Current River
Float Trip Guide.

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.

Middle Current — Akers to Two Rivers

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.

Lower Current — Two Rivers to Doniphan

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.

• 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.

• 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.

Plan your Current River trip on Eddy