Red River of the North Historic Canoe Trail

MN State Representative Paul Marquart, MN State Senator Keith Langseth and Breckenridge Mayor Cliff Barth cutting the ribbon to a River Keepers designed kiosk, located at the Headwaters. The kiosk is one of three located along the route. The other two are at Moorhead and Georgetown.

On Saturday, September 11, 2004, the canoe and boating route was officially opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Information about the Red River of the North Canoe and Boating Route is now online. http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/canoeing/redriver/index.html

Imagine canoeing 550 miles down the Red River of the North. It is a dream of River Keepers and the Red River Trail Group.

In 1998, a group of individuals, with help from River Keepers, started the Red River Trail Group, to create recreational opportunities on the Red River of the North. This group is working to establish a 550 mile canoe trail on the Red River of the North starting at the River’s head waters in Breckenridge, Minnesota, and ending at the mouth in Selkirk, Manitoba.

A canoe trail is a route with a start and end that has maps, access sites and campsites. The Red River of the North currently has no canoe maps. Access to the River is limited because the majority of the land along the river is privately owned. Also, until recently the Red has not been recognized as a recreational resource.

For four years, The Red River Trail Group has been working to reach its goal. With help from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the efforts of Mike McKibben and Neoma Laken of Breckenridge, the dream is coming a step closer to reality.

After the ceremony, participants and many attendees went for a canoe ride. From left to right - Barth, Langseth, Marquart and Warren Neitche (Warren is a City of Breckenridge employee and participated in the River Keepers Millennium Tour in 2000).

The Minnesota Legislature allocated $100,000 to the MN DNR for the development of the Red River of the North Canoe Trail. Half of the money was used to develop a canoeing and boating route master plan for the U.S. portion of the Red River. The other half was used for signage and site development.

The master plan includes an inventory of river crossings, public campgrounds, public adjacent land and potential private camp/access sites. Arial photographs of the entire project area are being used to inventory and determine these areas and sites. The plan identifies local/regional groups using the river and potential connections to other recreational resources. The master plan also establishes standards for campground and access sites.

There are two advisory committees involved in developing the master plan. The committees advise staff and solicit input from community members.

River Keepers is not a tourism organization, but the recreational use of the Red is an important component of its mission –"To advocate a sustainable use of the Red River of the North."