Blue River, IN in May or June?

“I've been wanting to check out the Blue River for a while now. Anyone interested?

I have to look into but I think I read that it goes through a state forest. Does that mean we could camp right on the river without being in a "campground"?

I think *technically* you can camp anywhere up to the highest point a navigable river gets in a normal year, but it's not really worth fighting with a landowner who doesn't agree with that.

Let's do it! Who's in?”

“D'oh!
last edited: 4/04/07 8:22:07 PM”

“Where is it? Canoe or kayak and when? And do Indiana rivers have trash and dead animals floating in them?”

“Indiana John posted some pics a couple of years ago. They're still available in his webshots album.

It's in southern Indiana. there are lots of caves around and it looked like a pretty nice river. I did not see any trash and the water looks pretty clear. I read on an outfitter's website that the average depth is 5 ft. and the river is the most "spring fed" river in Indiana.”

“Hey Ductape I'm not sure about it going thru a state forest but there is a canoe/kayak rental place on the Blue that has a pretty cool setup...altho you do have to camp in a campground.

They have a weekend deal where you float downstream on Sat. they come and pick you up, you camp at their campground, then Sun they take you upstream and you float back down to their headquarters...I'll see if I can find the info for it tomorrow...

Btw we floated it a couple of years ago and I don't remember seeing any dead animals in it, Sass...just a coupla drunk guys in yaks! :D
last edited: 4/04/07 8:28:51 PM”

“Cool! I got the weekend of the twenty eighth free... Birch too.”

“May or June, Sass?”

“i could be interested in this...i have a link called indianaoutfitters.com in my favorites but apparently that site isn't up anymore...it had all the canoeable (is that a word) rivers in indiana mapped”

“April 28th is almost May!”

“here's something from the DNR website

http://www.in.gov/dnr/outdoor/canoe/blue.htm

And do Indiana rivers have trash and dead animals floating in them?”
Sassafras

depends on what you mean by trash...do shirtless rednecks on inner tubes drinking PBR count?”

“No, think "Ohio rivers" and you'll know what I mean. If it looks too gross to swim I don't want to paddle in it. That's saying alot as we'll paddle in the Detroit river.”

“I've paddled the Blue in high water from Milltown to past Stagecoach Stop, and went over the dams - fun! The water is pretty clear as long it hasn't rained too recently and it is a scenic paddle.

There really aren't places to camp outside of the designated campgrounds. The campground at Stagecoach tends toward party central, although the group sites are a good choice if there's a group size to qualify to use them (I think 5 or more), and there are a few walk-in sites in the group site general area.”

“it passes through a state forest...can't you camp just about anywhere in a state forest?”

“Yeah, I'm definately interested. Looking at buying a yak soon anyways.”

“The section of river I mentioned, at least, doesn't have much public land around it, and with some high stone banks in places, there's no where to camp along much of that outside of the campgrounds.”

“A campground will work. When do the outfitters get up and running?

I like the idea of the 2 day trip mentioned above. Getting picked up at the end of the first day and floating back to the cars the second day means we won't have to wait around on our ride the second day.”

“http://www.cavecountrycanoes.com/
Here's the link to the outfitter we used”

“if i remember right if you rent from them you have to go on one of their routes...you can rent from this one and take it where ever you want

http://imu.indiana.edu/things_to_do/iuoa/gear.shtml”

“Another option is to stay at Stagestop (not Stagecoach Stop, my mistake) Campground if the group is meeting the night before, then shuttle to Rothrock Mill and paddle back to the campground for day one. Day two spot vehicles at Rockrock Mill and go to Milltown to paddle back to the vehicles. Works well if people are then leaving for home after that day's paddling or spending another night at Stagestop. There is public access at Milltown right by the outfitter there. If no one needs to rent from an outfitter, this way of shuttling can work. And, probably works better with kayaks than canoes as far as how many can be handled with a minimal number of vehicles. It does take some time, but so does getting to the outfitter's and going on their schedule.”

“This trip sounds right up my alley. I would like any info on it that you all can provide,,,”

“I'm interested depending on the date. Will keep my eye out for more details surrounding the timing.”

“Hey All!!
The Blue has some good points, but speaking from experience most of them are down south and there are some trashy spots (Junk cars and old refrigerators, etc) and yes, even the occasional dead cow!! Not trying to change your plans, but the Whitewater is a much more navigable river and beats the Big Blue hands down for the scenic aspects of the trip. There are three Canoe liveries on the river and they have several good trips to choose from. Two of the best are in Brookville, IN. Morgan’s tends to be the best in my opinion. http://www.morganscanoe.com/ Check it out, it’s worth the time!
See ya later.
Randall”

“That's good to know Randall. The Whitewater is on my list as well. I actually can't believe I've never been down there since I live so darn close.”

“DC
Heres a link to the other outfitter
http://www.whitewatercanoerental.com/
See ya later.
Randall”

“I used Whitewater canoe rental bout 15 years ago. Rained hard during the week prior to my trip down the river. Very nice ride, but not quite as scenic as Sugar Creek.

Did the lower Blue once. Kinda boring. You will not find a Viking on that route.”