Is From the Water
I LOVE WATER.
I LOVE KAYAKING.
Put the two together, add an Iowa river, a few friends, some questionable rapids, and a local dive bar at the end of the day, and I am 100% in.
We’ve been kayaking since 2007, and over the years, it has become one of my absolute favorite ways to experience Iowa. There is something completely different about seeing our state from the water. The bluffs look bigger. The trees seem greener. Wildlife sneaks up on you (that’s if our kids aren’t splashing or hollering from a bend away!). Little towns and parks take on a whole new perspective.
We’re a little more on the adventurous side when it comes to kayaking. The faster the rapids, the better!
Okay…that’s not entirely true.
I’m actually kind of a chicken. I mostly like when there are enough rocks to make ripples in the water so I can feel adventurous without having to question my life choices.
But whether it’s a family outing, a trip with friends, or a date day with my husband, you mention water, and I’m ready to go.
Here are some of my favorite places we’ve paddled in Iowa.
Middle Raccoon River: Coon Rapids
This one has to be near the top of my list, especially because of the proximity to my home and the bluff scenery at the end of the float.
We like to put in along Highway 141 east of Coon Rapids and take out at the Whiterock Conservancy campground. The bluffs along this stretch are absolutely incredible.
This is exactly what I mean when I say you get a completely different perspective of Iowa from a kayak. From the road, you simply can’t appreciate some of these landscapes the way you can when you’re sitting right in the middle of the river looking up at them.
It’s peaceful, beautiful and one of those floats that reminds you just how underrated Iowa’s outdoor recreation can be. PS – Did you know that Whiterock has some of the longest off-road mountain biking trails in Iowa offering around 16 miles of singletrack alongside an additional 12 miles of multi-use doubletrack trail?
North Raccoon River: Auburn to Grant County Park
Another favorite is the North Raccoon River.
My preferred route is putting in at Access #160 north of Auburn and taking out at Access #149 in Grant County Park.
And here’s your warning: don’t panic when you get close to the takeout!
There are quite a few rapids right as you’re finishing the trip. I think they make it fun, but if you’re an inexperienced kayaker, you might freak out just a little bit.
Or a lot.
You’ll be fine. Probably…
While you’re in the area, make a day of it. Check out the metal artwork by Tanner King in Grant County Park and near Auburn. Then, because every great kayak trip should end with food and drinks, stop at Fat Guys afterward. They even have axe throwing and a golf simulator if somehow kayaking all day didn’t provide enough entertainment.
Yellow River: Northeast Iowa
If you haven’t explored northeast Iowa from the water, add it to your list.
The Yellow River is beautiful, and I highly recommend using the Northeast Iowa RC&D Yellow River Water Trail Map & Guide when planning your trip. It’s a great resource for figuring out your route, accesses, and what to expect.
We’ve used Bigfoot Canoe Rental out of Monona for kayak rentals, which makes the logistics much easier if you don’t want to haul your own boats.
Northeast Iowa already feels different from much of the state, but experiencing it from the river makes it even better.
Upper Iowa River: Decorah
The Upper Iowa River through Decorah offers some of the best scenery we’ve encountered kayaking in Iowa.
We paddled from Pulpit Rock through Decorah and used Off the Driftless as our outfitter.
The scenery was gorgeous, but my husband may have loved the “adventuring” even more than the kayaking. He’s the guy who likes to get out of the kayak and wander along the water’s edge to see what he can discover (especially when we finds a pasture of cows grazing).
I’m usually the one saying, “Are we getting back in the kayak yet?”
Where the Wapsipinicon & Mississippi Rivers Meet: Clinton County
Some of my favorite kayaking memories come from my time living in DeWitt and exploring the waterways between McCausland, Folletts and Camanche in southern Clinton County.
I love the backwaters near Rock Creek Marina & Campground, exploring the Mississippi River backwaters, and floating the Wapsipinicon from McCausland toward the Mississippi.
Those trips were the perfect combination of adventure and peacefulness.
Most of the time.
We did encounter a few downed trees after a recent storm that required some creative navigation. But honestly, that’s part of what makes river kayaking fun. Every trip is a little different, and you never quite know what the river is going to put in your path or how deep the water might be.
Des Moines River: Seven Oaks Recreation Area
Don’t forget about the Des Moines River west of Boone!
We highly recommend Seven Oaks Recreation Area. One of the biggest barriers to river kayaking can be logistics: Where do we put in? Where do we take out? Who is driving? How do we get the kayaks back?, etc. and having a full-service rental and transportation company makes everything easier.
Seven Oaks also has a ton of other year-round recreation opportunities, including river tubing, paintball, snow skiing, snow tubing and even their once-a-year Gladiator Challenge.
It’s a great option if you’re looking to turn your river trip into a bigger adventure.
What About Iowa’s Lakes?
We’ve kayaked plenty of lakes, too, and there are some beautiful ones across Iowa.
A few we’ve especially enjoyed include:
- Lake Icaria near Corning
- Rathbun Lake near Centerville
- Littlefield Recreation Area near Exira
- Prairie Rose State Park near Harlan
- Red Haw State Park near Chariton
- Killdeer Recreation Area near DeWitt
- Lost Grove Lake near Eldridge
They’re all worth exploring.
But if you give me a choice between a lake and a river?
I’m choosing the river.
Every. Single. Time.
There’s less paddling, constantly changing scenery and just enough unpredictability to make it feel like an adventure.
Our Latest Water Adventure…Wasn’t Actually in a Kayak
Our most recent river adventure took us outside Iowa to the Niangua River near Lebanon, Missouri.
And technically, we cheated on our kayaks.
We went rafting.
We used Riverfront Campground & Canoe, and despite it being a rainy day, the experience was absolutely incredible. There were more than 400 vessels out that day just from the outfitter we used!
The river was full of people, energy, and activity, and we had SO much fun.
One of my favorite parts was being able to put five people together on one raft. It made the experience incredibly social (most of the time!), and the raft was so easy to navigate.
I’d love to see more opportunities like that develop on Iowa rivers. Kayaking is fantastic, but rafting creates another option for families and groups who want to experience our waterways together without everyone needing their own kayak.
My Iowa Kayaking Bucket List
Despite all the Iowa rivers we’ve explored, there’s still one that keeps sitting on my bucket list:
How have we not done this yet?!
Considering my previously mentioned love of “rapids” that are really just rocks making exciting ripples, this could be interesting.
But it’s happening.
Someday.
Hopefully soon.
Shelly’s Best Tips for Kayaking Iowa
After nearly two decades of kayaking, I’ve learned a few things: sometimes the easy way and sometimes definitely not.
- Know your water trail. Look it up online before you go. Talk to people familiar with the area. Figure out approximately how long your route will take and, most importantly, know exactly where you’re putting in and taking out.
Pro tip: The best accesses aren’t always well marked. Actually, they’re rarely well marked.
Have a game plan before you’re standing beside a river saying, “I think this is it?”
- Always identify your post-kayaking food and drink destination. Find a local dive bar or restaurant near your takeout point. Better yet, order your meal to go and turn it into a date night (or date day) on the river.
Food tastes better near water. I’m pretty sure that’s scientifically proven.
- Try a river, even if you’ve only kayaked lakes. Lakes offer tons of kayaking opportunities, and they’re a great place to get comfortable in a kayak. But rivers are my favorite. There’s less constant paddling, the scenery keeps changing and you get to see parts of Iowa you’d never experience from the road.
- Don’t own a kayak? Don’t let that stop you. Iowa hasn’t always had a huge number of outfitters, but more and more are popping up. Search the area you’re interested in exploring and see whether there’s an outfitter offering kayak rentals and transportation. Sometimes having someone else handle the logistics makes the day even more enjoyable.
And finally, the most important kayaking advice I can possibly give you:
- NEVER (and I mean NEVER) borrow your father-in-law’s favorite John Deere hat for a kayak trip.
Because you just might lose it.
And you will NEVER live it down.
It’s not like he doesn’t have 500 other hats he could wear!!
But apparently that one was special.
Iowa Looks Different From the Water
After all these years, that’s still what keeps bringing me back.
I’ve kayaked with friends. I’ve kayaked with family. My husband and I have turned kayaking into date days. We’ve floated peacefully through backwaters, navigated around trees, bounced through little rapids, explored shorelines, and probably spent more time than I’d like to admit trying to figure out exactly where the takeout was supposed to be.
And I’d do it all again.
Iowa may not be the first place people think of when they picture a kayaking destination, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so special. We have beautiful rivers, quiet creeks, hidden backwaters, towering bluffs, wildlife and miles of scenery just waiting to be experienced from a completely different perspective.
So give me a paddle, point me toward the water and tell me where we’re taking out.
Just don’t give me your favorite hat.
Let’s hear from you: Where are your favorite kayak adventures???
