The St. Louis River begins near Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota and flows 179 miles through three distinct areas; coarse soils, glacial till and outwash deposits at its headwaters; a deep narrow gorge at Jay Cooke State Park; and red clay deposits at its lower reaches. As the river approaches Duluth and Superior it takes on the characteristics of a freshwater estuary (the tidal mouth of a large river). While the upper part of the estuary has some wilderness-like qualities, the lower portion is decidedly urban. The St. Louis River watershed is very large, covering 3,650 square miles and is the largest U.S. tributary to Lake Superior. The lower St. Louis is the only river in the state of Minnesota with whitewater rafting opportunities. This fast moving river can create rapids that are recommended for the experienced paddler in certain areas.
Stream flow usually peaks in late April and falls throughout the summer. The river's flow is affected by the regulation of reservoirs on its tributaries, particularly the Whiteface and Cloquet rivers. From U.S. Highway 53 to Cloquet the river falls 136 feet, an average of 1.5 feet per mile. The river varies in width from 75 to 600 feet.
Parts of the St. Louis are wild while other parts are dotted with farms, homes or small towns. The City of Cloquet is the most developed area along its course. Though bluffs and wooded hills are common in the upper reaches, the middle section of river is flanked by low-lying woods and bogs. The watershed is bordered to the north by middle Precambrian ores of the Mesabi Iron Range. Underlying the St. Louis itself are mid-Precambrian argillite and graywacke. In its middle reaches the St. Louis flows across silts and clays that once formed the nearly level bed of glacial Lake Upham.
The river is fished for walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass (common from the mouth of the Whiteface River to Cloquet), largemouth bass, bluegill, black crappie, and channel catfish (from Floodwood to Brookston). Other species of rough fish include Shorthead Redhorse and White Sucker. The river is frequented by those traveling the Minnesota DNR Saint Louis River Water Trail, which has campsites and angling.
Attempts to introduce sturgeon are under way; sturgeon, if caught, are to be returned. While native to the river at one time, overfishing and pollution wiped them out many years ago
For centuries before Europeans came to the St. Louis River basin area, the area was the home of Woodland Culture Indians, Dakota tribes in historical times, and later the Ojibwe. It is said the Ojibwe name of the river is Gichigami-ziibi (Great-lake River). Probably the first white man to explore this area was Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, who traveled here in 1679 and for whom Duluth later was named. The St. Louis River was probably so named by Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye (1685–1749), who was a very active explorer, in the years 1731 and onward. Shortly before his death the king of France in 1749 conferred on him the cross of Saint Louis as a recognition of the importance of his discoveries, and thence the name of the Saint Louis River appears to have come. On Jean-Baptiste-Louis Franquelin's map (1688) and Philippe Buache's map (1754), it is called the Rivière du Fond du Lac, and the map by Gilles Robert de Vaugondy (1755) and Jonathan Carver's map (1778) are the earliest to give it the present name.
The St. Louis River linked Lake Superior with trading posts on the Mississippi River and Vermilion Lake. White settlement of the area began with the La Pointe Treaty of 1854. Increasing settlement and the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad westward to the Red River valley required huge quantities of timber, much of which was cut in the St. Louis River valley. Iron mining on the Vermilion and Mesabi ranges further increased the demand for lumber and rail transportation. Many settlements along the St. Louis River, including Brookston, Forbes, Paupores, Peary and Zim, began as railway villages.
geoPDF map of the lower St. Louis River (Floodwood to Duluth)
geoPDF map of the upper St. Louis River (Round Lake to Floodwood)
St. Louis River near Forbes, US53
(RM 132.9)
St. Louis River at Floodwood, CSAH8
(RM 72.8)
St. Louis River at Scanlon, MN
(RM 33.3)
3515 E 4th Street Duluth, MN 55804; 218-390-1605. Guided canoe and kayak tours on Lake Superior and the Saint Louis River. Equipment, instruction, and snacks provided. No experience necessary! Also serves the Lake Superior State Water Trail.
29755 State Highway 38, Grand Rapids, MN 55744; 218-326-9866. Ten canoes for rent. No shuttling. Some camping gear and food. Also serves Big Fork, Cloquet, Little Fork, Mississippi, and Vermilion Rivers.
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 Kettle and Snake Rivers.
3212 Rivergate Avenue, Cloquet, MN 55720; 218-522-4446. Professionally guided whitewater raft trips on the Saint Louis River. No canoe rental. Call for reservations.
121 Spring Street, Duluth, MN 55808; 218-628-3578. Canoe, kayak, boat and pontoon rentals.
22 East Riverside Road, Esko, MN 55733; 218-451-3218. Professionally guided whitewater rafting and kayaking trips on the St. Louis River. Lessons, trips and eco-tours. Also serves the Cloquet and Kettle Rivers.
211 East 2nd Street, Duluth, Minnesota, 55805; 218-464-6337. Guided tours and instruction for kayaking on Lake Superior and St. Louis River. Also serves the Lake Superior.
The lower section of the St. Louis River empties into Lake Superior and creates the large St. Louis Bay which is a 11,500 acre estuary that extends from the Fond du Lac dam to the Wisconsin Entry on Minnesota Point. This bay can be further divided into segments of the St. Louis Bay, Spirit Lake, and the Upper St. Louis River estuary. The Bay is a heavily used water body due to its proximity to the cities of Duluth and Superior, and its status as an international shipping port. International shipping has introduced some exotic species such as Eurasian ruffe, round goby, tubenose goby, white perch, spiny water flea and zebra mussel. Water quality has improved dramatically since the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District began treating point sources for domestic and commercial effluent from Cloquet and Duluth in 1979. The fishery has changed significantly since treatment began. The St. Louis Bay has been actively managed with stocking of walleye, northern pike, muskellunge, lake sturgeon and black crappie since 1980. Smallmouth bass are managed with a bag limit of five and a minimum length for harvest of 14 inches. The wide open bay can make fishing from a canoe or kayak hazardous if high winds or heavy boat traffic are encountered. The bay perhaps is better suited for fishing from a boat, although the shorelines can be actively fished from smaller watercraft. If you do use a boat be aware that the bay can be very shallow in areas and a shipping channel has been established for boats. You may want to have a GPS map on board with this channel location noted. Since the St. Louis River in this area serves as the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin there are special fishing regulations in place. Refer to the Minnesota and Wisconsin fishing regulations for clarification.
At this time only fishing opportunities for the Lower St. Louis River are shown.
The first suggested trip puts in at Spirit/Clyde Avenue Landing (RM 12.1) (L). You can paddle and fish this area much as you would a lake as there really is no river gradient at this point. Just be aware of large ships and other boats in the area. If you want to take out at another location you can head northeast for 4 miles and take out at Grassy Point acesss (RM 8.1) (L). This is a 4.5 mile long bicycle shuttle taking 25 minutes.
Another option would be to put in at Boy Scout Landing (RM 16.8) (L) and paddle north 4.7 miles to take out at the Spirit/Clyde Avenue Landing (RM 12.1) (L). This is a short 3.8 mile long bicycle shuttle taking 19 minutes.
This is another exploration trip of the river estuary as you put in at the Chambers Grove carry in access (RM 20.4) (L). It is then suggested that you first paddle upstream as far as possible to fish, although you won't get any farther than the Fond du Lac Dam (RM 21.8), and then explore back down the river and wider open water and channels to end at the Boy Scout Landing (RM 16.8) (L) 3.6 miles from where you put in. This is a short 3 mile bicycle shuttle taking only 17 minutes.
The next trip really is just an exploration of the Fond du Lac Reservoir which is created by a dam (RM 21.8) on the St. Louis River. Smallmouth Bass and Walley are the primary management species for the Reservoir, although channel catfish are quite common. Access to the reservoir is from a carry in access site (RM 22.8) (L). The confines of the reservoir are from the dam (RM 21.8) upstream to the Thompson Hydroplant (RM 24.7) giving you about 3 miles (6 miles of shoreline) to explore and fish.
Upstream of the Fond du Lac Reservoir the Jay Cooke State Park begins and the rapids in this area are very dangerous (Class V to Class VI in places). Not even extremely skilled paddlers should attempt this section of river. Upstream of Jay Cook State Park lies to Thomson Reservoir and the rapids from there to Scanlon are also considered as some serious whitewater rapids (Class II to Class IV).
There is a river trailer access (RM 37.1) (R) right by the State Hwy 33 bridge in Cloquet at the Spafford Park on Dunlap Island. However no adequate river access is available nearby either upstream or downstream to utilize this access for a shuttle. The river however, could be paddled, and put in and take out could be done at this access site.
From Cloquet upstream to the US Hwy 2 bridge there is no river access and the stretch includes a couple of Class I to Class II rapids.
There are two trips to consider upstream of the US Hwy 2 bridge: They both put in at the Paupores trailer access (RM 61.8) (R). The first 8 mile float takes out at Brookston trailer access (RM 53.8) (R). This involves a 8.2 mile long bicycle shuttle taking 41 minutes. The river gradient along this stretch is about 0.50 feet per mile. The second is a 10.5 mile long float taking out at the US Hwy 2 trailer access (RM 51.3) (L) just south of the bridge. You will encounter the Cloquet River entering the St. Louis River at RM 52.2 (L) and some Class I to Class II rapids occurring at RM 52.2. These rapids can be dangerous in high water. This has a bicycle shuttle of 10.8 miles and takes 54 minutes. The river gradient along this last stretch averages about 0.75 feet per mile.
Upstream of the Paupores Access (RM 61.8) (R) to Floodwood (RM 72.8) there are a few sets of Class I to Class II rapids. No trips are shown for this stretch, nor are any trips shown for upstream of Floodwood at this time due to unknown smallmouth bass angling opportunities in that area.