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Minnesota | Mississippi Headwaters
Mississippi River
Iron Bridge to County Road 12 Dam
Check current paddling conditions for this Mississippi River route, including water level, recent gauge trend, weather, and route details.
Route snapshot
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Today
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Start with the verdict, current conditions, route plan, and quick facts before you commit to the drive.
Today's conditions
Gauge
Recent trend
Checking preferred range.
Checking trend.
Gauge source
--Checking timestampMN DNR provides the current paddling level here, but not chart-ready recent samples.
Weather
Best window today
Checking weather.
Today by hour
Short-route forecast
Checking the next several hours.
Quick facts
Plan
Dial in the shuttle, distance, and access.
Use this section once the route looks viable and you need to turn it into an actual trip plan.
Access plan
Access, shuttle, and map
Launch at Iron Bridge and finish at the County Road 12 access beside the Stump Lake gauge and dam/portage boundary. This fills the Map 1 gap between the Iron Bridge card and the existing County-Road-12-to-25 card, but the long lake-transition mileage makes it a serious plan.
Put-in
Mississippi River, Iron Bridge Public Water Access SiteOpen mapIron Bridge resolves in Minnesota public-water-access GIS as WAS00519 at river mile 1300.6 beside the Wilton gauge.
Take-out
Mississippi River, County Road 12 Public Water Access SiteOpen mapCounty Road 12 resolves as WAS00096 at river mile 1277.7 beside the Stump Lake gauge and dam/portage boundary.
Pulling access map tiles. Usually under 5 seconds.
Access caveats and watch for
Access caveats
- Iron Bridge resolves in Minnesota public-water-access GIS as WAS00519 at river mile 1300.6 beside the Wilton gauge.
- County Road 12 resolves as WAS00096 at river mile 1277.7 beside the Stump Lake gauge and dam/portage boundary.
- The route uses Stump Lake as the primary direct finish gauge and Wilton as an upstream same-map context check. If the two readings disagree, make the more conservative same-day call.
- County Road 12 is the selected finish. Do not drift into the dam approach or turn this into the downstream County-Road-12-to-25 route unless that separate shuttle and hazard plan is intentional.
Watch for
- Wind and waves on Lake Irving, Lake Bemidji, and Stump Lake; stay close to shore where practical and do not cross big open water in unsafe wind.
- Long-route fatigue, city bridges, motorboat wakes, cold water, strainers, floating debris, and private banks.
- Low Stump Lake readings below 1.8 ft, or high/rising water above the official medium band when the dam finish and bridge current become less forgiving.
Route gallery
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Sources
Check the data behind today's call.
Use this section when the page shows stale data, limited confidence, or a call you want to verify before driving.
Why this scoreToday's data confidence is checking
Data confidence mostly comes down to three things: how direct the gauge is, how clear the range is, and how fresh the data is.
- Checking data confidence notes.
- Checking data confidence cautions.
OutlookTomorrow and weekend
This is a cautious early look. If the data is too thin, we leave it out.
Waiting on forecast.
Waiting on forecast.
Data behind the scoreGauge, thresholds, and timing
These are the live readings and threshold notes behind today's score.
| Gauge site | Stump Lake near Bemidji, CSAH12 |
| Gauge height | Checking |
| Discharge | Checking |
| 24h trend | Checking |
| 24h change | Checking |
| Current band | Checking |
| Rain last 24h | Checking |
| Rain last 72h | Checking |
| Air temp | Checking |
| Water temp | Checking |
| Wind | Checking |
| Gusts | Checking |
| Rain timing | Checking |
| Target band | 2.80 ft to 3.60 ft |
| Low threshold | 1.80 ft |
| High threshold | 5.00 ft |
| Data confidence behind the range | Official data source |
| Gauge observed | Checking |
| Paddle Today updated | Checking |
| Main source behind this score | MN DNR river-level interpretation bands for Stump Lake near Bemidji |
| Gauge source | Checking |
| Weather source | Checking |
| Rainfall source | Checking |
NotesWhat to know before you go
These notes cover the access details, route quirks, and source caveats most likely to matter once you get there.
- Official map routeIron Bridge RM 1300.6 to County Road 12 RM 1277.7, 22.9 miles
MN DNR Map 1 places Iron Bridge, Bemidji-area lake-transition mileage, Stump Lake, the County Road 12 gauge, and the County Road 12 dam/portage boundary in order.
- Public access recordsWAS00519 to WAS00096
Minnesota public-water-access GIS resolves Iron Bridge and County Road 12 as public Mississippi River water-trail accesses with coordinates and river-mile records.
- Official DNR bands1.8 / 2.8-3.6 / 5.0 ft
MN DNR interprets Stump Lake / County Road 12 as Scrapable below 1.8 ft, Low from 1.8 to 2.8, Medium from 2.8 to 3.6, High from 3.6 to 5.0, and Very High above 5.0.
- Current gauge check2.99 ft at 2026-07-23 02:30 CDT
The current MN DNR feed placed Stump Lake in the official medium band during this run; Wilton upstream was also in medium at 41.69 ft.
- Camping and safety contextWatercraft campsite rules plus dam/portage finish
DNR Map 1 provides watercraft camping rules and warns paddlers to plan with a map, check water levels, avoid dead trees, and respect private property.
Verify it yourselfCheck the source links
Use these links to double-check the gauge, route details, and access notes before you head out.
Paddler reports
Recent notes from paddlers
A few quick notes from people who were on this route recently.
Reports
Photos, paddler notes, and updates.
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Quick answers
Mississippi River paddling FAQ
What water level is good for paddling Mississippi River?
Paddle Today watches Stump Lake near Bemidji, CSAH12 and treats 2.80 ft to 3.60 ft as the target band for this route, with weather and recent trend included in the final score.
Where does this Mississippi River route start and end?
This route starts at Mississippi River, Iron Bridge Public Water Access Site and ends at Mississippi River, County Road 12 Public Water Access Site, about About 22.9 mi on the water.
Is this Mississippi River route good for beginners?
This is listed as a hard route. Treat the live score as a planning aid, then confirm conditions, hazards, access, and group skill before launching.
Flag a change
See something outdated?
Access, hazards, wood, and shuttle details change. Send a quick correction if something looks off.