Boating and Floating:

New Web site promotes recreation on Missouri River water trail

With the dog days of summer heating up, it’s time for boaters and floaters to get back in the water and paddle. Instead of breaking the bank traveling to the beach this year, head to the Missouri River after hitting a new state government Web site, www.missouririverwatertrail.org.

“There’s a close-knit group of us who are very familiar with the river after paddling on it for a long time,” said Bryan Hopkins of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. “When we spoke to others about paddling on the river we noticed two obstacles, the first being the false perception that the river is dangerous, and the second that people wanted to get on the river but didn’t know where to go.”

The initiative for the Web site had been in the back of Hopkins’s mind for a long time, but it wasn’t until the fall of 2006 that the Department of Natural Resources approached Gov. Matt Blunt about the lack of awareness of Missouri River recreational opportunities. Blunt then directed a coalition of state agencies, including the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Conservation and the Department of Economic Development’s Division of Tourism, to establish and promote the Missouri River Lewis & Clark Water Trail.

“The Katy Trail has already spawned all sorts of economic growth in small towns with bed and breakfasts, wineries and other businesses,” Hopkins said. “It runs along 140 miles of the river from St. Charles to Boonville, so even more economic stimulus can be gained through use of the water trail.”

Katfish Katy’s in Hunstdale is one such business that can benefit from increased use of the water trail. The Katfish Katy boat ramp is the most popular river access point in the area for fishing, boating and canoeing.

“We already get a lot of business from both the river and the (Katy) trail,” said Tonnie Martin, co-owner of Katfish Katy’s. “It’s a bit of a distance from the boat ramp to the store, but even in the past two weeks there are people swarming the ramp.”

Aside from featuring all the businesses and conveniences along the water trail, the resource-rich Web site contains pages about the history of the water trail project, the history of the Missouri River, trail maps, river safety, common misconceptions of the river, paddling tips, and useful links galore.

Aside from encouraging locals to use the river, the ultimate goal of the project is to provide enough trip planning tools to attract paddlers from all over the world to the 550-mile trail, the longest river water trail in the country.

“We have a world-class paddling venue right here in the U.S. and we want to work this tourism element and focus on this jewel in our state,” Hopkins said. “I was at Les Bourgeois Winery this weekend and there were about 15 kayakers on the river. My ultimate victory will come when we see an abundance of people from Georgia, South Carolina, and even other countries, traveling here to paddle our river.”