The vast majority of our guests are here because they are planning to float inside the beautiful Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Choosing the best float and vessels can make or break the trip for your family. Below are vessel descriptions, and a few options for float trips.
Vessels
Both of the outfitters near us offer basically the same type of vessels.
Canoes
Canoes are the traditional river experience. Best practice is two people per canoe. As a general rule, the outfitters in the area rent Old Town Discovery 169s, with limited flexibility on other canoe options. These offer room for a cooler and dry bag for day floaters, and enough flexibility to pack for overnight trips also.
Kayaks
Generally speaking, around here you will see primarily see Jackson Riviera sit-on-top kayaks. These have a molded seat with a compartment big enough to strap a small cooler on the back behind the seat rest. Kayaks in general are not typically recommended for overnight camping along the river, unless you pack SUPER light.
Tandem Kayaks
Same model, different seating arrangement. The Jackson Riviera sit-on-top tandem is a two-seater version of the single kayak. With two molded seats and the same amount of cooler space, tandem kayaks are best suited for parents with one child who is maybe too big to sit on a lap, but too small to man his/her own kayak, or couples who really like each other.
Rafts
Rafts vary more than any of the “hard vessels” on the river by make/model, but are all basically the same thing. Think “big tube”. Rafts generally seat from 4-6 people, depending on the outfitter’s individual policies. Most rafts have room for four people, a standard cooler or two, and a dry bag or two. Rafts are also not recommended for overnight trips, and usually move more slowly than “hard vessels”, so plan for the longer of the estimated trip times if planning to rent one!
Tubes
Tubes are the slowest of all floating vessels, and probably the least flexible. The outfitters near us rent single-person tubes; both usually have a long trip and a short trip. Short trips are best taken in the afternoons; for long trips, you’ll be on their very first bus run scheduled in the mornings. Tubes do come with more options than other vessels, you can typically decide whether or not you want a backrest and/or a bottom in your tube.
Personally Owned Vessels
The outfitters around here can haul your personally owned vessel, and each outfitter has its own policy for handling this. As a general rule, you need to be with a group that is also renting the outfitter’s boats. Often, they will defer to a vehicle shuttle where they move your vehicle from your put-in to your take-out while you are on the river.
Float Trips on the Upper Current River
Baptist Camp to Cedar Grove - 7 Miles ~ 3-5 Hours
This trip is only offered by Jadwin Canoe Rental. It is the most wild section of the Current River. This is the Blue Ribbon Trout fishing section of the river, and because of that and the fact that the water is typically much lower than lower sections of the river, the National Park Service does much less in terms of clearing debris and blockages to the channel in this section. This leads to this being the most technical and difficult float on the Upper Current, which is balanced out by it having the fewest floaters and being the most natural.
Cedar Grove to Akers Ferry - 8 Miles ~ 3-5 Hours
The most recommended float in the area for beginners and newcomers to the area. Starting off with plenty of trout fishing and transitioning into bass water the closer you get to Akers, this trip is beautiful with the most “attractions” to stop and see. Big Creek, a warm-water creek that comes in near the beginning of the float on the right, is a cool spot to stop. You can stand one foot in the cold, refreshing waters of the Current, and one foot in the warm, relaxing water of the creek. Further down, you’ll encounter Flying W, some short bluffs on the river left. Just below those bluffs, tucked away in a corner on river right, is Medlock Spring. Medlock is a roughly 120-foot waterfall that cascades beautifully down the rocks to the spring branch and is generally accepted as the halfway point of your trip. At around the 5-mile mark, you will find Welch Spring and asthma hospital ruins on river left. Welch is either the 5th or 7th largest spring in the state, depending on who is doing the measuring and which old-timer you ask. Just below Welch on river right is a trail heading up to the Howell-Maggard cabin. On your way to your take-out at the Akers Upper Landing, you will float past beautiful bluffs and rock outcroppings before reaching your take-out. Take-out for this float is on river left, and there are usually a few boats on the ground, a dumpster, a picnic table, and a sign at the far downriver end of the gravel bar that denotes it as the Akers Upper. We recommend booking this float through Akers Ferry Canoe Rental, and either parking at Akers Ferry, or having them pick you up at our campground (which they will do for a minimum of 5 kayaks or 3 canoes)
Akers Ferry to Pulltite - 10 miles (“the one with the cave”) ~ 4-6 Hours
Another gorgeous section of the Upper Current, and my personal favorite float, especially late summer when there is usually a hair more water here than from Cedar Grove to Akers thanks to Welch Spring. This trip has fewer “attractions” but that doesn’t stop it from being a visitor favorite! The bluffs and scenery are stunning the whole trip through, with deeper pools more frequent than the Cedar Grove to Akers stretch. When you get roughly halfway in to your float, you will be at Cave Spring. It’s easy to miss, so keep your eye out! In the summer, there are usually lots of other people stopped there, too. Cave Spring is a 140 foot vertical shaft that you can paddle almost any vessel back into a ways, and enjoy the cool cave air as a refresher before heading back out and downstream. Further down, is the Walter Lipps Hole. This is the cream-of-the-crop swimming hole on this trip, denoted by huge looming bluffs on river right. When you leave there, you’re headed for Pulltite. As you near the end of your trip, the river will make a hard turn to the right, and below you you’ll be able to see vehicles, trailers, boats, and lots of commotion if you’re floating on a weekend. When briefing groups for this trip I tell them “Pulltite is the next civilization after you leave Akers” and it really is. For this trip, you can either book through Akers Ferry Canoe Rental, park at Akers, or be picked up at Upper Current Hideaway, and bring a bus ride back to either place in the evening or you can book through Carr’s Canoe Rental and park at Pulltite.
Pulltite to Round Spring - 9 miles ~ 4-6 Hours
Carr’s Canoe Rental is the only outfitter that offers this trip. Nine relaxing miles that offer just as much beauty as the other trips. You really can’t go wrong with float trip selection around here. Almost as soon as you put in, you’ll want to stop where the Pulltite Spring Branch flows into the Current and take the short, picturesque hike along the spring branch back to Pulltite Cabin. Just downstream from there is Fire Hydrant Spring, which you can generally hear before you see; a fun stop for kids on river right. About halfway, and easily missed, there is a small gravel bar on the left and a cave opening “guarded” by some mid-size rocks to the right. This is Merritt Rock Cave, which you can climb up and peer into, but please remember all caves in the National Park are closed (except Cave Spring) and resist venturing further inside. Near the end of your trip, Sinking Creek comes in on the left, giving you an opportunity to experience the difference in the cold-spring-fed Current River and the warmer, relaxing water of Sinking Creek. If you did this trip as a day trip and rented from Carr’s Canoe Rental, you will take out just before the bridge over the river on the left at the concrete boat ramp. If you floated with Jadwin or Akers Ferry and did an overnight trip, paddle under the bridge, around the corner, and past the Round Spring spring branch to the Round Spring Lower Landing on river right to your take-out.
There are still more options for floating in the area; these are just the closest to us and my personal favorites. If you don’t mind a longer drive to your outfitter, or want to float the Jacks Fork, give us or an outfitter a call! We would be happy to make recommendations for you! Sharing the area I am so blessed to call home with other lovers of the outdoors is my favorite part of my job.
