Kettle River
Kettle River Overview
The Kettle River is an 83.6 mile long tributary to the St. Croix River in eastern Minnesota and is one of the best whitewater rivers in the Midwest. It also possesses some great smallmouth fishing! The river originates in a series of small, slow flowing bog streams near Cromwell in Carlton County. From river mile 62 (near the Carlton County 131 crossing) downstream, the river is large enough to have suitable gamefish habitat. It is bounded by a heavy forest of black spruce, fir, birch, aspen, maple, ash, and elm, with scattered red, white, and jack pines. The Kettle River is designated as a wild and scenic river. Most of the rapids on this river are Class I during low water, with some stretches reaching Class II or Class III during periods of high water. The Banning Rapids area ranges in difficulty from Class II-IV at all water levels. The width of the river varies from 30-250 feet.
kettle River Character
Throughout the course of the river, the waters of the Kettle have an amber tint. This tint comes from tannins (leaf colorings) from wetlands which drain into the river, rather than man made causes.
The Kettle River flow changes fairly quickly with rainfall in the area of drainage, which is about 1,060 square miles. It is not uncommon for the river to be reduced to a trickle during dry summer spells, and rise to a whitewater torrent after a few days of rain since the river depends upon runoff for most of its flow. Normal water flows vary seasonally from 200 to over 6000 ft³/second. Most rapids, in all but the upper reaches, are runnable if the State Highway 48 gauge reads above 4.5 feet and the State Highway 23 gauge reads above one foot. Rapids are usually not runnable in late summer, though many quiet stretches of the river can be floated with a canoe or kayak. The river falls an average of 6.1 feet per mile.
Very deep sections of the river exist, with some pools reaching over 100 feet in depth. The astounding depth of the river and general good water quality supports a population of the ancient sturgeon. Up until May of 2018, the record largest fish ever caught in the state of Minnesota was a 70-inch, 94 pound 4 oz sturgeon caught in the Kettle River in 1994.
kettle river Landscape
Most of the river is bounded by a heavy forest of black spruce, fir, birch, aspen, maple, ash, elm and scattered red, white and jack pine. Bluffs occasionally rise more than 100 feet above the river. Rocky cliffs are common along the Banning and Lower Kettle River rapids. The river passes a few towns, houses or farmland, although several bridges cross the upper reaches. The Kettle in Pine County is a state wild and scenic river.
kettle river Fish and Wildlife
A good number of Smallmouth bass (with sizes up to 20"), walleye and northern pike are caught throughout the river. Crappies are taken in the reservoir above the Sandstone Dam. The Kettle River also holds channel catfish, sturgeon and redhorse. Thirty four species of fish were sampled during a 2002 river survey on the Kettle River.
Beavers, otters and muskrats are occasionally sighted. White-tailed deer are common. Other mammals include black bears, bobcats, coyotes, mink, raccoons and gray and red fox. Two upland game birds, ruffed grouse and some Canada geese nest near the river.
kettle river History
The river's English name is due to the large number of large rounded holes (kettles) in the sandstone in and around the river, carved out by the swirling waters of the river. The river's Dakota indian name Céġa watpa entered into English via the Anishinaabe people's Akiko-ziibi, both meaning "Kettle River".
The Kettle River was the focus of considerable industry near the turn of the century. The forests, once thick with pine, were logged. Land near the river was mined for sandstone and copper. The river itself was dammed to generate electricity and to float sawlogs to nearby mills. Many people near Sandstone took refuge in the Kettle River when the Hinckley fire swept through Pine County on September 1, 1894.
kettle river Maps
PDF map of the Kettle River and Snake River
geoPDF map of the Kettle River and Snake River
kettle River Gauge
Site Report - River Mile 24.4 -Kettle River near Sandstone (35065001)
USGS ID - (05336700) - Kettle River below Sandstone, MN
Site Report -River Mile 40.3- Kettle River near Willow River (35051002)
Site Report - River Mile 59.2 - Kettle River near Kettle River Co. Rd 12 (35020001)
USGS ID - (05336108)
kettle river Shuttle and Rental Services
511 Main Street, PO Box 531, Sandstone MN 55072; 651-302-1774. Guided whitewater rafting, canoe, kayak and camping gear rental, trip planning services. Also serves the Snake and St. Louis Rivers.
22 East Riverside Road, Esko, MN 55733; 218-451-3218. Professionally guided wilderness and whitewater rafting experiences on the Kettle River, May-June. Also serves the Cloquet and St. Louis Rivers.
kettle River trips
A stretch of the Kettle River that probably doesn't see a lot of activity is the lower 15 miles, mostly because of the remoteness of this area. A bicycle shuttle would take quite long so instead it is recommend doing this with a two vehicle shuttle. Drop off your pick up vehicle at the Snake River landing (RM 0) on the St. Croix River (RM 93.6) and then drive north 26 miles (35 minutes) to start your float down the Kettle River from the access point at the State Hwy 48 bridge (RM 15.0). This stretch of the river is quite remote and "brisk" towards the end with several Class I and Class II rapids. This float is 15 miles down the Kettle River and an additional 4.4 miles down the St. Croix River to the Snake River landing for a 19.4 mile total float. The first 8 miles of the float to the Maple Island landing is a leisurely 0.25 foot per mile drop. Soon after this landing you will encounter the Lower Kettle River Rapids, a series of long boulder-bed pitches forming Class I-II rated rapids. Large standing waves form in high water. At the confluence to the St. Croix River you will find boulder-studded channels split around several islands. Slightly more than a mile downstream, where the two channels of the St. Croix River join, the river tumbles over a steep low ledge that forms a three-foot backroller in high water. The river gradient from Maple Island landing 7 miles to the St. Croix River climbs to 10.24 feet per mile! The St. Croix River gradient to the Snake River landing is 6.4 feet per mile and the river is quite wide at this point.
If you don't want to tackle the rapids on the lower stretch you could take off from the Hwy 48 bridge (RM 15.0) and shorten the float by exiting the river at the Maple Island landing (RM 8.0). The back country road to access Maple Island landing is quite remote (15.5 mile drive), so again it is recommend to use a two vehicle shuttle since it would take quite a while (23 minutes) to bring a pick up vehicle to the take out point and drive back to the access point (31 mile round trip taking at least 46 minutes). However, as mentioned above, the float down this stretch of the river is a slow 0.25 feet per mile.
Upstream from here is another nice 8.4 mile float starting at a carry-in access near an electrical complex/tower (RM 23.4) (and the part of the river known as the Sandstone Rapids) and floating down to the Hwy 48 bridge take out access (RM 15.0). Soon after entering the river you'll encounter three short boulder-bed Class I to Class II rapids at RM 23.0 which may require a 0.7 mile portage depending upon river conditions. At RM 22.0 you'll also find some Class I rapids. At RM 20.2 to RM 19.9 you'll be going through the Friesland Rapids which are three boulder-bed pitches rated at Class I to Class II rapids. The average river gradient is 3.3 feet per mile but most of the drops occur in the rapids while the rest of the river may be more tranquil. A bicycle shuttle of 12.1 miles will take about an hour. If you wish to use a two vehicle shuttle it would take about 25 minutes.
This 6.7 mile long float starts from Central Avenue East in the town of Rutledge (RM 36.5) and ends at the State Hwy 23 bridge take out access landing (RM 29.8). A bicycle shuttle of 7.5 miles taking 37 minutes is mostly flat except for the hill you have to climb as you exit the river valley east of the City of Sandstone. You will encounter a short boulder-bed of Class I rapids at RM 33.7 and an outcrop of rock with "kettle" potholes cut by the swirling water. At RM 33.4 you may have to portage during low water due to a boulder-bed. At RM 33.0 and RM 32.5 you will find short Class I boulder-bed rapids. The river has an average gradient of 8 feet per mile during this stretch.
There appears to be a very nice 9.7 mile float from the Musclewood carry in access at Country Road 52 (RM 46.2) just southwest of the town of Sturgeon Lake to Central Avenue in the town of Rutledge (RM 36.5). A bicycle shuttle along the Willard Munger State Trail makes this an easy 7.8 mile ride taking about 38 minutes. This is a leisurely float with a river gradient of 1.4 feet per mile with no apparent rapids.
The river picks up its pace again if you decide to take the 9.6 mile float from County Road 27 (RM 55.8), which is about 3 miles directly south of the town of Kettle River, to the Musclewood access at County Road 52 (RM 46.2). This would involve a long 10.6 mile bicycle shuttle taking 52 minutes or 16 minutes if you used a vehicle shuttle. The river gradient in this stretch is 8 feet per mile and you will encounter several series of Class I rapids (RM 55.6 - RM 55.3), (RM 54.7 - Rm 54.3), (RM 53.6 - 53.5), (RM 52.7 - RM 52.6), (RM 51.4 - RM 51.3). All of these Class I rapids in this area can turn into Class II rapids if the river gauge is above 4.5 at the Hwy 12 Bridge (RM 58.8).
The last stretch of fishable water is a very steep 6.2 mile long float from the junction of County Roads 131 and 133 (RM 62) to the County Road 27 bridge (RM 55.8). This involves a 6 mile long bicycle shuttle taking about 30 minutes. During this float you will encounter numerous short boulder-bed Class I to Class II rapids and the river has a high gradient of 14.8 feet per mile!