Cherokee Landing
Bonne Terre, Missouri · Fishes Big River
Float trips start upstream and finish at the landing on Missouri’s Big River, a slow, Class I northern Ozark stream the outfitter recommends for children and beginners. The river is a tributary of the Meramec and forms the southern boundary of St. Francois State Park, so the route runs beneath scenic dolomite bluffs and past the glades and wooded hollows of the park, with gravel bars for picnics and swimming holes to cool off in. Floats are sold on Saturdays and Sundays, weekday trips are by prior arrangement, and all parties are asked to be off the water by six. Because the landing sits high on the river, levels rise and fall quickly and paddlers are asked to call ahead; below three and a half feet the suggested load is capped at 400 pounds for a four-person raft and 600 for a six.