Yellow Medicine
Hanley Falls to Minnesota River (18.8 miles)
| Difficulty | I-II |
| Length | 18.5 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 7 fpm |
| Gauge | Yellow Medicine River Near Granite Falls, Mn |
| Flow Rate as of 25 minutes | 170 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | October 12, 2010 |
River Description
There appears to be random boulder-bed rapids scattered down this entire reach. A popular stretch is Sorliens Mill to Upper Sioux Agency Park. Numerous alternate access points exist for trips of varying lengths. Short boulder-bed rapids and standing waves in river with high steep banks.
A fine (9 minutes 44 seconds long) video documentary, with some history of the area, exists on YouTube:
Or . . . a quick (35 second) excerpt showing a couple of the typical (low-grade, class I-II) rapids.
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportDid stretch between Sorlens Mill and Upper Sioux Agency Park in Kayaks in early June 2015 at 440 cfs. Frequent boulder bed rapids throughout the route. Some areas of the river were quite shallow at this level. Would not recommend running below 400 cfs and even at that level you may hang up on a sandbar or two.
Have done this stretch in a canoe in the past as well. Need a minimum of 600 cfs to canoe it without getting stuck.
This is a very scenic and exciting stretch of river!