Although the Gasconade has the reputation for being crooked, the
meandering of the Bourbeuse is more extreme. It winds for
nearly 100 miles with an airline distance of only 27 miles, all of it
within Franklin County! This is a relatively small, slow
river which is not as clear as many of the streams farther south.
Yet it provides some ratehr good bass fishing, has many
picturesque features and is surprisingly little cut up by roads
crossing it. It is seldom floatable in summer above Bartel
Bend on Hwy. H and becomes rather "civilized" beyond the first Union
Bridge.
Difficulty
I
Gradients
general
- 2.4; Hwy. 19 to Bartel Bend - 3.9; to Hwy. 185 - 1.7; to Happy Sock
Creek - 2.3; to Meramec River - 2.1.
Counties
Gasconade,
Franklin.
This is best viewed in Google Earth (download kml file), as Google Maps
does not support all the kml features (see documentation).