Elkhorn River in Nebraska

Trip Overview

Nice day with little wind. The river was higher than the summer flows, so I only was hung up once with a shallow sand bar under water. I put in south of Elk City on Rainwood Rd because all other access was closed.

It took 2 hours and 15 minutes with the high river flow rate and lack of wind to get to highway 92 or West Center St.

Note: the Elkhorn Crossing near highway 36 and the Maple Street access at Waterloo and the Dodge street access were closed due to the flood damage last summer (2010). I arrived at the destination much faster than expected.

On a warm day this is a nice time of year to float this river.

Next, I'll be checking out the lower part of the river from Highway 92 to Linoma Beach on the Platte River...

Accommodations:

No improvements at launch or exit site.

Fees:

No permits needed.

Directions:

Drive west on West Maple Rd. (Highway 64) west of the City of Elkhorn. Turn north on N 230th street (Co Rd 84). Turn left at State St. and follow until it turns north. Head north until you see Rainwood St and head west until it dead ends into the river. This is somewhat of a dumpy site with some trash but all others were closed.

Pickup was on the west side of the bridge on highway 92 or West Center rd. We had to carry the kayak about 50 yards but it isn't a bad site.

Resources:

Used the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission water trails website for some information and maps but it did not include the launch or exit site. Used Google Maps and the information on Paddling.net