St. Croix

The St. Croix was designated as one of the original 8 Wild and Scenic Rivers in 1968 as part of the St. Croix Wild and Scenic River. Formal access points are provided every few miles at bridge crossings and parks along the river, some of which provide overnight camping. Despite the number of access points that make it easy to customize a trip to fit your skills and time avaialable, the river still retains its wild character. Along the river designated camp sites (small 8 person sites and large 16 person sites) serve river runners with fire rings and pit toilets. The available campsites can get full on summer weekends.

Most use open canoes for trips on the river and while much of the run is flatwater there are some easy class II rapids that require manuvering particularly in the section from Nelsons Landing to Soderbeck Landing. The river is administered by the National Park Service which provides additional information on rules and regulations along with detailed maps and advice on how to enjoy your trip:

St. Croix National Scenic Riverway

Sections of the river between Riverside Landing and St. Croix Falls include the following:

1) Riverside to Thayers Landing (13.4 miles, class I)

Most of this section is scenic flatwater with a couple of campsites.

Ginger Island signals the start of State Line Rapids, an easy rapid down the right channel around the island. From this point until the mouth of the river, the St. Croix River forms the Minnesota/Wisconsin border.

Paddlers are advised to stay to the river left side of the channel at the ledge just upstream of the MN-48/WI-77 bridge just above Thayers Landing.

2) Thayers Landing to Norway Point (14.3 miles, class I)

This section of river is flatwater that passes through the St. Croix State Park and Governor Knowles State Forest with a few river campsites as well as opportunities to camp in a d

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