Littleangel77007

Thank you so much for the responses. They're very helpful!

Hi! When I was little, my family had a backwoods cabin in Southeast MO between Annapolis and Piedmont. My parents and I spent tons of time on the Upper Black canoeing, fishing, and camping. We’d drive over from our cabin through the woods and bottoms in our 4 wheel drive, park in the woods, and spend the day, or even the whole weekend enjoying the river. I can remember long, sunny days fishing and swimming, and many nights sitting around a campfire, then sleeping inside a tent on the gravel bar and listening to the water and the sounds of nature. (I even remember the uncomfortable feeling of the gravel poking the tent floor as we slept!) Regardless, it was always so fun and so peaceful. But, life happens, times change, property is sold, people move, and so on. To my dismay, I don’t think I’ve gotten back to that area in at least a quarter century. My husband and I do a decent amount of leisurely canoeing elsewhere, but we are talking about going this summer (July or August) and doing a 1 or 2 day float on the Upper Black to humor my need to reminisce. I have a couple questions I was hoping someone could help me with, or at least point me in the direction of where I may find the answers. Basically, first, what laws and regulations do I need to be aware of? If we do a 2 day float, can we still camp on the gravel bar, and do we need any type of permit? Can we still build a campfire? Are there any notable areas of private property I should know about? I know that when floating, adults need to have life vests available, and adults are required to have fishing permits to fish, but I’m having trouble finding other current laws. It seems several different agencies manage the area, and I can’t find anyplace that has camping and floating laws simply stated. The only laws I’ve found are the obvious: no glass, no Styrofoam, take anything you bring with you, no excessive noise, etc. (I’ve had no trouble updating myself on MO fishing laws.) Also, any advice on floating the Upper Black? When I was younger, we always put in below Lesterville, and took out before Clearwater. I remember it was generally a fairly easy float, with a few snags and some shallow spots here and there. I know the river changes a bit both yearly and seasonally. And I haven’t been there since the Taum Sauk reservoir failure. Any tips? I apologize for the length of the post. But I’m hoping to share a bit of my childhood with my husband, and I want to ensure we are safe and law-abiding while doing it. Thanks in advance.