Current
Montauk State Park to Gooseneck
| Difficulty | I(II) |
| Length | 110 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Reach Info Last Updated | August 3, 2021 |
River Description
The Current River offers a beautiful run on a spring-fed river that is part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways administered by the National Park Service. The Ozark National Scenic Riverways was created by an Act of Congress on August 27, 1964, as the first protected river in the National Park system that includes 134 miles of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers in the Ozark Highlands of southeastern Missouri. A number of access points along the way provide opportunities for day trips or overnight adventures that are popular with canoeists. Paddlers will find more gradient at the top and before the river mellows out to a popular summer float trip.
River Features
Baptist Access
Cedar Grove Access
Welch Landing
Aker's Ferry Access
Pulltite Access
Round Spring Access
Major access point with large parking area and facilities including a campground.
Jerktail Landing Access
Good intermediate access between Round Spring and Two Rivers Access points.
Two Rivers Access
Major access point where the Jack Fork joins the Current at Two Rivers with a developed campground. The access is just downstream of the confluence on river right.
Powder Mill Access
Roberts Field Access
Logyard Access
Beal Landing Access
Chilton Creek Access
The Chilton Creek boat ramp was designed and intended for motorized boat access. The former Pin Oak Campground is located immediately upstream but was converted to a day-use site for outfitters following major flooding in the spring of 2017 that resulted in significant damage and the closure of the Pin Oak Campground.
Waymeyer Access
This access serves canoes and kayaks. It is a standard put-in for day trips down to Van Buren or Big Spring that are particularly popular in the summer.
Raftyard Access
Smaller access area and an option for a short trip down to Van Buren.
Watercress Park (Van Buren)
Major access point in the town of Van Buren within walking distance of Ozark Scenic Waterway Headquarters and visitor center as well as restaurants and lodging in town.
Big Spring
Popular day use area and campground with river access where Big Spring supplements the flow of the Current River.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportOctober 14-18, 2023
Cedar Grove to Log Yard, 61 miles
Low water, but passable. Gravel bottom. Scrapy.
Class I. Many tight turns.
Requires basic boat control skills to navigate, with nearly every turn featuring class I and avoidable log obstacles. Great fun!
Upper sections have more curves and tighter maneuvers.
The river is extremely busy in the summer, as evidenced by numerous local canoe liveries, with piles and piles of boats in their lots.
Fall is a good time to go, as most other rivers are too low and off season usage is very low..
Many, many gravel bars to camp on. Bring a sleeping pad!
I would consider our water levels to be a minimum:
- Montauk - 92 cfs
- Akers - 220 cfs
- Jacks Fork - 166 cfs
- Van Buren - 925 cfs
The river is primarily spring fed, with consistent and reliable flows.
The water is spectacularly clear. Several of the feeder springs kick out over 100 cfs! They are a sight to see. Enjoy the pace by which the river grows and grows, as it picks up water from all the springs that literally permeate the whole area.
It’s a great trip - no development, minimal houses, innumerable riverside camp spots, miles and miles of riffles, fun turns, bluffs and undisturbed forest.
Do watch the weather. The river and its tributary gullies are quite flashy.
Thomas O'Keefe and Ammen Jordan enjoyed a day trip on the Current River. We camped overnight at Two Rivers Campground located immediately downstream of the Jacks Fork confluence with the Current River. It was a cold night and we had the campground to ourselves on a Friday evening in November. We left our vehicle in the campground and arranged a shuttle with Two Rivers Canoe Rental. They were able to trailer our sea kayaks up to Round Spring Access where we launched aroud 9am. From there it was a 19 mile paddle back to Two Rivers Campground. We arrived back at the campground around 3pm making an approximately 6 hour trip with a stop for lunch on the gravel bar at Jerktail Landing. We were the only people out on the water on a Saturday. Sea kayaks were a great way to do the trip at this time of year (a canoe would have worked well too), but required consistent paddling to make the distance on a cold, but sunny, short winter day.
River Management Society organized a workshop on river access planning hosted by Ozark National Scenic Riverways with the National Park Service on river access planning. Thomas O'Keefe and Jordan Secter were the primary instructors for the workshop that took place over Wednesday (11/13) and Thursday (11/14). We provided an overview of the River Access Planning Guide and used the access issues at Waymeyer Access, Chilton Creek Boat Ramp, and Pin Oak Campground that were exacerbated by the spring 2017 floods as sites for a discusssion on river access planning. The workshop included site visits to the various access sites along the river in close proximity to Van Buren, MO.