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The slowest large stream in the Ozarks and one of its crookedest: from its head of navigation at Mint Spring the Bourbeuse runs ~116 river-miles in under 38 airline miles to the Meramec. Runoff-fed and murky (its watershed is largely cleared farmland over Pennsylvanian sandstone), with an inconsistent water supply — the upper half is seldom floatable without dragging in a dry summer. Not popular with the rental-canoe crowd (one small outfitter on the whole river); mostly local anglers. Catfish throughout; smallmouth in the upper reaches, spotted bass increasingly dominant below Noser Mill.
USGS gauge readings, updated hourly. Pick a gauge near your put-in.
Pick a put-in and take-out and we'll estimate float time, mileage, and shuttle — then give you a link to share with your crew.
Ordered upstream → downstream. Tap a stop to start a float plan from there.
Access points coming soon for this river.