Kings River Provides Close Canoeing

If you’re tired of floating rates and floating securities, Ernie Kilman suggests you float the Kings River in Madison and Carroll counties.

“You can still float the river and have a wonderful experience like you’re way out in the wilderness,” said Kilman, who owns Kings River Outfitters eight miles southeast of Eureka Springs off Arkansas Highway 221 at Trigger Gap.

“The Kings River is the last floating secret of the Ozarks.”

The secret may be getting out. Kilman said his sales have tripled over the past three years and two more outfitters have opened shop along the river — Riverside Canoe and Kings River Retreat. Kilman keeps 50 canoes in stock, and they’re usually all rented on Saturdays.

“But it’s still not crowded, not yet,” he said. “These are still the good old days.”

Kilman said the Kings River is the closest floatable river to the “metroplex” that includes Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville. The river is about an hour and 15 minutes away, he said.

The Kings River flows north from its genesis near Boston (Newton County) about 90 miles to Table Rock Lake on the Missouri state line. About 70 miles of the river is floatable, although with the dry conditions that existed when he was interviewed on Sept. 21, Kilman said the water is too low for floating. But a hard rain could fix that, at least for a while.

Kilman said the Kings River provides excellent fishing for smallmouth bass as well as recreational canoeing. His canoes and kayaks rent for $38 per day, which includes shuttle, life jackets and paddles. Larger, 20-foot canoes are available for $45 per day. Camping at Trigger Gap cost $4 per day per person, and there’s also a $4 charge per vechicle for access to the area to fish, swim or picnic.

There are seven different sections of the river (each about seven miles long) where boaters can put a canoe in and be picked up at the next access point. Depending on the amount of water in the river, that seven-mile float could take anywhere from one and a half hours to eight hours.

Kilman also provides a guide service to the Ozarks outback.

Kilman said the upper Kings River has the cleanest water of any natural river in Arkansas. He’s referring to what is actually the southern part of the river, south of U.S. Highway 62 all the way through Madison County.

In addition to floating, the Kings River goes through the 14,000-acre Madison County Wildlife Management Area, which has hiking trails, waterfalls and “Indian rock houses.” The area provides camping, swimming and picnicking as well.

Kilman, who has floated Arkansas’ rivers and streams for the past 37 years, has owned Kings River Outfitters for the past eight years. Besides canoe and kayak rentals, he sells a variety of equipment for outdoor enthusiasts.

According to his Web site, www.kingsriveroutfitters.com, the Kings River has “an average gradient of 16 feet per mile.”

“The upper reaches of the river provide excellent whitewater while the lower reaches have sufficient water for year-round floating,” the Web site states. “It has achieved fame as a smallmouth bass stream and as a habitat for wintering bald eagles. The wooded slopes and valleys furnish exceptional range for large and small game and support many species of unique plants and animals.”