Mile 179.9 - LBD East St. Louis Landing

John Ruskey

20 Apr 2026 � 1 min read

179.9 LBD East St. Louis Landing

Normally paddlers stay towards the Missouri shore and miss all of Illinois. This is good practice because most commercial traffic uses the Illinois side of the river. But if you do not intend to stop right bank descending at the Arch or LaClede’s Landing, you could just as well stay left bank descending. With careful paddling and utmost respect of tows, you could paddle the East side of the river LBD. Keep your radio tuned to VHF channel 13 and watch out for bridge piers and unexpected docks -- and then enjoy the grand view of the City of St. Louis rising above big river.

The overlooked and less well known side of the river, gritty East St. Louis is worth stopping on and using as a picnic spot, or a place to stretch your legs. Not recommended for camping. There is a good concrete ramp within several hundred feet below the Ead’s Bridge, with the Casino Queen behind over the levee. Secure your vessel and take a walk over the railroad tracks past the Continental Grin Elevator to the nearby Malcolm Martin Memorial Park for a unique perspective back on St. Louis and the river, with a great view not often seen of the Great Arch. A 40-foot observation tower offers even better views, with a giant geyser (2nd tallest in the world!) and a round reflecting pool behind it. As with all river landings, remember to secure your vessel and don’t leave any valuables. Best practice here would be to leave one of your party behind to stand guard.

More from this section

Preamble:

Preamble: I first explored this stretch of river on a 5-month raft trip that began after my high school graduation in 1982. My best friend and I decided that we had enough of traditional schooling, and much to the dismay of our guidance counselors we scuttled all college plans and

Table of Contents Appendix I - The Lower Missouri River Water Trail Appendix II - Upper Mississippi River Water Trails Appendix III - Mike Clark: Chain of Rocks Appendix IV - Mike Clark: Alton to Arch Appendix V - Over the Chain of Rocks with the Lewis & Clark Appendix

Mile 57.0 - Interstate 57 Bridge

7.5 Interstate 57 Bridge Vertical Clearance: 107.3 feet minus Cairo Gage. As with all bridges, avoid getting too close to pylons supporting the bridge structure. Water pushes strongly against pylons on top end, and turbulent waters swirl below. 5 - 1.8 LBD Angelo Towhead Angelo Towhead is

Mile 10.2 - 10.2 - 7.7 LBD Boston Bar

10.2 - 7.7 LBD Boston Bar Boston Bar hugs the left bank descending and creates a moody scene, partly due to the massive piles of driftwood that get mashed deep into its woods. Good low and medium campsites are found at the top end of Boston Bar on

Mile 10.2 - 10.2 - 7.7 LBD Boston Chute

10.2 - 7.7 LBD Boston Chute You can enjoy a three mile passage through the bottomland forests lining Boston Chute, but be wary of a cross channel dike at bottom end which causes 3 foot whitewater waves in medium water levels.

Mile 13.0 - LBD Cache River Diversion Canal

13 LBD Cache River Diversion Canal The Cache River used to enter the Ohio River in between Mounds City and Urbandale, both upstream of Cairo, but now it enters the Mississippi 13 miles above Cairo, and about 20 miles from its old mouth. Go figure. Such is the nature of