Mile 195.6 - RBD Ted Jones Confluence State Park

John Ruskey

20 Apr 2026 � 2 min read

195.6 RBD Ted Jones Confluence State Park

(LBD Mile 0.5 of the Missouri River)

Welcome to the confluence! Mile 0 Missouri River, Mile 195.6 Upper Miss. Ted Jones Confluence State Park heralds the confluence with interpretive panels and a walkway laid out over the mud and rip rap below. Best landing is generally on the Missouri River side, but this depends on wind. It can be a muddy landing in low water, but by all means stop and walk around the point, and read the interpretive panels which are thoughtfully done and full of all kinds of good information about the two rivers, their geography, and a little history. Accessible to foot traffic from a parking lot over the levee. Good place for a rest stop or picnic, and outhouses next to parking lot. But you wouldn’t want to camp here. You can follow a concrete walk up into some trees to view a signpost marking the 1993 record-breaking highwater level of 438.2 feet (49.5 on the St. Louis Gage). The signpost looks like a flagpole with a brass globe up top. Stand at the base and marvel at the great difference in height and the amount of water change that had to have occurred to create that kind of flood stage, the highest ever. Every town downstream on the Middle Miss will have their own highwater marks and stories, all relating to the game-changing 1993 flood.

The confluence point is one of the area’s best places for bird watching as millions of birds migrate along the Mississippi River corridor each spring and fall. The Mississippi River flyway is used by 60 percent of all North American bird species, including 40 percent of all waterfowl. Common birds seen in the area include great blue herons, bald eagles, geese, gulls, pelicans and many kinds of songbirds. In 1673, French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet passed by the confluence and composed a map that located an “Oumessourit,” or Missouri Indian village at the Great Bend of the Missouri River in what is now Saline County. The Missouri River played an important role in the lives of the Missouri Indians as they were able to control transportation on the river from their village overlooking the river bottoms. At its height, the village had a population of perhaps 5,000. In 1804, explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark hoped the Missouri River was the Northwest Passage leading to the Pacific Ocean. They did not find the Northwest Passage, but at the confluence of the two rivers, they began their epic journey to the Pacific Ocean.

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