St. Louis to Caruthersville
158 -149 LBD Foster/Meissner Island Dikes Foster Island is no longer an island these days except at flood stage, having been silted in by the whims of the river and vigorous channel maintenance by man. There are about ten miles of stubby dikes placed along the shore about every
St. Louis to Caruthersville
158.5 RBD Hoppie’s Marine Service Paddler-friendly Hoppie’s Marine consists of a series of 4 barges tied together on the Missouri shore 158.5 right bank descending just past the mouth of Rock Creek and the town of Kimmswick. Hoppie’s is owned by Fern Hopkins and her
St. Louis to Caruthersville
158.5 - 157.2 RBD Dikes below Hoppies A barren sandbar Island forms around the 2nd Dike below Hoppies, but there is no protection, and no privacy. Hoppie is complaining that these islands are encroaching upon his livelihood. At low water they grow so big that it is sometimes
St. Louis to Caruthersville
158.7 RBD Kimmswick Once thriving river town and steamboat landing Kimmswick has become a riverfront hideout from the mass exit into the suburbs, still retaining its small town charm with quiet friendly streets and a country style eatery/watering hole, the Blue Owl Restaurant & Bar. The public landing
St. Louis to Caruthersville
161.6 RBD Ameren Meramec First big power plant below St. Louis. Creamy yellow. Long dock, long intake structure. Four robust smokestacks emerging from 2 giant power generation units. At night time a spectacular array of sound & light. Ameren Meramec has been in operation for 61 years, since 1953,
St. Louis to Caruthersville
163 RBD St. Mary’s Convent The Missouri Bluffs rise to their highest prominences below St. Louis topped with healthy woodlands of oaks, sycamores, walnuts, elms and maples, and a few mansions. St. Mary’s Convent tops the highest prominence towards the mouth of the Meramec with carefully trimmed lawns,
St. Louis to Caruthersville
161 RBD Meramec River The major right bank tributary the Meramec enters the big river through a slot in the forest at 161 RBD, and meets the big river in a steep downstream angle (like so many of the Mississippi tributaries do). No other major tributaries come in from the
St. Louis to Caruthersville
161 LBD Meramec Bar This chain of wing dam bars forms around the dams scattered over four miles of river roughly centered around and opposite the mouth of Meramec. The water starts flowing behind this Island of the Meramec Bar around 10SLG, and the entire island disappears underwater with a
St. Louis to Caruthersville
164.5 LBD Pulltight Landing Blue Hole Just below and opposite Pulltight Landing is a large blue hole carved out of the riverbank parallel to the outside of the bend here by the Flood of 1993. As you’re paddling by you probably won’t notice the slight variation in
St. Louis to Caruthersville
166 LBD Luhr Bros., Inc. Luhr Bros., Inc. operates a fleet of 28 towboats which specialize in moving stone and other aggregate. Their bright green and yellow stripes makes them immediately recognizable to anyone who frequents the Mississippi. They seem to be paddler friendly. The Army Corps of Engineers and
St. Louis to Caruthersville
166 - 165 RBD Wing Dams Possible low water camping in sandy places behind and in between wing dams. Paddle into outside of eddy which typically revolves below point of the dike. Swirl around and make stylish landing on sand.
St. Louis to Caruthersville
166 RBD Fleeted Barges Watch for fleeted barges often encountered along the Missouri shore below Cliff Cave Landing and opposite the Luhr Brothers Landing at the mouth of Carr Creek. As noted above in the St. Louis Harbor, fleeted barges present special challenges to paddlers. Do not allow your route