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Oklahoma Atlas & Gazetteer is our number one tool in planning our Oklahoma Road Trips.
In addition to topographic maps with unbeatable detail, it is loaded with information on great places to go and things to do in Oklahoma. 

 

 

 

The Arkansas Atlas & Gazetteer - Awesome resource for finding paddling spots in the Ozarks

Each Page Covers 35.1 miles x 44 miles. 
GPS Grids & tick marks 

Index of place names & map features (lakes, rivers, mountains, etc.)

 

 

 

The Texas Atlas & Gazetteer - Finding paddling spots in the Lone Star State

Includes: attractions, historic sites, hiking trails, mountain biking trails, unique natural features and more.  
  

 

The Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer - Missouri offers some great kayaking rivers.

There are hundreds of winding dirt roads and trails in rural Missouri, and this atlas identifies almost all of them.  
Great index of campgrounds, state parks, and fishing locations!

 

 

 

 

 

Illinois River Safety Guidelines

 


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A Canoeing & Kayaking Guide to the Ozarks,
 

 

 

Oklahoma Sportfishing: A Complete Sportsman's Guide (Backcountry Guides)
 

 

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Free Illinois River Paddler Information Resources

Download 2006 Floater's Guide (PDF)

 Upper Illinois River Recreation Weather Forecast

 

Kayaks for Oklahoma

Dianne paddles a Heritage Angler 9.5 we bought a Academy Sports in Tulsa.

Tom paddles a Perception Swifty 9.5.  it is a great first kayak.  We picked up our Swifty at Bass Pro Shop in OKC.

 

 

Kayak Paddlers Supply Store

 

Float The Illinois River

Float Oklahoma's Scenic Illinois River 

  • Bald Eagle Watching
  • Scenic Limestone Bluffs
  • Camping, cabins, fly-fishing and floating 
  • Large number of canoe outfitters 
  • Easy highway access
  • Great for novice paddlers
  • Launch early to see:  Osprey, Whitetail Deer, Trout and Herons.

 

Click to enlarge
Bald Eagle Spotted while paddling the Illinois River on April 30, 2006
Taken on the Illinois River near
Tahlequah, OK

Paddling the Illinois River (Weather)

Check out our latest Illinois River Trip Report on Our Blog!  Our Spring 2008 float trip down the Illinois River was a blast!

Elephant Rock - Famous landmark for paddlers on Oklahoma's Illinois River Float Trips.In October of 2006, Dianne and I visited Elephant Rock Nature Park. You can read all about our trip to Elephant Rock's excellent camping spot in our archived blog posting.

Moe trip reports on this page below the outfitters list.

Choose a spray skirt for your kayak

Illinois River Canoe & Kayak Rentals and Campgrounds List
 

All-American Floats 
Kayak & Canoe Rental
Waterslide, Camping
(918)-456-6949 
(Tested and Approved)

 

Arrowhead Camp
Cabins, Camping, RV
(918) 456-1140
(800) 749-1140

 

Diamondhead Resort
Camping, Bunkhouse
Motel, RV, Kayaks
(918) 456-4545
(800) 722-2411
Eagle Bluff Resort
Cabins, Lodge, RV
Camping
(918) 456-3031
(800) 657-4837
(Tested and Approved)
 
Elephant Rock Nature Park
Yurts, Canoes,
Kayaks, Camping, Fishing, Swimming, Shuttle Service
918-456-4215
(Tested and Approved)

Falcon Floats
Bunkhouse, Camping
Canoes, Kayaks, Shuttle Service, Gifts
(918) 456-8058
(800) 653-5628
(Tested and Approved in 2008)

Peyton's Place
Lodge ,Cabins
Camping, Rafts
(918) 456-3847
(800) 359-0866

Sparrow Hawk Camp
Bunkhouse, Camping
(918) 456-8371
(800) 722-9635

War Eagle Float Resort
Float Trips, Camping
Bunkhouse, Motel
(918) 456-6272
(800) 722-3834
(Tested and Approved)
 

Cedar Valley Camp
Tent Camping, Supplies, 
Shuttle Service.
(918) 456-2484

(No answer when we tried to call in May 2008)

Hanging Rock Camp
RV, Motel, Camping
(918) 456-3088
(800) 375-3088

  

Green River Floats
Inner tube/raft rentals
showers, shuttle service
(918)-456-4867

(No answer when we tried to call in May 2008)

Riverside Camp
Camping, Lodge
Cabins, RV, Kayaks
(918) 456-4787
(800) 749-2267
(Tested and Approved) 
Spencer Ridge Resort
Campgrounds, RVs 
Cabins, Supplies
Shuttle, Showers.
(800)-964-6670
(918)-597-2269

 

Thunderbird Resort
Camping, Lodge, House
(918) 456-4747
(800) 749-4700

  
 

Trip Report  - 5/25/05  The Illinois River

The Illinois River provides the introduction to paddling given to most every Oklahoma boys. We floated it twice on the same weekend as the Buffalo River Trip via Falcon Floats and All American Floats. Both outfitters are right on the river, but the take out point for Falcon Floats is a little tough to find due to some fallen timber. In fact, we paddled right past it!

Illinois River Float Trip Tip: Although Ziplock bags are better than nothing, they are NOT waterproof! Smart paddlers get Dry Bags  - a smaller one to hold wallet, keys, camera, cell phone, etc., and a large one to hold a change of clothes in case you go in during the colder months.    

The folks at the next take out (All American) were real nice and helpful and had such a well marked take out point, we took another short float via their Sit-On-Top Kayaks.

It was our first time on any kind of kayak and we found them to be great fun. They are supposed to be faster than canoes, but since Dianne and I tandem canoe, the one man kayaks didn't seem much faster. We were passing loads of canoes and rafts, but that isn't unusual. We are certainly eager to try out some Tandem Kayaks one of these days.   -- Tom & Di


 

Trip Report  - 5/15/06  The Illinois River

Take This Boat...and Shuttle It

With so much new rain in our part of the world, we had to think hard to decide where to dip our paddles this weekend. I wanted to rent a cabin. Since it was also Mother's Day, it didn't seem right to make the long-suffering mother of my cherished son sleep in a tent. Finally, we both decided that we would like to take the opportunity to paddle the Illinois River again before the Memorial Day rush.

Shuttle Skuttlebutt

More Illinois River outfitters were open this weekend than were open on our last journey down this river. However, this weekend we insisted on bringing our own kayaks. We had a fun trip as usual. We saw the Eagle again, but didn't manage to capture a good picture like last time.

I spoke to several outfitters on the phone and time after time they told me that they didn't want my business. I have heard that there are insurance problems with hauling non-outfitter owned boats, but that sounds like a lame excuse to me. I wonder if there is any enterprising folks running a taxi service in the area? Ultimately, I just needed a ride back to the put-in where we left the family car and kayak trailer. (Warning: unqualified opinion ahead!)

Paddling outfitters beware, the growing trend of not shuttling private boats and passengers divides you from some of your most avid supporters and proponents. Tourism is a business that only thrives in the midst of strong support business networks. You don't build a strong network by isolating the largest nodes. The current strategy appears to be based on hoping I'm willing to wait in line to rent their leaky boats. Better cell phone signal quality, more campsites with Wifi access and respecting the need for and value of services like shuttling private boats would gather much more of my coin than the current strategy.

Green River Floats is an exception to the rule. We called them on my cell phone from our take-out at War Eagle Landing. They arrived quickly and were happy to take us AND our two kayaks to our put-in at Riverside Resort. We gladly payed $20 for the service. Riverside Resort provided us with a decent cabin, but the lack of services for my boats means I may not choose their campground next time.

Can Your Hear Me Now...Good!

Although everywhere else I tried my cell phone on the Illinois River was a deadspot, I had full signal at War Eagle / Green River Landing. If I find out they have WIFI internet available there, I may have to come back and camp near there.

Speaking of wireless internet camping, I got word from Tom, at K-River Campground on the Kiamichi River, that you can now get Wifi access to compliment the camping at his paddle resort. Stop by KRiver.com for details.

One of the things I really love about the Buffalo River in nearby Gilbert, Arkansas is that my cell phone worked well everywhere I checked both on and off the river. IMHO, this now represents and important safety and commerce infrastructure need for Oklahoma's scenic rivers.


 

Trip Report  - 4/30/06  The Illinois River

Memorial Day kicks off the official paddling season on the Illinois River, but so much warm weather has the outfitters opening up on weekends. With this weekend's rain The Illinois River rose to a high, but safe, level with excellent current. When Sunday's forecast called for plenty of sun, we dashed east with little more than our camera and some sunscreen.

Of course, you don't need much more than that to have a great time on Oklahoma's most popular paddling river. Outfitters line the road on scenic Hwy 10 from just outside of Tahlequah to Kansas, Oklahoma. You can rent canoes, kayaks or rafts and take float trips in a wide variety of sizes. No water falls or significant rapids are there to worry the novices, so most Okies paddle this river at some point. In fact, during the heat of the summer vacation the river can be downright crowded.

War Eagle Floats was the first outfitter that we found open for business. Two kayaks and shuttling cost us around $40. Since the amount of paddlers was so small, the shuttle was immediately ready to put us on the water. This was unexpected. We normally sit around waiting for 20 to 30 minutes for an outfitters shuttle bus.

In fact, their speed was such a surprise that I rushed through gathering up my cargo and changing my clothes. When I started to step into my kayak, now miles from our car, I realized that I had forgotten to leave my dry shorts and wallet in the car. Even worse, I had left with one river shoe on and one street shoe on. My shoes didn't match and I am wearing both a swimsuit and shorts! Oh well, I figured that if I kept my butt in the boat, few people should notice.

The two Old Town Otter kayaks we rented were pretty beat up and mine leaked a lot, but it was worth it to be able to get on and off the water quickly with no planning. Since we arrived right after the biggest rain shower of the year, the river was as swift as the shuttle bus. You could literally float down the river, paddling only to steer.

Illinois River WildlifeThe usual cranes, squirrels and turtles were abundant, but we didn't see as much fish action as on our last trip down the Spring River. I assumed this was due to the high water, but my Dad said that the Mayflies were hatching the day we paddled the Spring River. The one day feast makes the fish go crazy. You can see pictures from both trips on my Flickr Pics page.

This Sunday, we were blessed to have the Illinois River to ourselves. Instead of seeing wild living, we enjoyed wildlife like I have never seen on that river. Dianne and I spent about 20 minutes watching and taking pictures of a Bald Eagle! It was the first one I had gotten to observe in person, and it seemed proud to give us a long look. I think all raptors possess a uniquely fierce beauty, but that Bald Eagle just left me speechless. You could practically hear the National Anthem in the background when he chose to fly away.

As usual, we paddled about 10 miles and got some good sunshine and exercise. About halfway along the trip we had to stop and dump the water out of my kayak and I was reminded why we decided to buy our own boats.

 

...Complete Oklahoma Area Float Trip Outfitters List



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