Floating/Camping on the Black River

[Littleangel77007]

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.

[marcus]

i just got back from there my brother has some property out there and we fished from the bank around lesterville access and caught some good smallmouth. iv never floated the river yet after all this time. im interested in hearing your results after your trip im thinking of giving it  go this summer too its a beautiful area i didnt have a cell phone signal out there thats for sure

[Al Agnew]

You can legally camp on gravel bars, but as a general rule, avoid bars that have a well  used road leading onto them.  No permits. Not only no styrofoam allowed, but you must have a cooler with some kind of latching or positive closing lid, so that the lid doesn't open if you tip over.  No glass.  You must carry some kind of trash bag in the canoe, and have all your trash in it and not just lying in the canoe.  Campfires are fine, though finding wood to burn sometimes isn't easy.  And please, don't burn stuff in the campfire that won't burn completely to ash, and it's good stream etiquette to make sure the fire is completely out and the ashes scattered when you leave the campsite.  It's common practice to build fire rings, and lots of people throw stuff like aluminum cans and garbage that doesn't completely burn, leaving a trashy, stinky mess for the next person.

The river from Highway K to Clearwater is "managed", if you can call it that, by the Corps of Engineers, since it's all a part of Clearwater Lake's flood pool.  The Corps more or less ignores most of it.  Lesterville to K bridge isn't really managed by anybody, since it's mostly private land except for some national forest ground.  It does occasionally get policed by the county...I don't know if the state water patrol ever gets on it.

It's an easy float.  It is wide open enough to seldom get log jams, and the canoe rental outfits tend to remove any obstructions in the stretch from Lesterville to Hwy. K.

Expect it to be crowded on nice weekends, with a large number of river dorks.

[Gavin]

Lots of people around Lesterville. Even on weekdays. Might be 5-600 folks at K bridge on a warm Friday or Saturday. The fish don't care though. Usually right in the middle or tucked under a logjam.

 

[Littleangel77007]

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