26 Nebraskaland • April 2020
When to Float
Water levels in the Platte River vary widely
throughout the year and can often be too high to
float safely or too low to make the trip enjoyable.
Greg Wagner, a Game and Parks public
information officer in Omaha, says as a general
rule, if you don't see any sandbars, the river is
too high to float, and if you see more sandbars
than water, your trip might be more walking than
paddling.
Joel Jorgensen, a Game and Parks biologist who
has spent many summers surveying least tern
and piping plover nests on the river, has another
tool that is useful for those who don't live near
the river and want to check flows before they
make the drive. He watches the U.S. Geological
Survey stream gauge on the Platte at Louisville
closely when determining when to go on the
river. Jorgensen says ideal flows for paddling are
between 7,000 and 12,000 cubic feet per second.
Flows below 5,000 cfs are too little, and those
above 16,000 cfs require extreme caution. When
they top 18,000 cfs, he avoids the river.
A link to the USGS site, where you can zoom in
and select that stream gauge from a map of all
gauges in Nebraska, as well as other information
on Game and Parks water trails, can be found at
OutdoorNebraska.org/watertrails.
The water trails page includes safety and general
rules for a float trip. A few highlights:
•
Always wear a life jacket.
•
The surface of the water is open to public
use, but you must have permission from the
adjacent landowner to stop on a sandbar
or the bank, or even touch the stream bed.
Where necessary, you may portage around
obstacles or walk your boat through shallow
water.
•
Wear proper clothing and be prepared to get
wet and wear shoes to protect your feet, and
take dry clothes for after the trip.
•
Protect yourself from the sun with sunscreen,
sunglasses, a hat and long-sleeve shirt and
pants.
•
Carry insect repellent.
•
Pack water and stay hydrated.
•
If you capsize, avoid the downstream side of
your canoe or kayak.
•
There are no dams on this section of the Platte
River or any Game and Parks water trail. When
floating other rivers on your own, however,
avoid these obstacles at all cost. Never float
over low-head dams, which have dangerous
undercurrents below them and are known to
some as "drowning machines."
The new access point at Schramm Park State Recreation Area includes a graded bank and parking off Highway
31. It is part of the Venture Park Initiative and a water trail linking Schramm, Platte River State Park and
Louisville SRA.
PHOTO
BY
ERIC
FOWLER
