North Platte River - Seachrist to Mills

Trip Overview

This was a day trip with 3 Kayaks, 3 Adults and 2 kids. We put in at the Seachrist Launch at about 10 AM. and finished up at about 3PM at the Launch in Mills. Approx. 21-1/4 Miles, 5 Hours. Seachrist public Fishing Access has Parking, Restrooms and a boat ramp. River flow made launching a little tricky but the fairly solid river bed here made it manageable. Its a quick paddle around the corner to the Schmitt Public Launch. Schmitt public launch only has fishing access to the river. There is no place to pull boats off the water, and the river flow was very quick here making a landing tricky. There are two more public accesses, Hartnett & Wyo Flycasters Memorial, before Bessemer that are similar in that they are fishing access only with no boat ramps or restrooms. Bessemer Bend Public Fishing Area has Parking, Restrooms, Boat ramp and picnic areas. 6.4 miles from Seachrist, 1-1.5 hrs. The boat ramp is on the upriver side of the bridge and the restrooms and picnic area are on the downriver side. There is a small area near the picnic areas you can pull kayaks/canoes up to and get out if you will be continuing on and dont want to clog up the ramp while taking a break. The Bessemer picnic area has some historical signage that also provides some history of the area. Robertson Road access has parking and a boat ramp. 8.8 miles from Bessemer, 2hrs. The Robertson Road boat ramp is on the upriver side of the bridge with plenty of room to land/launch 2 or 3 boats. River flow seems to drop quite a bit between Robertson and Mills so coasting is a lot slower. Fort Casper/Mills Access has a boat ramp. 6 miles from Robertson, 1.5 hrs. The Mills boat ramp is on the downriver side of the bridge. There is not much room at the ramp for Launch/Land so be respectful of others trying to access the area. The overall weather was nice and sunny on this trip. The river flows were high as expected. The North Platte on this section has a few quick/rough spots that are easy to navigate for novices. There is not much for shaded areas so bring your sunscreen and hat to protect from the sun. Have a camera ready for the wildlife and scenery as well.