The  trip from Bonaparte to Keokuk may be done in one or two days.  The Des Moines River runs at 3-4 mph. as it nears the Mississippi.  I paddled after a day of heavy rain, and at times was moving along at 6-8 mph.  At one point, streams running into the river looked like frothy torrents, and I had all I could do to stay off snags as the river turned sharply east and west.  I made the entire 30 miles in one day in October of 1998, with a stop for a snack at the convenience store near the Ft. Pike Access.

The Des Moines River (Van Buren) Access is a hard surface boat ramp with camping and lots of parking  about 3 miles north of Farmington, which has a city boat ramp with limited parking.  Van Buren Access is about 3  miles south of the Bonaparte rapids, which have dumped many an unwary paddler, including Chuck Offenburger.  The water moves right along, past the Riverview Cabins right on the river. 

This is a remote area of the river, but it also carries you past the high bluffs and loess hills of the Shimek State Forest, which is ablaze with color in the fall.  Some 4 miles down the river is Croton, where Confederate artillery  lobbed cannonballs across the river from Athens, Mo. in 1861, the northernmost battle west of the Mississippi.  Croton Road runs along the east side of the river from Farmington, and you can visit the war memorial and picnic in a lovely park.

There is an access point called Turkey Run about 10 miles south of Farmington.  It is deep in the forest, off a gravel road that winds through the forest called Belfast Road.  This access point has an excellent boat ramp.  To get to Turkey Run from Farmington, take the Croton Rd. (which is the first right after you cross the Hwy.2 bridge on the east side of the river) through Croton, then turn on Belfast Rd. just outside of Croton.  You can also access Belfast Rd. from Hwy. 394 just north of the Hwy. 394 bridge outside of St. Francisville.  It is another 10 miles or so down to the Ft. Pike Access, which has camping, a hard surface boat ramp, and a convenience store.  I made the run from Farmington to Ft. Pike in 4 hours.

Once you pass the St. Francisville, Mo. bridge, it's a winding 11 mile run to Red Wing Access.  I have marked out some major bends in the river in the coordinates section.  The river is wide and fast, and you need to pay attention or else you'll be swept into snags as the river turns sharply.  There is lots of activity in the greenbelt, but there are false turns and deceptive lagoons that can be bypassed by drifting with the current until the true channel is identified.  Blue herons in considerable numbers will be your escorts. 

In December of 2001, I was caught in the ice in this part of the river.  In my wet suit I went in up to my chest, broke through the ice, and got over to the shore.   I pulled my boat out, followed the GPS to a farmhouse and got help.  This is my river, but it owns me.

This is the wild and scenic river that was first seen by Marquette and Joliet, the river the Indians called Moingona.  There is an Illinois Indian encampment excavation just outside of St. Francisville that was visited by Marquette and Joliet.