Lamine River / Missouri River in Missouri

Trip Overview

De Bourgmont access on Lamie River to Franklin Island Conservation area on the Missouri

13.0 mile 3.5 hours at a moderate pace.

Saturday afternoon paddle. I was bored so I pulled up a Google map, took a look and went for a paddle. I checked the Missouri river by driving over the river on the bridge in Boonville and looking over the edge. The MO is big enough and fast enough that you have to pay some attention to the river. If you see trees floating in the water stay on shore.

The De Bourgmont access on the Lamine River is a gravel parking lot and a concrete ramp. The Lamine at this point is controlled by the Missouri. With the MO River up the Lamine was a long linear lake with minimal flow. As this river floods when the MO floods the river is not swamped with development. There are about six houses between the put in and the MO. This late in the year the river was deserted. I met one group of fishermen. There are a few interesting rock out croppings and a fair number of small birds.

The transition from the Lamine to the MO was easy. I just paddled the forty foot wide slot between the two swirls and the river started moving me to the right. I stayed away from the channel buoys and the stone dikes. I was passed by an up river barge. It was loud. I was hearing the barge long before I saw it. I went all the way right, the barge stayed in the channel and we both went on our way. The waves were about a foot tall by the time they got to me. It was the most interesting thing I saw on the trip. I think they were hauling stone. I expected to see the bridge in Boonville first. The water tower was actually the first thing I saw. After passing under the bridge I tended to hang to the left/north side of the river as the pick up point is a bit tough to see and the river is swift. The river sweeps the boat ramp at the Franklin Island conservation area. I would not recommend trying to paddle onto the ramp. There is a real nice eddy just downstream of the ramp that makes landing a lot nicer.

My sprint cell phone worked in both parking lots.

Accommodations:

Boonville has a number of reasonable restaurants.

Fees:

none

Directions:

Google "Lamine, MO" for start point and "Frankiln Island Conservation Area" for take out.