Root River in Minnesota

Trip Overview

North branch of the Root River in SE Minnesota

The day was about as good as you can get for SE Minnesota in the second half of October. 6 of us in 4 kayaks and a canoe started from a barely marked feeder creek; access about 5 river miles upstream from where the north and south forks of the Root River joined.

Despite the lack of rain to the area, the clear spring fed river was running well.

After a minor portage over the beaver dam on the creek about 200 yds in, my son and I only had to pull the canoe once the rest of the day. The portage was more a poor choice of rapid running than actual low water - my son said go left, I chose right. Should have gone left...

Assuming the Root River water trails map is accurate, we covered just under 9 miles - including numerous stops to fish, fossil hunt, take photo's - in roughly 8 hours.

The take out spot was a public access point just outside of Whalen, MN.

Accommodations:

We stayed at Genevieve's Resort in Peterson. Nothing fancy, but it was clean, reasonably priced, and very spacious.

Fees:

Other than lodging, just gas, food, and beverages.

Resources:

Acquired some information from the MN DNR website:
www.dnr.state.mn.us/watertrails/rootriver/

I also had a bit of history/memory in that I am originally from Harmony, MN which is about 15 miles SSW of Lanesboro