Mississippi River cruise

[soggysteve]

I am thinking about spending the winter 2020/2021 on the Mississippi. and was wondering how far north could I start a trip in houseboat or cabin cruiser? any info or tip would be appreciated. It would be nice to travel the entire length to New Orleans

[AKA-None]

Check our the great loop for detailed info on this trip. Be aware there is zero dumping in the river and few marinas on most of the river. Lots of barge traffic

[valhalla360]

Going down is very much viable...going up is much more challenging due to range.

The river is navigable from just downriver of Minneapolis to the Gulf.

North of St. Louis the river is controlled by lock and dams and is fairly easy cruising (limited currents to deal with) with plentiful facilities for pleasure boats.

South of St. Louis, the river is free flowing with wing dams that keep the currents high and limit areas to safely anchor. There are only a couple places for pleasure boats to refuel before the New Orleans, so you need quite a bit of range. If going down river, the current helps with range quite. It can certainly be done but can be challenging.

Up river is a much more difficult problem primarily due to fighting the current and resulting range reduction.

Most folks peal off at the Ohio River and take the Tennessee River which connects to the Tom Bigbie (Tenn-Tom) and comes out at mobile. Plenty of facilities and dams keep things much more under control.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Steve.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by soggysteve

I am thinking about spending the winter 2020/2021 on the Mississippi. and was wondering how far north could I start a trip in houseboat or cabin cruiser? any info or tip would be appreciated. It would be nice to travel the entire length to New Orleans

You can look at the routes paddlewheel cruise lines operate, mimic those. Furthest north is in Minnesota, I think. We "cruised" the lower Mississippi on the American Queen many years ago, great tour... but the lower Miss. is mostly just brown water.

-Chris

[acem]

Fuel can be had on the Mississippi but not often at marinas. Many cities and towns are on the river and gas stations are available. However you have to carry the fuel to your boat.

My father and brother in law made the trip down the Mississippi back in the 70s in a small boat. Food became more of an issue than fuel. They did not have refrigeration and fishing was not always good.

You can often find Anchorage between the wing jetties but watch your depth finder. Set the anchor well.

Bring lots of off for mosquitoes.

Thx-Ace