48 Nebraskaland • April 2025
the way, we lost track of the number of bald eagles and
red-tailed hawks we saw perched in trees along the river or
soaring above it. We saw beaver and deer along the willow-
lined banks, and the sound of our paddles occasionally sent
silver carp, an invasive, non-native species, jumping out of
the water.
The Loup River and its three branches, the North, Middle
and South Loup, drain one-fifth of Nebraska. Fed primarily
by groundwater bubbling up from the Oglala Aquifer, its
reliable flows are diverted for power and irrigation. The
last diversion located near Genoa sends a majority of the
river's flows down a canal that feeds Nebraska Public Power
District power plants.
At the time we floated the river, it would typically be laced
with sandbars. On this day, with less water than normal
being diverted into the canal, river flows measured by a U.S.
Geologic Survey gauge near Genoa were 1,600 cubic feet per
second, more than twice the norm. That was fortuitous, as
we were bucking a 15- to 20-mph headwind through most
of the southeasterly course of the trail and literally moving
upstream in spots if we dropped our paddles. Simply moving
forward was enough work without having to chase the
channel. While the best flows are typically found on the
outside of bends, we found them sufficient throughout the
channel, even on the inside, and rarely did our kayaks bump
the bottom. When having to choose to go right or left of
the two small, wooded islands and a few large sandbars we
encountered on the trail, it was plain to see either choice
would have enough water.
Instead of sandbars, most of the sand we saw was what
historic flooding in 2019 piled on massive point bars. Those
bars were reshaped a few weeks before our trip when the
river approached flood stage following heavy rains. The
latter had harvested a fresh crop of cottonwoods from the
banks, leaving the river dotted with fresh snags.
The power district maintains at least 275 cubic feet per
second of flows in the river throughout the year. They are
limited in the amount they can divert from March through
The Loup River takes a wide bend around George D. Syas Wildlife Management Area southeast of Genoa.
