Mile 180.2 - 180.2 - 179.2 RBD St. Louis Waterfront (Cobblestone Landing)

John Ruskey

20 Apr 2026 � 2 min read

180.2 - 179.2 RBD St. Louis Waterfront (Cobblestone Landing)

The mile-long cobblestone landing along the St. Louis waterfront makes the ideal place for paddlers to push off, make landings, picnic, and take a break to visit the arch and other St. Louis sites. Put-ins are easy. Most times of the year you can exit the road above (S. Leonor K Sullivan Blvd) through one of many gates and drive right down the cobblestones to the water’s edge. Take out is the same way, if you happen to be ending your daytrip from North Riverfront Park here, or maybe your overnight from Columbia Bottoms (the Missouri River Confluence), or maybe your expedition down the Upper Mississippi, or lastly maybe your odyssey down the entire 2500 mile long Missouri River. This is probably the most popular end points for long distance expeditions coming out of the north or west. Just tell your pickup driver to find a place close to the water below the arch. It’s all public parking unless there is some special event or it’s in flood. If all of the parking is taken, or the river is flooding and there is no parking, that’s no biggie either. Simply paddle as close as you can get, unload you canoe, and carry it to your vehicle over the fence or through one of the gates.

One precaution, however: you’re more likely to be inspected by the US Coast Guard, or St. Louis Fire Dept Water Rescue Unit here. It’s a high visibility place, and locals are always looking to the river and quick to alert authorities if they see someone on the water who looks “out of control.” No worries in this regard, though. Simply make sure you have life jackets for all on board, and you are paddling a sea-worthy vessel. It might be an intimidating experience, I’ve been through it more than once at this location. But ultimately no one can tell you can’t paddle on the Mississippi -- as long as you have the right equipment. And lastly, you should have the right vessel and pfds anyway. It doesn’t hurt to have a little shakedown at this point to keep paddlers on their toes. Or better said: the possible hurt is nothing compared to the hurt of not having the right equipment and getting into trouble somewhere because of it!

The St. Louis waterfront is one of the most beautiful and enlightening places along the river (even compares to the most beautiful wild places). In this short mile you will experience more stunning architecture, more history and more living culture than any other mile of the river. From the Martin Luther King (MLK) bridge past Laclede’s Landing to the Ead’s Bridge to the Arch to the Poplar Street Bridge, filled with locals, American visitors, international tourists, pilgrims of all sorts making their pilgrimage to the great river, most just to see it, but some want to touch it, some want to wade in it. And a select few like yourself, some want to actually get in it, or paddle down it in a human powered vessel. It’s a miracle mile.

As with any landings, be sure to secure your vessel. Maybe there was a day when private property was respected. But it’s long gone and there is no reason to bemoan the fact. Add a lock and chain to your list of expedition essentials. And then lock it up -- or carry it away. On the river, if it isn’t locked down it seems to be fair game. Here on the cobblestone riverfront you can lock it up to one of the steamboat iron anchor rings, or to one of the gates along the fence above the river. Carry any of your valuables with you, or find some place to stash them while you make your walkabout.

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