Friends of Pool 2 promotes safe, courteous use of the river. We strive to educate recreational users regarding river rules, etiquette and safety. We encourage respect for the river and its environs, cultivating a ‘leave it cleaner than you found it’ ideology.

Touring the Mighty Mississippi by boat

Many Minnesota boaters would be surprised to discover this recreational gem of a waterway so close to the city. Pool 2 of the Mississippi River includes miles of pristine scenery and wildlife habitat that you might expect to experience only in the northern reaches of our State. If you travel west from St. Paul and head up the Minnesota River past Fort Snelling State Park on the way to Shakopee, you'll experience a secluded and picturesque river valley virtually on your own. Returning down the Minnesota to the Mississippi and travelling north of the confluence of the two great Rivers, you can make your way to Minnehaha Park and Lock and Dam # 1 (also called the Ford Dam – see photo at right) which is the northern reach of this section of the river called Pool 2.

Heading back downriver, you'll pass through St. Paul, where you'll view the downtown skyline and landmarks such as the Minnesota Science Museum on your left and historic Harriet Island on your right. East of downtown you can see some of the region's industrial fleet operations with loading/unloading of commodities such as grain, gravel, coal, scrap iron, and salt.

Continue on downstream and the hustle and bustle of the city disappears as you enter the quieter suburban areas of South St. Paul, Newport, Inver Grove Heights, St. Paul Park, and Cottage Grove. Further south you'll pass Grey Cloud Island and Spring Lake and come upon Lock and Dam #2 near Hastings. This lower section of Pool 2, between St. Paul and the Hastings lock, is almost completely devoid of commercial development and features just a scattering of private homes. It is abundant with an amazing amount of bird life, including Bald Eagles, Blue Herons, Egrets, Pelicans, Cormorants, Gulls and Terns.

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Planning Before You Go

River travel is probably easier than you think. However, reliable equipment is a must. Where you go on the river should be dictated in part by your method of boating. Care must be taken if traveling in a small craft such as a canoe, kayak or small fishing boat. It’s likely that you’ll encounter commercial barge traffic plying the main navigation channel of the Mississippi River from Minneapolis downriver. Remember that commercial traffic always has the right of way, and you should give the towboats a wide berth. House boats and large cabin cruisers also use the same main channel and can create large wakes. The wakes of larger cruisers can be significant and require caution. For smaller canoes and kayaks the river’s edge and back waters may be preferred. You can experience the Minnesota River safely in a 14ft fishing boat and small horsepower outboard motor. With experience these boats can also navigate the main channel of the Mississippi River, given good weather conditions and minimal winds. Knowing how to approach and handle a large cruiser wake is important to avoid being swamped.

Safe Boating on the River

Boating on the river can actually be safer than boating on lakes. Why? Because boat traffic on the river is largely restricted to operating within the main navigation channel, keeping the boat traffic flow similar to interstate car traffic. For new operators, it limits the chaos of cross-traffic and potential problem areas associated with uncontrolled lake traffic. This is also true for the seasoned operator, and results in a more relaxing and enjoyable ride.

Don't Forget About The Current

On a lake, if you have a mechanical failure, your boat will stay relatively close to where the failure occurred. On the river, YOU WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE DOWNSTREAM DUE TO THE RIVER’S CURRENT. Throw an anchor out to hold your boat’s position as soon as a failure occurs. Be aware that other boaters may be uncomfortable leaving the main channel to approach you. River depth varies significantly and larger boats WILL NOT leave the main channel due to their risk of grounding and damage from stumps, rocks and wing dams (explained below).

Before You Launch Your Boat

1. If you are using a power boat, take it to a lake and run it for several hours to ensure its mechanical reliability. The river IS NOT a place to test run a boat. At a minimum, run the motor in your driveway using “ear muffs” for water cooling. The landing is also NOT a place to test run you motor. Other prepared boaters deserve to use the landing without waiting for the unprepared.
2. If you are using a canoe or kayak, know your physical ability. The river will move you whether you want to or not. Travel upriver so that when you are tired, the river will carry you back home.
3. Understand the basic navigation methods on the river. Red and green (or black) buoys indicate where the safe ‘dredged’ navigation channel exists. Permanently mounted shore markers can offer channel location as well as mile marker information. This mileage number can be helpful in describing your location if help is required. Submerged rock walls protruding from the river’s edge extending toward the navigation channel are called “wing dams”. In many areas, these wing dams line the river to divert and channel the flow of the river into the main channel. The resultant increase in rate of water flow helps maintain a deeper navigation channel.
4. Have a communication device. Hand-held radios are reasonably priced and should be on board. Channel 16 is the monitored marine radio channel and can be used for requesting help. Cell phones have taken over much of the communication between boaters reducing the chances of somebody responding to a call for help. It’s advisable to have the Ramsey, Dakota and Washington County sheriffs’ phone numbers on hand for emergencies.
5. Bring extra gas! You will quickly travel much further than expected given the beauty and new experience of the river. It will also take more fuel to travel up river on your return trip because you are working against the current.
6. Understand the basics of how rivers flow. As rivers bend and change direction, the river flow will slow on the inside of the bend, dropping sediment and resulting in shallower areas. The water will move faster on the outside of the bend, eroding and moving sediment and resulting in deeper areas. Always navigate to the outside, deeper areas of the bends. The same conditions exist around islands. The upriver side of an island will be eroded away and be deeper, and the trailing or downriver side much shallower due to deposited sediment which creates an elongated sandbar.
7. Make sure you have and wear life preservers which are Coast Guard approved.
8. Review boating rules and regulations available at all licensing facilities.
   
   

How Do River Boaters Know Where To Go?

The Army Corps of Engineers maintains a navigable channel for commercial traffic. That channel is the ONLY safe place to be. Outside of the main channel, BOATER BEWARE! The channel is marked by a system of floating buoys in conjunction with shore mounted channel markers, shown at right. The buoys are colored RED or GREEN. Look closely and notice that the red ones are pointed and the green ones are flat-topped, as another method of identification. They also have reflective material for night illumination.
The red buoys indicate the right-hand, or starboard side as you travel up-river, and the green denote the left-hand, or port side of the river channel. This is best remembered by citing a rule of thumb, “RED RIGHT RETURN”. This means that the red buoys are on the right side of the river when you are returning “up-river”.

STAY BETWEEN THE RED AND GREEN AT ALL TIMES

When passing a channel buoy, the boat operator should always scan ahead to locate the next visible marker, and keep it in sight as the boat navigates the channel. These markers may be mounted on the shore, or floating. Observing other boaters can be a guide, but exercise caution since fishermen in small craft often run outside of the main channel to access their favorite fishing spots. Shown at left is a view traveling up-river. Remember the catch phrase, "Red Right Return". The boater in this situation should keep to the left side of the red buoy and steer toward the left river bank, staying to the right side of the green land marker as it passes. In this case, the safe channel will hug the left shoreline of the river.

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In the image at right, the boater is traveling down-river, so the buoy positions are reversed. The red channel marker is on the left side (the opposite of the "Red Right Return" rule) so the direction must be down-river. Here the boater should keep to the left of the green floating buoy and navigate toward the river shore, staying to the right of the red land marker.

The safe channel will use the portion of the river near the left bank. The boater should locate the next red and green buoys ahead as the boat rounds the bend, to be certain of how long the left side of the river is used as the safe channel.

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WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC

Commercial barge traffic always has the right of way within the navigation channel. Caution is required when passing a towboat and barges in either direction. You must be visible to the towboat captain at all times. Remember, if you can’t see the pilot-house windows, the captain probably can’t see you.

The DANGER ZONE is in front of a barge. It can take one-half mile or more for a towboat with barges to come to a stop. If you have any mechanical failure while in front of a barge, you are in trouble. A towboat captain will have little tolerance for boaters operating in this area and will blow a loud warning horn if you are there.

Illustrated below is a towboat captain’s blind spot. Do not operate in this area! You must move aside very early when approaching a towboat, with or without barges.

HOW TO PASS A BARGE

Take a long stick and push it around in the street. Change the direction of travel of the stick. This will give you some understanding of how a barge moves on the river. The front of the barge changes travel direction by the towboat pushing the back of the barge to the new line of movement.

If you observe closely, you will learn how the back end of a barge moves. The towboat and barge back will always move to the outside of a curve reducing the distance between it and the shore line.

A general rule to remember:
PASS ON THE INSIDE CURVE SIDE OF A BARGE

In the image on the left, the boater is on the inside curve side of the barge. The barge stern (back) is moving to the curve outside and away from the boater. The barge bow (front) moves forward with little change from one side of the river to the other. A towboat captain will allow a boat to approach very close to this side of the barge because the barge is in motion away from the boater and the relative space between the barge and river shore line is increasing.

A boater should be watching for any oncoming recreational boat traffic and be prepared to move right. Remember the general rule applies to passing in either direction, and the oncoming traffic may also be forced to use the inside curve side of the barge as well.

Once you have grasped a barge’s relative movement on turns, you may also pass on the outside curve side, if necessary. You must ensure that there is enough space and time to get by the barge safely. When using the outside curve side, stay as far away from the barge as possible. Move quickly past the barge so that the captain can observe you and feel comfortable that you will safely pass and clear the danger zone in front of the barge. Leave the barge plenty of room and time to move to the outside of the curve while completing it’s change of direction.

Avoid the area directly behind the towboat. The water there is extremely turbulent and can overturn a small boat. In addition, dangerous logs can be thrown up in the wake of the tow.
The image at right shows a towboat at a very low level of thrust power. This can change without notice especially when negotiating a curve or passing under a bridge or around an obstacle.

FRIENDS OF POOL 2 WELCOMES EVERYONE TO SAFELY ENJOY THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

Please take advantage of this useful information to experience a wonderful, safe trip.