Live conditions, the best float sections by mile marker, springs to stop at, the full outfitter and campground directory, and a built-in trip planner — your complete guide to floating Missouri's Current River.
Length
134 mi
Difficulty
Class I–II
Region
Ozarks
Season
Year-round
Manager
NPS (ONSR)
Typical distance
8–17 mi day floats; 30+ mi multi-day
Best for beginners
Akers Ferry → Pulltite (10 mi, 4–5 hr)
Primary gauge
Van Buren · USGS 07067000
Recommended outfitter
Jadwin Canoe Rental
Live conditions
Today on the Current River
Eddy reads the gauge, the trend, and the forecast and writes a fresh take a few times a day. Use it as one input alongside your own judgment, the outfitter you’re renting from, and current advisories from the agency that manages your stretch.
The pitch
Why the Current River is different
The Current is Missouri's crown jewel float river. Spring-fed, gin-clear, and protected end-to-end as the first national park area created to protect a river system — the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, established by Congress on August 27, 1964 (Public Law 88-492). It floats reliably from snowmelt through Labor Day and well into fall.
Spring-fed reliability. Big Spring alone pumps about 290 million gallons a day into the river. Even in August, the Current is floatable when most Ozark streams are bony.
Visibility you can see your paddle blade through. Cold, calcium-rich groundwater keeps the channel clear most of the year. Bring polarized sunglasses; you'll see fish.
Headwaters
Montauk SP
Protected wilderness. The Ozark National Scenic Riverways was the first NPS unit established to protect a river. No motorboats above Akers Ferry except for short stretches.
Camping included. Free gravel-bar camping is allowed on most stretches with a Leave No Trace mindset, plus 20+ developed access points and a half-dozen NPS campgrounds.
Float sections
Pick your float
Choose a stretch for your group, your time, and today’s water. Distances are approximate; use the planner for the current route and time estimate.
Segment · upper
Upper Current — Baptist Camp to Akers
Cold, technical, and spring-stop heavy. The trout section above Cedar Grove is fly-and-artificial-only; below it the springs run between Cedar Grove and Akers passes Welch Spring's ruined hospital. Bony in late summer above Welch.
Baptist Camp (mile 2.1) is the practical put-in for floaters on the upper Current — Tan Vat (mile 0.9) and Montauk State Park above are tighter, more technical, and Montauk runs as a Blue Ribbon trout park with its own rules. Below Baptist Camp the river still runs cold and clear through rhododendron-lined banks down to Cedar Grove (mile 9). Tidy half-day float; fly fishers and paddlers chasing solitude end up here.
The postcard Current. Akers→Pulltite is the classic family float past Cave Spring; below Pulltite the river opens into the bluff-and-gravel-bar middle that paddlers come back for year after year.
Three different rivers below Two Rivers: the multi-day NPS run from Powder Mill through Big Spring, then the Mark Twain National Forest drift to Doniphan, and finally the slow water down to the Black River confluence near Pocahontas. Motorboats become legal as you go south.
Small bluff jump on the Cedar Grove–Akers stretch. Check water depth before you leap.
mile 12.6
Medlock Cave & Spring
River-right cave entrance just upstream of Welch — easy to miss. Worth a paddle-by; entering the cave on foot is closed (White-Nose Syndrome).
mile 13.7
Welch Spring & Hospital
Ruined 1913 sanitarium built to use the spring's 'curative' air. Pull off river-right and walk up — this one is on the Cedar Grove–Akers float, not Akers–Pulltite.
mile 21.9
Cave Spring
The famous flooded cave mouth you can paddle into. River-right between Akers and Pulltite. Paddling into the entrance is allowed; entering on foot is not.
mile 26.3
Pulltite Spring
Smaller spring, easy walk-up from the Pulltite Campground at the takeout.
mile 35.2
Round Spring
Circular blue spring pool — a 50-foot-wide bowl. NPS interpretive site, walk to it from the parking lot.
mile 57.4
Blue Spring (Current)
Near Powder Mill on the lower river. Not the Jacks Fork's Blue Spring near Buck Hollow — these are routinely conflated.
mile 90.2
Big Spring
One of the largest single-outlet springs in the United States. Reliably blue, surrounded by old CCC stonework.
Directory
Outfitters, campgrounds & lodging
Every active service that operates on the Current River. Call or reserve straight from the list.
USGS data
Water levels & gauge
Check the gauge before you load the truck. Look at the current level, its trend, and recent rain together. A falling gauge alone does not establish suitable conditions; check the reach and current local advisories too.
Park rules
Regulations
Glass containers
Prohibited on the river within ONSR. Glass on the water is a citation, no exceptions.
Free, non-reservable, leave-no-trace on most NPS-managed gravel bars. Some bars are closed seasonally for nesting — signage at access points lists current closures.
HP limits change by segment and season and have been updated. Check nps.gov/ozar before launching with a motor — do not rely on memorized numbers from older blog posts.
PFDs (legally required — one per person, worn by anyone under 7).
Dry bag for keys, phone, ID, and a fleece. Phones tumble out of canoes.
Drinking water (a gallon per person per day in summer) — the river is clear but not safe to drink.
Reef-safe sunscreen and a hat. Bluff shadows are short; sunburn is the #1 trip-ender.
Hard-soled water shoes. Gravel bars are sharper than they look.
Trash bag — pack out what you bring in, and an extra handful of someone else's.
Plan
Launch early. Outfitter shuttle bus rolls 8–10 a.m. on summer weekends. Be on the water by 9 and you'll have most of the river to yourself for two hours.
Camping etiquette. Gravel bars only, 200 ft from springs and tributaries, no cutting live wood, pack out ash.
Don't paddle drunk. Most rescues on this river are alcohol-related. The current is gentle; the cold spring water is not.
Phone service is spotty. Download your float plan and the Eddy map ahead of time; service generally returns near Van Buren.
Cedar Grove (mile 9) puts you straight into bluff country. Pass Cliff Jump (mile 11.8), Medlock Cave & Spring (12.6), and the standout: Welch Spring with its abandoned 1913 hospital ruins at mile 13.7 — pull off river-right and walk up. Take out at Akers Ferry (mile 16.7).
Best for: Half-day floats, spring chasers, history buffs
4–5 hr
Class
I
Crowd
Busy summers
The most popular family float on the river. From Akers Ferry (mile 16.7) you drift down past Cave Spring at mile 21.9 — the flooded cave you can paddle into — and finish at Pulltite (mile 26.3), where the takeout is a designed campground with a boat ramp and another walk-up spring.
Round Spring (a 50-foot-wide blue bowl — walk to it from the parking lot) feeds the river with another 26 million gallons per day. From here it's gravel bars, towering bluffs, and a steady current down past Jerktail Landing (free camping), Broadfoot, and Two Rivers, where the Jacks Fork joins.
Best for: Overnighters, bluffs and quiet
Float time
2–3 days
Class
I
Crowd
Quiet midweek
The big-water lower Current. Pass Blue Spring (mile 57.4, 310 ft deep — Missouri's deepest), camp at Log Yard or Waymeyer, push through Van Buren Riverfront Park (mile 85.9), and finish at Big Spring (mile 90.2) — one of the largest single-outlet springs in the United States.
Best for: Multi-day, springs and miles
6
Big Spring → Doniphan
Lower river
Distance
≈30 mi
Float time
1–2 days
Class
I
Crowd
Sleepy
Below Big Spring the river leaves ONSR at ~mile 105 and continues through the Mark Twain National Forest. Hickory Landing, Gooseneck, Bay Nothing, and Float Camp Recreation Area string along the south end before the river meets the Black River near Pocahontas, Arkansas.
NPS authorized concessioner at Alley Spring on the Jacks Fork River. Established 1963 by Harvey & Edna Staples. Canoe, kayak, raft, and tube rentals with shuttle service on both the Jacks Fork and Current River. Main office 6 mi west of Eminence on Hwy 106; satellite at Hwys 19 & 106 in Eminence.
Outfitter at the junction of the Current & Jacks Fork Rivers on Hwy V east of Eminence. Canoe, kayak, raft, and tube rentals with shuttle. Also has a campground and store with groceries. Year-round float trips.
State park at the headwaters of the Current River, fed by Montauk Spring. Famous for trout fishing (catch-and-release and harvest seasons). Offers cabins, lodge rooms, campground, and dining.
NPS authorized outfitter at Akers Ferry on the Current River. One of the most popular put-in locations. Canoe, kayak, raft, and tube rentals with full shuttle service.
NPS authorized outfitter at Jadwin on the Current River. Serves the mid-Current section between Akers and Round Spring. Canoe, kayak, and raft rentals.
Family-owned outfitter (50+ years) serving both the Current River and Jacks Fork. Canoe, kayak, raft, and tube rentals with shuttle. Two locations: Jacks Fork near Eminence and Round Spring on the Current River. Services local lodging, campgrounds, and Echo Bluff State Park.
Largest canoe rental on the Jacks Fork River. NPS authorized concessioner serving both the Current River and Jacks Fork since 1969. Canoe, kayak, raft, and tube rentals with shuttle. Weekday and group rates. Pets allowed in shuttle vehicles and boats (not rafts).
Riverfront campground and resort in Eminence. Air-conditioned cabins with bathrooms and kitchens, tent camping, full RV hookups, canoe rentals, store, showers, and public laundry. The 8-mile Circle B to Two Rivers float is especially recommended.
NPS-managed campground at Akers Ferry within Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Walk-in sites on a scenic bluff above the Current River near the historic Akers Ferry crossing.
NPS-managed campground at Round Spring on the Current River. Features cave tours, spring viewing, and river access. Popular mid-point stop between Salem and Eminence.
NPS-managed campground at Big Spring, the largest spring in the Ozarks and one of the largest in the US. Located on the lower Current River near Van Buren.
Hotel suites and cottages in the center of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Suites with fireplaces, whirlpool tubs, king beds. Canoeing, horseback riding, and UTV access on Jacks Fork and Current River.
NPS concessioner in Van Buren on the Current River with 40+ years of operation. 54 lodge rooms, Blue Heron restaurant, and full outfitter services. One of the biggest operations on the lower Current.
Newest Missouri state park (opened 2016), on Sinking Creek about two-thirds of a mile off the Current River and two miles north of Round Spring. Betty Lea Lodge rooms, cabins, Timbuktu Campground, a dining hall and a swimming pool. Popular base camp for ONSR floaters on both the Current and the Jacks Fork.
