Conor

I live near Rolla and this is one I have been wanting to try out but haven't really figured out good accesses or flow levels. It doesn't look like there is a gauge so you would have to correlate a level to another gauge such as the Meramec at Cook Station. I am aware that this is the source of water for Maramec Spring and that most of the water goes underground except at high flow events. Has anyone kayaked this for any considerable distance? I have heard it is really nice but you have to hit it just right. What is a good access point? I would plan to just end at Scotts Ford on the Meramec. Can you go above where the Dry Fork further forks into a big and little branch? Conor

That is pretty much how I do it. I don't worry too much but you need to be aware and vigilant. I didn't see the homeless at the Union Access the last time I used it but I am sure they don't want to rock the boat by breaking into cars or whatever since they are already doing something illegal. Signs at access state "No Camping." If they just live there and don't cause problems, they might get a free pass. Conor

I guess that is true. A kayak could be a prop of sorts to legitimize the transaction. Maybe the guy was told to look for a truck like his with a kayak in the back. I don't think we looked like a threat to that one guy. He was just sitting in his car. We went to our cars to move them down to the boat ramp and pickup the kayaks and gear and didn't go towards him but when he saw a group, he left. Conor

One of my friends had two of his tires slashed and the valve stems cut at Pacific Palisades while he was fishing a couple weeks ago. He has no political bumper stickers or anything offensive. All we can figure is that they wanted to disable the car and make sure he couldn't drive it away on the spare tire, to come back and strip it or break in at night. He called a local tire shop that came out and put new tires on right there so that didn't work out for them. Or maybe they were going to put it up on a dolly and take the whole thing using the two good tires???? No idea. We also had some interesting folks at the Times Beach/Route 66 access as well. I am not sure what was all up but I suspect it might have been drug dealing or meeting for gay sex. The first guy kept driving in circles around the first friend who showed up at the boat ramp before everyone else, making him nervous. The guy was driving erratic and could barely keep it on the road. He drove off as soon as the rest of us arrived, again going off the road. My friend had a kayak in the bed of his truck so it should have been obvious he went to the river to actually use the river and not for whatever else is going on there. The second one was a really nice new shiny Suburban backed in with its headlights on. Again, he drove away pretty quickly when several of us walked up from the boat ramp. It seems someone always gets pulled over and checked or checked on the river by the law enforcement rangers at the Scenic Riverways. I am not sure if they were having problems but it seems they like to pull you over for any little thing and at least check you out. I thought this was a bit much at first but I don't think anything of leaving an extra kayak, paddle, or other gear just out in the open while I am on those rivers. I don't see or hear about the strange stuff that unfortunately seems so common in other locations here but sometimes it is annoying to have the rangers back in the weeds staring at you or whatever. It is definitely a tradeoff. Conor

Spring Bluff is farther down and the "town" is right off Hwy 185. There is an old general store and that is about it. I think Japan is another place like this or is that Strain? I really like the old mechanic shop or service station made of sandstone as well as the old general store. Enjoy them now as they won't be around forever. Spring Bluff itself is on the Mill Rock to Wenkel Ford stretch. You *MIGHT* be able to do this now but just BARELY. I would wait for more water. This is another real nice scenic area. The sweet spot for this river is probably Mill Rock to Noser Mill. Anyway, there is an old steam boiler with the ends cut out that was likely a culvert at one time. I am guessing there was a crossing with the flow of water passing through this culvert. I am guessing there was an embankment across the river and the floods overwhelmed the culvert and washed the embankment away. There is no sign of an embankment, only the old riveted boiler in the middle of the river. Two springs dump out of the bluff here on the right. One is right before the boiler as I remember and the other below. The larger one that is lower is really neat. It comes out like 80 ft above the bluff and there is like a 30 inch sycamore right near the outlet high on the bluff surrounded by upland trees. Go PAST the tributary and log jams and then work your way back up until you have to stop on the right. Then walk up and over the bluff. You can access it from above the side channel by going up that channel but expect to get muddy and it is a lot more work. I didn't know there was an easier way until I went up the hard way one time and could see the other option. Also, the last time I went the river was super low and the spring barely flowing. I looked at the gauge it is HALF of what I did when I thought it was barely doable. I would definitely wait for rain to do this part. Honestly the only part you could do right now is probably from Riekers down. This is downstream of Champion City, another little town with a mill still standing. This is a neat area and river. I was only introduced to it a couple years back. Conor

Just drive all three roads from here and you will see pretty much the entire town in 2 minutes. It is as you say with just old houses, and the remains of an old general store and mechanic shop or similar. People do live there but it has seen better days. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Redbird,+MO+65014/@38.1801934,-91.5745563,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x87dbb9086712c303:0x8692b34d0cd5aa1a!8m2!3d38.1817119!4d-91.5704364 We put in at the Redbird slab and took out at Hog Trough. I would want 100 cfs on the High Gate gauge if you plan to do this, otherwise you might be walking. My favorite headwaters section for scenery is Mint Spring Access to Tea Access although the entire river has its charm. If you need more information, let me know. I have permission to use private property at Safe, MO (another nonexistent town) whenever the water comes up. It looks to be about 15 miles to Redbird. I figure this will be about is high as I will get on the Bourbeuse. Conor

I know what you mean. This is one reason why I have kept the really old crappy pickup I had planned to get rid of around. I figure the newer one will be a target at the river with this crap. I often find abandoned buildings while out exploring. I rate them for how out of the way they are by if the copper wiring is still intact or not. Buildings anywhere near easy access will be stripped of any metals. Those out in the woods are often pretty intact. The good news is that a lot of these crooks are opportunistic. You make it a tiny bit harder for them and they find another target. I was doing IT and security camera work at a business that kept having stuff stolen. They had started to put up a fence and put up a gate first. This required a crook walk about 15 extra feet. That was all it took to stop this and they never bothered to put up the rest of the fence. That is how lazy these bums are. Conor

Obviously this can be an issue. I would think parking out from the access in a more visible area near Union would be fine. That is what we always do. The homeless people didn't seem to be around the last time we used the Union access. Have they been moved out? It does seem there are some strange people that hang out at this river, more so than others. Conor

FYI: There are some really interesting bryozoan colonies from the size of softballs to basketballs growing at Mayers right now. Apparently that nasty place isn't a turn off to them as they appear to be thriving. https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/bryozoans-moss-animals Conor

A friend of a friend had their trailer stolen yesterday while kayaking the Meramec at the MDC Blue Spring Access. I hear you want to at least put a lock that requires some effort to cut/remove or this is likely. Another friend was telling me how his boss had a pickup stolen a while back. This just happened somewhere in the St. Louis area. It was found a few days later, mostly stripped, IN the river at Rieker Ford. I guess it is luck of the draw and just using common sense at these remote places. Conor

Redbird looks like a ghost town these days but still has some neat old buildings. Also, there are other neat little towns like this all throughout the Bourbuese watershed. I get the feeling a lot more used to be going on with the old mills and all that. Spring Bluff is a neat area and the general store still stands. The nearby bluff on the Bourbuese is also quite scenic and interesting. It looks like some sort of culvert made from a steam boiler was used on a road across the river. I guess any remains of the embankment are long gone from floods but the iron culvert is still there and an interesting artifact. Conor

This probably keeps the converter theft and stuff down at this access if they are hanging out in cars there all day. We just didn't know what was going on here at first. It was also probably obvious to them that we were actually using the access to get on the river as well. Conor

My first experience was a half mile or more slog though the upper end of Mayers. It was hot stinky mud the entire time and there were roundworms in the mud. This is the type of place where I figure you would get a brain eating amoeba. I was sinking in and covered in mud by the end. Stinky gas was bubbling out the entire time and this area always has lots of trash. The next time around the upper access was open because I was at high flow. It was much better but I really think coming in from the bottom is probably the best way at this place at normal flow. I have left that way to head to Union and it isn't so bad. Conor

Zoom into the area of interest and individual parcels with owner information will pop up. https://fcgis.franklinmo.net/ Conor

I see this is old but here is what I have found. You can pay $5 per person to park at Devil's Back which is just above Noser Mill. They are good people and your stuff gets watched so that is good news. I am not sure if you have to pay them as well to park at Peter's Ford but that is also private. You must park in view of the house at a designated parking area. We had paid $5 at Devil's Back and then parked here. I am not sure if you can just show up or you need to pay but either way, your stuff is being watched. They don't want craziness going on down by the river. Mayers is just the pits. I have found it not to be as bad to exit from the bottom and go down to Union. I even think it might be best to come in from the bottom if coming in from the top but have never tried this. That upper channel is super nasty, especially in lower water like we have right now. The longest section without an easy access is Noser Mill to Rieker Ford. We did it this spring and it was a long day, being 21.5 miles and all. I hear there is a fishing club you can join about halfway down this section. We just parked at Rieker and then paid to park at Devil's Back to do this part. Mayers isn't so bad at 400cfs or so because you can float into all the channels without having to get out in stinking mud. It is miserable at lower water though. I have done it and it is disgusting. I guess it would cost a lot of money to fix this or build a new ramp but this access is gross. People are still there fishing a lot of the time so it does get used. Unfortunately I see a lot of trash dumped as well. Conor

I like them all for different reasons. We did Union to Uhlemeyer in the winter and it was nice. I do think the scenery from Mayers to Union is the best for the lower part below Spring Creek. Mayers is a true pit of hell though but easier to exit at the bottom than come in from the top. There were tires and dead deer in the water last time I went. I think the Goodes Mill Dam and ruins of the mill and machinery are cool though. The turbine and some large pulleys are still present. Mint Spring to Tea is probably the best of the upper part but that requires high water. I think the sweet spot is probably from Mill Rock to Noser Mill as there is a lot of really good scenery here and it is floatable most of the time. I had heard Uhlemeyer was a gay meetup spot from someone else. There are always people there so we assumed it was just drug dealing being so close to the highway at first. The cars looked better than the typical junkers you see the tweakers in as well. No one ever bothered us but I guess we didn't give off the right vibes to them. They might also provide passive security by being there. I will remember not to change clothes in the woods after a trip here though or I might end up with MAYERS POX. Conor

It was pretty low the last time I did Mill Rock to Wenkel but wasn't bad. I had to get out several times but it wasn't like I walked half of it either. Above Redbird will have to be done in higher water. I looked and could walk across it without getting my feet wet. Conor

The main place with an established homeless camp is the Union Access near the Dickey Bub. Park over by the Dickey Bub in plain view and not at the boat ramp. Walk up to your car and drive it down at the end.

I usually take a really old POS truck to the river for this reason. The converters are still there but I would straight pipe it if they were stolen. I don't worry too much during the day but I have seen some real tweakers out there as the sun goes down. I guess Union and the surrounding Franklin County have some rough spots. I would rather pay some money than have my truck trashed. What is the banana on the dashboard? I looked that up on some slang pages and couldn't find reference to this. On a side note, some Facebook scammer started trying to phish me over a kayak I had for sale. They wanted to know where I lived and who I used for internet service. I told them I was homeless and lived in a van down by the river and used the WIFI from a nearby fast food place. They blocked me at that time. Conor

Several of my friends are talking about doing an overnight or multi-day trip on the Bourbuese. It seems that some questionable folks hang out at some of the accesses and I would be worried about coming back to finding my car broken into or stripped for scrap metal. I was thinking about seeing how far Devil's Back would shuttle and not have to worry about leaving a car at an access. You see lots of strange people hanging out at many of the accesses. I have come upon people living at at least two and it seems Union has an established homeless settlement. The solution there is to park over by the Dickey Bub in a lighted area in sight of the highway. I have seen people just sitting in cars at Mayers and Uhlemeyer. There was a completely stripped hulk of an old pickup at Rieker Ford one time I was using the access. Has anyone had any issues such as car break ins or converter theft? Should I be worried or not? I figure it is probably best to have a friend move cars or pay Devil's Back to do the work so the cars are in a secure location. Conor

I now have an opportunity to put in on private property near Safe, MO and plan to go to Redbird when the water conditions are right. I don't expect the good scenery you get down from Mint Spring but figure it is worth a try. This river has nice scenery and not all the crazies you get on other rivers. Conor

Leaving via the lower channel might be easier as it is shorter and not as mucky as when you come in from the top. This is likely flow dependent though and might be a real hassle at lower water. For the lower part, I prefer Mayers to Union due to better flow and scenery. Union to Uhlemeyer has the dam so 4 miles of really slow water and then the dam itself to contend with but that isn't a big deal. Mayers is a nasty access but gets you on the water. There are always dumped tires, dead deer, etc. there plus the fact it is a mucky pit isn't a help. I guess fixing this or buying land somewhere else and moving it is out due to cost. Conor

I have done work for some of the locals in that area. It looks like there might be a spot on EE but not their property based on what they told me. The locals didn't seem unfriendly around Redbird or Hog Trough. Other rivers are covered with signs and purple paint but not so much here.... The next Ford below Mint Spring appears good as well and we might use it to avoid the mucky mess at that ramp. Something like the Mineral Fork is almost impossible to float due to private property. I got access at the top on private land and continued to Mammoth for that one. I am going off this guide here for mileage. You can obviously navigate this WAY above Hwy 19. https://forums.ozarkanglers.com/forum/228-bourbeuse-river/ Conor

I live relatively close to this river but only became introduced to it a year ago by a friend. I have been back many times since but before this time figured it was just an ugly mudpit that wasn't even worth trying before actually getting on it for myself. My first experience a year ago was sliding down the boat ramp at Mint Spring on the several inches thick layer of gooey mud into the river. I figured trying this out would be a mistake at this point but was introduced to some really nice scenery in the first few miles. We recently did Redbird to Hog Trough and it was a nice scenic float but definitely slow in the 5 miles or so above Mint Spring. It picked up after that. Are there any possible put-ins above Redbird? It looks like there is one off EE in Phelps County north of St. James. Hwy B doesn't look possible but are there any others? Has anyone ever done above Redbird here? If so, how is the scenery? I know this is definitely a high water float so it can't be done in the summer. I really like the part from Mint Spring to Tea with the nice sandstone bluffs, small springs, caves, waterfalls, and such. This is by no means the most spectacular river but is easy and relaxing without all the crazy drunks that pollute other rivers. I really like it overall and feel it is underappreciated after giving it a try myself. So far I have done Redbird to Mill Rock at the top and Riker Ford to Robertsville (Meramec) on the bottom end of the river. The lower part has some nice stuff as well but there is definitely more trash and blight along the river once you get near Union. The accesses near Union also have some interesting and questionable activity. Uhlemeyer has people coming and going so guess they are selling drugs or whatever with such easy access to I-44. Union has homeless people living at the boat ramp. Mayers is a nasty mud pit with dumped trash and piles of dead deer. Riker Ford had a stolen truck stripped of all its parts when we were there once. Some of these accesses sure don't make the place look inviting but it is great once you get on the river. So I have missed Mill Rock to Riker and anything above Redbird so far. How are these parts and how is access at Peters Ford? I have heard it is basically off-limits from some but others say it is fine to park there. I wouldn't mind paying for a shuttle either. Conor