Minnesota | Northwest Minnesota

Red Lake RiverHuot Park to Highway 75 Bypass

Long lower Red Lake River trip from Huot Park through Crookston to the Highway 75 Bypass, passing the current Crookston gauge.

Route location

Loading the route snapshot. This usually takes a few seconds.

Open access map
DistanceAbout 32.1 mi
DifficultyHard
Typical time10-13 hours
ShuttleCar shuttle
An aerial view shows the Red Lake River making several broad bends through Crookston, Minnesota.
Route photoRed Lake River winding through the Crookston portion of the routePhoto by Tom Crump / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers via Wikimedia Commons
View primary source
Embed this route

Route alerts

Email me when this route improves

We'll email you when this route climbs into Good or Strong. Every email includes an unsubscribe link.

We only email on a new threshold crossing.

Trip details

Access rules, camping and seasonal notes.

Permits, camping and season
PermitsNone notedNo route-specific paddling permit is known. Follow Minnesota boating/PFD rules, Huot Park access rules, City of Crookston park/campground rules, and posted parking instructions.
CampingOptions nearbyDNR Map 2 identifies Central Park with trailer access, rest area, and campsites. Treat camping as endpoint campground support controlled by current City of Crookston rules.
SeasonApr-OctSpring and post-rain windows can improve depth, but this urban rapid/portage split should be skipped when the gauge is low, rising quickly, or near high water.

Access and shuttle

Launch at Huot Park, pass through the direct Crookston gauge corridor, and finish at the Highway 75 Bypass access.

Access map

Skip map

Pulling access map tiles. Usually under 5 seconds.

End of map
Start

Put-in

Red Lake River, Huot Park Public Water Access Site
DirectionsOpen map

Huot Park resolves as WAS02137 at river mile 79.5 and Central Park resolves as WAS00549 at river mile 55.5 in Minnesota public-water-access GIS.

Finish

Take-out

Red Lake River, Highway 75 Bypass Public Water Access Site
DirectionsOpen map

The Crookston DNR gauge is downstream of Central Park and below additional bridge/rapid context, so use it as a near-downstream proxy and make visual checks at both endpoints.

Road shuttle

Stage the take-out before launching. This combined route joins the researched red-lake-river-huot-crookston and red-lake-river-crookston-highway-75-bypass access corridors and requires a longer rural shuttle.

Additional access notes
  • Take out at Central Park for this card. DNR Map 2 maps constructed rock rapids downstream in Crookston; do not continue without a separate scouted plan.
  • Crookston and Highway 75 Bypass resolve as public-water-access sites, and Central Park is a mapped public access/camping stop inside the city corridor.
  • The constructed rock rapids are not optional background scenery. Scout from shore and use the mapped 160-yard right-bank portage unless the group is prepared for the current level and feature.
  • Take out at Highway 75 Bypass if following this card. Continuing to Fisher is a separate long lower-river route already represented in the app.
More route and safety guidance
  • Scout from shore and portage if there is any doubt. Do not rely on the app score as permission to run the constructed rapid zone.
  • Use Crookston, Central Park, and Highway 75 Bypass as the public access sequence; do not substitute steep urban banks or private shoreland.
  • This longer combined itinerary requires an early start, a staged shuttle, and a conservative turnaround decision even when the direct gauge is in range.
Terms and safety
Plan this paddle

Choose your trip times

No account needed. Check the selected access points above, then choose both dates and times. For an overnight paddle, set take-out to the following date.

Trip schedule

Times use the selected time zone. Check it against the river’s location before saving or sharing.

Browser plans stay on this device. Sharing opens your device’s share tools or gives you text to copy.

Download GPX Route geometry only; no schedule required.

Conditions

Check how the river is changing and what weather to expect.

Recent trend

Checking preferred range.

Checking trend.

------------
Detailed weather

Hourly forecast

Checking weather.

Loading today's forecast.

Short-route forecast

Checking the next several hours.

Checking the best short-route window.
----Loading--

Tomorrow and the weekend

Forecasts can change. Check current conditions again before leaving.

TomorrowChecking

Waiting on forecast.

WeekendChecking

Waiting on forecast.

Sources and methodology

Review source dates and published guidance below. We have not inspected this trip in person.

Data reliability: checking
Data status
Checking live inputs.

Pulling the latest gauge and weather. Usually under 10 seconds.

Gauge inputChecking

Waiting on the gauge read.

Weather inputChecking

Waiting on weather.

Next stepChecking

Waiting on enough data to give the next step.

This rating reflects whether the gauge measures this part of the river, whether published water-level guidance is available, and how recently the data was updated.

  • Checking data sources and update times.
Water levels, published guidance and update times

These readings and published water-level limits help explain today’s score.

Gauge siteRed Lake River at Crookston, MN
Gauge heightChecking
DischargeChecking
24h trendChecking
24h changeChecking
Current bandChecking
Rain last 24hChecking
Rain last 72hChecking
Air tempChecking
Water tempChecking
WindChecking
GustsChecking
Rain timingChecking
Preferred range5.00 ft to 8.00 ft
Low threshold3.00 ft
High threshold12.00 ft
Evidence strength behind the rangeOfficial data source
Gauge observedChecking
Paddle Today updatedChecking
Main source behind this scoreMN DNR river-level interpretation bands for Red Lake River at Crookston
Gauge sourceChecking
Weather sourceChecking
Rainfall sourceChecking
Published evidence and verification notes

These notes cover the access details, route quirks, and source caveats most likely to matter once you get there.

  • Qualifying gauge relationshipRed Lake River at Crookston, MN

    DNR site 172 lies in Crookston inside this route before the Highway 75 Bypass take-out.

    Source

  • Public-access continuityHuot Park to Highway 75 Bypass

    The route joins adjacent researched segments whose shared endpoint coordinates and official public-access records match.

    Source

Check the source links
Other routes nearby

See something outdated?

Access, hazards, wood, and shuttle details change. Send a quick correction if something looks off.