Would like to paddle and camp this river. Has anyone else done this? Any recommendations or advice?

I have, but it was about 35 years ago. I did it as a boy scout. We traveled from near the beginning of the Shell River outside of Menahga, down the Crow Wing, and into the Mississippi to the south end of Camp Ripley. It was an easy paddle for kids with few rapids. It took us slow moving large group of kids a week to do that length. The only other thing that stands out was the thieves that stole some life jackets and paddles at the park outside of Motley.

According to the DNR water route web page, it looks like all campsites along the Crow Wing that are administered by Wadena County charge a 10 dollar overnight fee.

That's a pretty good distance that you did. I bet it was a fun trip.
Bummer about the pfd's.

I would start in that same area. I have a DNR river trail map for it marking campsites. I think it would be a pretty good time.
I was thinking of starting near Huntersville and ending by Wahoo Valley Bar at Hwy 7. Maybe 2 or 3 slow moving days?
Thanks for the info.

Yeah, that was one of the most fun boy scout river trips I went on. I even got to see my great grandfather’s homestead. The people that owned it at that time had even kept up the covered double bench swing he had built.

For the river that’s about 30 river miles, so it should probably take two days tops at an easy pace. That should make a great weekend trip.

quote fitgers1: "That's a pretty good distance that you did. I bet it was a fun trip.
Bummer about the pfd's.


I would start in that same area. I have a DNR river trail map for it marking campsites. I think it would be a pretty good time.
I was thinking of starting near Huntersville and ending by Wahoo Valley Bar at Hwy 7. Maybe 2 or 3 slow moving days?
Thanks for the info."

I did this exact trip (Mary Brown Landing to HW7) with friends in early Oct of 2010. Very nice river, next to no traffic that time of year. 3 slow moving days was about right. I've heard it gets busy in the summertime, at least on certain stretches. Inner tubes, I've heard...

Some of the county-administered campgrounds are outstanding, some not so much. We somehow missed Anderson's Crossing and had to camp at Frame's Landing, which wasn't great - there was a sort of family reunion going on at the campground. We camped at Knob Hill the 2nd night which was very nice, stopped at Little White Dog for lunch at some point which seemed OK, maybe a little worn but still nice.

The county parks guy pulled up in a truck while we were launching and asked where we'd be camping, then drove to the site and split wood for us to have on arrival. Nice guy, was rocking a Canadian Tuxedo, too, earning him extra style points in our book.

There's a bar & grill within walking distance of the river in Nimrod, and we had some good burgers at Wahoo Valley when taking out. We didn't catch any fish but didn't really try hard either. I think you really have to know where the good holes are because long stretches of the river have very little fish cover.

All in all, it was a great weekend river trip, and I'm really hoping to try some of the sections farther upstream at some point.

We paddled the river from Huntersville down to Motley over Memorial weekend several years ago. 2000???

There was an outfitter in Huntersville at the time. Don't know if they're still in business? There is a campground right across the road from Wahoo Valley. So if you camp there you can run over & grab a burger & cold beer. Also, there was one just across the river from the little town of Nimrod. The upper stetches were my favorite as it is less developed & more wild. The river is mostly just a leisurely paddle with no severe rapids. Once you start approaching Staples the river begins to lose it's charm. IMHO

Another option: You could also paddle the last miles of the Shell river then head down the Crow Wing.

Never paddled it. Used to get 30 crappies a day on very black ice toward spring.

Did this route back in 78-79? in 9th grade. It was a blast! It rained like a cow pissin' on a flat rock! We used garbage bags and poked our arms and head through the plastic. It was 8 girls and 8 boys on the trip and one teacher. They should of had another adult on the trip. We were naughty kids back then..... or aleast I was.

I've floated the Crow Wing many times. It's not wilderness, but it ain't bad. Very relaxing river- enough water to float your boat, shallow enough to get out and walk on the bottom almost everywhere. My kids and wife love the river. The designated campsites are a little run down, but servicable. They do get busy on summer weekends and allow RV's with generators, but during the week and early spring/late fall you're likely to have them mostly to yourself.