Conor

Some parts are not the most scenic. Overall I thought the part from Long to Davis Ford was well worth it. Davis down to Hazelgreen was nothing special but I didn't hate it either. It moved along nicely. I hear it isn't a good one in the summer as the scenery gets covered up. I will definitely try to figure out access up higher or plan to do an overnight and camp well above Evergreen. Conor

We went back and did Davis to Hazelgreen. The section from Long Ford to Davis is definitely the pick of these two. There was nothing wrong with the lower part but nothing special as mentioned by others either. I can see others here view this part like I view the Niangua around Bennett Spring. Pretty much every river of equal or closer distance to me is better than the section from Moon Valley to Barclay or so. I have done way high up on that river and enjoyed it and some of the scenery from Prosperine/Mountain Creek to Ha Ha Tonka is really nice but that part near the spring is nothing special compared to all what else is near me. The Meramec near the spring is close to me, the Current is close to me, and I can be at the upper Jacks Fork in similar time. The Eleven Point is just a few minutes farther. Again, that part of the Niangua isn't bad but when you have those other streams to compare it to, there is no comparison. Also, that section just needs to be avoided on a summer Saturday. That being said, I do plan to try and figure out a way to access the uppermost 30 miles. I can tell there is potential for some nice scenery. I guess I need to just get out and scope some of the water crossings upstream of Evergreen and see how they look, even if just getting dropped off or picked up. I would check cell phone signals at the same time so we could know if one could call for a ride when getting close to the end. Conor

Lambeth Ridge is still standing but closed to traffic. It is a thrill to get up there as some of the boards are missing or pretty rotted. I just made sure to stay over the beams below. Some of the beams are even made of timber which is strange. I am glad a few of these are still around but know it will only be a matter of time for most. I definitely think it is more scenic here in the winter. I have heard from others that they were not impressed with this stream so I guess I wasn't looking for much. It has some nice bluff lines, a pretty large heron rookery, and a couple very pretty springs. Overall the scenery was pleasant but I can imagine a lot of the good stuff being covered in summer. I always find the upper headwaters of streams to be most interesting. This includes places dozens of miles upstream of mile 0 on some streams. The upper Gasconade below Hartville has some great scenery but some longer pastoral sections as well. Catch it high and after a rain for the best scenery with some great waterfalls.... I suspect one could go higher on the forks above Hartville as well. There are several large tributaries downstream of there that look quite floatable too. I need to get out and scope Atlanta Rd. and Hwy J. I wonder if someone could be dropped off at Atlanta Rd. or not. I would assume leaving a car there is out of the question even if the Plasters aren't as bad as the old guy. Conor

I know this is an old thread but the upper Gasconade from Camp Branch to Wilbur Allen is pretty hard to beat. This is a high water float for sure but has a huge natural arch and more beautiful springs than you can count. You can cut it in two with the Buzzard Bluff Access as well. Once you get to the large natural arch 4 or so miles in, the scenery really picks up. I seem to recall it being around 20 miles total. We put in once below the spillway at Hartville but it was not worth the effort for the extra 3-4 miles. That distance was nice but nothing you cannot see elsewhere and there is effort in getting around the lake and dam. Conor

Well, I have been interested in this for years but have heard all the horror stories about the Plasters and the town of Evergreen which is essentially their little private kingdom. This is everything from them running folks off at gunpoint to lobbying to privatize float streams in MO. I had figured they likely had all the county Judges, Sheriff, etc. bought and paid for as well so best to just avoid it altogether which is probably what they want. Anyway, I am always looking to try new sections of river and have been impressed by far upper Roubidoux Creek, the far upper Gasconade, far upper Big Piney, and the Little Piney. To clarify, I am talking about the Little Piney that is a tributary of the far upper Big Piney in Texas County. If helps form the Narrows and flows in immediately upstream of Dog's Bluff. The Little Piney near Rolla is also a great stream. All of these drain the same plateau with similar geology so I figured that the Osage Fork would share similar types of scenery. I was pleasantly surprised when I started looking at the maps and accesses. I had two runs picked out on the last 30 miles. The first was Long Ford to Davis Ford and the next Davis Ford to Hazelgreen. Since the water was up, we decided to do the upstream of the two sections although I think there might be PLENTY of water even with a lot less. This is a bigger stream than I was expecting. We were also impressed with the scenery and flow. The old Lambeth Bridge was real neat. There were also some pretty springs pouring out as waterfalls, similar to what I saw on the far upper Gasconade. Scenery was overall charming and there were some nice sporty sections although that may be due to the water being so high. I basically drove the shuttle route from Hazelgreen to Davis Ford while on the way to Long Ford so it is super easy to access the last 30 miles. There are also a couple intermediate accesses we do not plan to use but could be used for shorter trips. One is Hull Ford and the other is Dryknob. Access on the last 30 miles of this stream is not an issue. The issue is the upper 30 miles which I have now read is quite scenic and sporty. Of course the town of Evergreen and the Plasters are right in the middle of this so don't know about access or if this needs to be made into an overnight trip ending at Long Ford. I was looking to see if any crossings might be an access. If one started at Rader, there is Hwy J 9 miles down. There is also Atlanta Road at mile 14.2 which is a perfect halfway point. From here it would be 14.5 miles according to the book to Long Ford so this is about as perfect of a halfway point to make this into day trips as you can get. The issue I see is that Atlanta Rd. is literally like 100 yards upstream from the first entry into the town of Evergreen with the Plasters. Here you can see that Atlanta Rd. is just south of the boundary of the town of Evergreen. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Evergreen,+MO/@37.523634,-92.6239916,16z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x87c548e986b0e327:0x445f56b2aaccf64e!8m2!3d37.5430999!4d-92.596838!16zL20vMHd3X2s!5m1!1e4?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D I assume it would be a bad idea to leave a car at Atlanta Rd. but figure you could be dropped off there. Has anyone used this as an access or Hwy J? Are there any others I don't know about or is this one where you are committed to an overnight starting at Rader and ending at Long Ford? Of course you would want to setup camp somewhere upstream of Atlanta Rd. and away from the Plasters. Then the next day you would pretty much be committed through the town of Evergreen and the small outlier downstream on the map. I have heard that the younger generation of Plasters are not so bad and that everything is fine as long as you don't come up onto the banks. It sounds like the old guy came from humble beginnings and that old family and friends came out of the woodwork trying to hustle him for money when he made his fortunes. I guess it is like someone winning a big Powerball drawing where this happens. If Hwy J works, I would be willing to do a short 9 miler down to there, then commit to a long 20 mile day for the remainder of the run some other time. https://www.floatmissouri.com/plan/missouri-rivers/osage-fork/ Next on the list will be the obvious easy run from Davis to Hazelgreen but I hear that the upper part is even better than what we saw so it is on my list. I suspect there will be many springs issuing from the bluffs much like the 20 mile or so section of the Gasconade below Hartville. Anyone have any insights into this stream? Thanks, Conor

I haven't done this yet but plan to scope it out if I am in the area for another reason first. It is a far drive just to look around to find it isn't practical. This isn't at the absolute top of my list for new things to see just yet but I did just do the Roubidoux Creek from Hwy M to Hwy 17 above Ft. Leonard Wood, or about 20 miles. Many say this one cannot be done either but it was great. Conor

I have been curious about floating this and it looks like the float guide says there are about 8 miles of floatable water. Is this a nice float and what is a good put-in spot? I would plan to go down to the James and take out at HL Kerr. I see "Wire Road Conservation Area" mentioned and was wondering if that would be a good starting point. Is this a high water float only and what is a good gauge to correlate it with if so? For example, is there a good level on the James at Galena to look for? Thanks, Conor

Here are some pictures of the dam and powerhouse. I like the art deco industrial architecture of the powerhouse.

Yes, the gate is likely at the intake for the tunnel. I could see there was little water coming out at the powerhouse and that was likely leaking around the gate a bit. The dam is an ungated spillway which allows water to continually flow but the gate for the tunnel/powerhouse is at a lower elevation and can take all the water. Bagnell Dam has a gated spillway section to control the lake levels and the powerhouse is basically part of the dam which is more typical. The Lake was low. You couldn't even get into Onyx Cave and I hear that they are letting water out at the dam to meet power generation and water quotas downstream. From what I understand, no power will be generated at Lake Niangua/Tunnel Dam again. Conor

I think this is wrong. Note the mention of a "dry channel" at mile 66. https://missouricanoe.org/niangua-river/ We just floated this section and it is nice. There was no water coming out at the powerhouse and signs warn of unpredictable water flows when generating and to stay away. Signs say to move away if a horn blows because power generation is starting and a dangerous surge of water will follow. It also looks like there will be no more power generation here but the dam and lake will remain intact. https://ruralmissouri.org/tunnel-dam/ Conor

Interesting... I guess enough water flows over the spillway most of the time but I saw mention of it being a "dry channel" between the dam and powerhouse at certain times. Maybe only during seriously low flows which I would think might apply right now? Conor

I just found this. https://ruralmissouri.org/tunnel-dam/ Maybe they are no longer generating??? Conor

I did down to Lake Niangua/Tunnel Dam yesterday from Leadmine and really liked this section, even with several miles of slackwater paddling leading into and on to the lake. This whole area is super cool and I was wanting to do it from below the dam to Lake of the Ozarks/Ha Ha Tonka. I understand that is about 12-13 miles but that if they are generating power at the dam, the 6-7 miles below the dam will be too low to float since that section is being bypassed by the powerhouse. Water was spilling over the dam yesterday and the section below would have been easily floatable. I drove in this way and it looks like a super nice section of river that people likely don't float. This is a rugged and remote location for sure and you have to want to get there. Is there a standard power generating schedule or site that tells you when they will be generating or not? I understand little to no water will be spilling over the dam when they are generating. Conor

Also, we didn't fish but it looks like any part of this below Hutchins Creek would be good fishing with some nice holes and pools. For trash, it wasn't terrible but unfortunately most of what we saw were large trash items like tires and the white plastic wraps from round bales. These wraps are large and become a nightmare to remove with any water or sediment trapped in them. We picked up a few bottles, beer cans, airplane bottles, etc. but that type of trash wasn't terrible. It was just some of the bigger stuff and we didn't try to get that with this trip being a complete unknown. Conor

Thanks. We were about to do this and decided to do something on the far upper Meramec above Short Bend instead. I posted that here under the Meramec. Either way, this one is on our list. Conor