King's River Characteristics

[Coldspring]

I'm wanting to check out the King's, here pretty soon. I don't know the river's flow patterns, I checked the USGS gauge and it showed 220 cfs at Berryville on May 10. That seems like a low flow for so early in the year, so I'm guessing I had better hit the river in a few weeks? My normal procedure is to put in, paddle upstream, fish, two nights camping, then come back down. I want to see the new Nature Conservancy property, downstream from Rockhouse. Would Hwy 62 be the best place to put in? Are there plenty of gravel bars to camp on? Just general questions about the river.

[bobber]

that gauge is at the down stream end of the river, by the time it goes, the upper has dropped out. camping along the river is hard not too many places to camp on.right now it's in flood stage, or just under it. and if you want to see the new land you'll need to go up stream from hwy 62 bridge. (in Eureka Springs close to the passion play road, is a shape corner, rockhouse rd shoots off from that. take it all the way to the end turn left. about a mile and a half on the right you'll see a dirt road. take it to the first left it's the outfitter for the kings! ) good people! they have camping area's and can do shuttle for you.

[Coldspring]

I think the only thing I've seen of the King's River is from 412, 62, and at King's River Falls. Looking at Google Earth it appears to have plenty of gravel bars. Are they uncampable? I'm a backpacker, so it's not like I set up a town to camp in, I can camp on an 8x8 spot, if need be. My beer weighs about as much as my gear, I think my canoe load is less than 150 pounds, including beer and ice.

Is there some kind of guide to base the water levels on based on that one downstream gauge? I'm thinking I ought to hit it the first week after Memorial Day, if things are favorable.

[Coldspring]

What are the mileages to put ins and road on the King's, above 62? Is it 7 miles from Rockhouse to Trigger Gap and what is Trigger Gap, is it Hwy 221? 12 miles from Trigger Gap to Hwy 62?

[Gavin]

http://www.kingsriveroutfitters.com/rivermap.html

This should give you a start....been wanting to float that river, but I never seem to find the time.

[Coldspring]

My beer weighs about as much as my gear...

LOL, I didn't intend that to sound like I'm an alky! I'm one of those lightweight backpackers and I use a lot of the same stuff for canoe trips. You have to consider that a case of beer and a 12 pack of soda weighs MORE than my entire backpacking setup )including worn clothing, food, and water.

Gavin, I saw that map a month or so ago, and forgot about it. That's what I was looking for. The time gets away. It may take me the rest of my life to sample all of the Ozark float streams, if I can pull it off. I no longer care about doing the entire lengths of river or trails, I just want to get a good sampling of them all.

What is the scoop on the McMullen Farm? Do they allow parking? That would be the perfect spot for me to start, assuming there's enough water in the river.

[chub minnow]

You'll have to have an outfitter drop you at McMullen, don't know if they'll let you leave the car. Any of the outfitters will shuttle your vehicle to the 62 bridge downstream. King's River Outfitters, or Riverside Resort are your best (but expensive) bet. King's River Retreat (next to K.R.O.) will probably do that for you as well. Paddling very far upstream from McMullen farm would be quite the feat especially in these flows. As long as you're paying for access - I'd go for the shuttle.

[Coldspring]

Is the river already pretty low around the Rockhouse area? I'm not thinking I'm going to make the King's River trip this year.

[Dan Kreher]

Is the river already pretty low around the Rockhouse area? I'm not thinking I'm going to make the King's River trip this year.

Just looking at the USGS gauge readings, the Kings is far for low right now. Flows at Hwy 62 gauge are running at 900 CFS which is well above normal for this time of year. I would believe that the river from Marble access down is indeed floatable but as recommended I wouldn't try to paddle upstream against the current. I would just float from point A to point B like most folks do. If you're looking for solitude the Marble to Marshall -- 12 miles -- section is beautiful with many overhanging bluffs and waterfalls in along the steep banks. I only floated this once during high water in the Spring years back and fishing was so so. But Kings River Outfitters should be able to fill you in on the details on this and any other section of the Kings River you wish to float. The 15 miles from Marshall to Rock House is a great camping section but it is somewhat popular with folks on weekend trips. During the week would be best bet. 18"/1 fish limit on SMB from Trigger Gap to 62 provides good fishing opportunites for nice fish but river here not nearly as pretty as further upstream.

Rather than listen to me though, call Ernie Killman at Kings River Outfitters (www.kingsriveroutfitters.com) 479 253 8954 and he can give you the full scoop. Like Gavin, I've been trying to get back on Kings for several years but always seem to run out of time. Living 5 hours away makes it much tougher trip that if I lived down Springfield way. Perhaps someday . . .

PS -- the photo on Kings River's homepage is one of those gorgeous undercut bluffs below Marble. It's really cool up there. I'd go up there if the water is right for it.

[24KGold]

My wife and I floated from Rockhouse to Trigger Gap on Friday before the flood of people on the weekend. It was an incredible float. I haven't been on that stretch for almost three years and boy had it changed. The floods over the past year, last year in particular, have really changed the channels and the whole river. The river bed was wider which made for some long and shallow areas. Also there were a lot of tree pile-ups all along the shoreline and a few we carried around. It's definately different than when I started floating it 25 years ago.

I assumed we would catch a lot of little smallies but I was really surprised. We caught quite a few in the 12-13 inch range, several in the 14-15 inch range and my wife caught the largest at 16 inches. It was really fat also.

Even though the river was up a little and was flowing more than it usually is when I fish it, because of the changes in the river it couldn't be much lower than it is right now without having to drag the canoe in several places. But even though it has changed so much, it's still a beautiful river and a great float.