re: Missouri has the best canoeing of any state. Heck, it's known as the Canoe State

MISSOURI RIVER

The Missouri offers plenty of day and overnight floats. During low water, islands and sandbars are great places to camp, fish or picnic. Some of the accesses marked are on the Missouri, bur others are up a tributary. The current in the tributaries slow as the rivers flow into the Missouri, which usually makes it easy to paddle a mile or two upstream. These upstream tributary accesses allow you more flexibility when planning a paddling trip. The conservation areas are marked so you can get out and explore along the way. For more information on Conservation Department areas along the river, write for the three free area brochures on the upper, middle and lower Missouri River.*

NIANGUA RIVER

The Niangua River (pronounced "nigh-ang-wha") is a 125-mile-long (201 km) tributary of the Osage River in the Ozarks region of southern and central Missouri in the United States. Via the Osage and Missouri rivers it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River.

The Niangua River is formed in Webster County by the confluence of its short east and west forks, and flows generally northward through Dallas, Laclede and Camden counties, past Bennett Spring, Lake Niangua, and Ha Ha Tonka State Parks. It flows into the Osage River as an arm of the Lake of the Ozarks, which is formed by the Bagnell Dam on the Osage. As part of the lake it collects the Little Niangua River.

NORTH FORK RIVER

The North Fork River or the North Fork of White River is a 109-mile-long (175 km) tributary of the White River, into which it flows near Norfork, Arkansas.

It rises in Wright County, Missouri, southeast of the city of Mountain Grove, and flows generally southwards through Douglas and Ozark counties. It flows through Mark Twain National Forest and gathers the waters of many streams, including its major tributary, Bryant Creek. The watershed includes major portions of eastern Douglas and Ozark counties and includes portions of Webster, Wright, Texas and Howell counties in Missouri.

South of Tecumseh, Missouri, the river becomes Norfork Lake, a reservoir created by Norfork Dam in Baxter County, Arkansas. A few miles below the dam, the North Fork River joins the White River near the town of Norfork, Arkansas. The part of the river below the Norfork Dam is called the Norfork Tailwater and is a trout fishing stream.

OSAGE FORK RIVER

The Osage Fork is a fine floating and fishing stream. In normal seasons, there is enough water to float it from Hwy. 5 down, a distance of about 40 miles. Maples, red buds, dogwoods, and other flowering trees and shrubs make it a pretty stream in both spring and fall. Although the valley is well dotted with farms, there are numerous gravel bars for camping and fishing is excellent. There is some tendency for short sections of the stream to be log jammed, but this slight inconvenience is a small price to pay for a little-floated stream.*

POMME DE TERRE RIVER

The Pomme de Terre Reservoir has eliminated the central portion of this river for floating, but some floatable water remains in the sections above and below the lake. Relatively slow, but also relatively clear, the Pomme is a good river for beginning canoeists. Check with outfitters or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to see if water is being released from dam.*

SAC RIVER

The Sac River is a river in southwest Missouri. It is 118 miles (190 km) long, with headwaters in Lawrence and Greene counties; the headwaters join near Greenfield, then flow north through the Ozarks, to the Osage River, ending just above Osceola in Truman Reservoir.

Large portions of the Sac River and the Little Sac River are inundated by Stockton Lake.

The Big Eddy Site, an archaeological dig, is along the Sac River within Cedar County. Eleven feet of river sediment at the site provides a stratigraphy that suggests more than 10,000 years of nearly constant occupation by American Indians, potentially pre-dating the Clovis culture and contributing to the knowledge of the Dalton and San Patrice cultures.

ST. FRANCIS RIVER

The Saint Francis River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, about 426 miles (686 km) long, in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States. The river drains a mostly rural area and forms part of the Missouri-Arkansas state line along the western side of the Missouri bootheel.

Beginning in 1967 the Missouri Whitewater Championships have been held on the St. Francis River (typically between the Millstream Gardens Conservation Area and the Silver Mines Recreation Area). The events includes whitewater slalom competitions and downriver whitewater racing competitions. Today, the Missouri Whitewater Association holds the Championships annually in March, and recently celebrated the 40th year of Missouri Whitewater Championships on the St. Francis River.

The origin of the river's name is unclear. It might refer to St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the Franciscan order. None of the region's early explorers were Franciscans, however. One possibility is that Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit, named the river when he explored its mouth in 1673. Before his voyage down the Mississippi Marquette had spent some time at the mission of St. Francois Xavier, named for the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier. The spelling of the river's name shifted from "Francois" to "Francis" in the early 20th century. A number of place names in the region stem from the river's name, including Saint Francois County and the St. Francois Mountains.