Illinois River, OK - March 20, 2004
Chris Collins
March 20, 2004, 3.76 ft, 847 cfs, 60F. Put-in: Round Hollow public access. Take-out: No Head Hollow public access. 13.8 river miles. We had no trouble finding water to float. Found lots of riffles, lots of strainers and no white whitewater. Tallest waves were estimated to be 8 inches.
Class II because it fails “Few or no obstructions” in Class I. Maneuvering was required to avoid frequent strainers and other obstacles.
Personally, I think this section was suitable for novices but not beginners. I found a back ferry and draw stroke very beneficial in several places. Turning to avoid strainers and other obstacles would have been difficult if paddling faster than the current. Saw two freshly caught rental canoes separate strainers. They were both facing the swift current like open buckets.
Located about 80 miles southeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma on the edge of the Ozarks the Illinois river is about 2-4 hours closer to Wichita than most other Ozark float trip sites. Tahlequah, a 15-30 minute drive from most campsites, has many stores, gas stations, restaurants and a 24 hours Wal-Mart Superstore.
Driving time from the south Wichita turnpike exchange to downtown Tahlequah is 4.0 hours without counting breaks. Add another .5 hour to drive from Tahlequah and locate your destination on the river. If meeting upstream and coming from the north, a little time can be trimmed by taking 412 east out of Tulsa and then south on 10. I will try that next time.
The Illinois looks like a typical Ozark river. The water is clear, and the riverbed is made of rock and gravel. Except for the many strainers caused by fallen trees this river is quite gentle at the lower levels. The strainers are a significant hazard for new boaters. We found not broken concrete fill such as found in Kansas rivers.
There are plenty of public access points along the river that provide very good access for canoe and kayak. Several have public fee based camping. At the time of this writing (2004) boats don’t require a fee but each person is required to purchase a $1 wrist band for each trip down the river.
Make sure you have a shuttle arranged before you make the trip. We asked two outfitters and they told us $17.50 and $35.00 per boat for a shuttle. This makes a $15 annual membership in the Kansas Canoe Association look pretty good. We shuttled each oter and our shuttle cost us zero.
The only problem I see with this river is the number of people and boats in warmer weather. The river is littered with local outfitters. One outfitter had canoes that were numbered over 300. Several had multiple busses and trailers for transporting people and canoes or rafts. This is a place I want to stay away from in warm weather. If you are dressed for cold weather/water paddling this river is a very beautiful, quiet and peaceful place to go in the off-season.
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