Staying Home Sucks, home
Des Moines River looking downstream from the St Francisville Bridge between Iowa and Missouri, 2020-10-26 (3861)
Fort Pike Access. Photo: Tim Kiser, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Fort Pike Access

Kayak spot · United States

Flat water: a lake, canal or slow river

Is it worth the trip?

52Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

2 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 0 out of 100

Wind
12 kn
Gusts
23kntoo gusty
Air
21°C
Rain
10.9 mm

Wed 4 · 0 out of 100

Wind
10 kn
Gusts
20kntoo gusty
Air
16°C
Rain
0 mm

Thu 5 · 31 out of 100

Wind
10 kn
Gusts
19kntoo gusty
Air
15°C
Rain
0 mm

Fri 6 · 68 out of 100

Wind
8 kn
Gusts
18kn
Air
13°C
Rain
0 mm

Sat 7 · 82 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
13°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 0 out of 100

Wind
13 kn
Gusts
26kntoo gusty
Air
13°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 82 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
13°C
Rain
0 mm

Tap a day for wind, gusts, air and rain. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Tue 30, poor
  2. Wed 40, poor
  3. Thu 531, poor
  4. Fri 668, good
  5. Sat 782, good
  6. Sun 80, poor
  7. Mon 982, good
  8. Tue 1083, good
  9. Wed 1183, good
  10. Thu 1282, good

The spot in two facts

  • Flat waterthe water
  • Best Jun–Sep7 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know the river level, weirs or your skill.

Wind and weather forecast and score for each day at Fort Pike Access
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Tue 3Nov0, poor12 kn23kntoo gusty21°C10.9 mm
Wed 4Nov0, poor10 kn20kntoo gusty16°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov31, poor10 kn19kntoo gusty15°C0 mm
Fri 6Nov68, good8 kn18kn13°C0 mm
Sat 7Nov82, good3 kn8kn13°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov0, poor13 kn26kntoo gusty13°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov82, good5 kn12kn13°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov83, good5 kn15kn15°C0 mm
Wed 11Nov83, good5 kn12kn14°C0 mm
Thu 12Nov82, good7 kn16kn19°C0 mm

Wind and gusts are in knots, rain in mm. The river's level is under In the water. More

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

best Jun–Sep

Good kayaking days in a typical week, each month, for new paddlers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb3of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar4of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr5of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May6of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov5of 7: a trip from Wed 4 Nov
  12. Dec3of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical weather, not a forecast, and not the river's level: a month that is often good to be outside may still be low water.

Map

the spot and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Photos of Fort Pike Access

Sandbars in the Des Moines River, a view toward Iowa from the St Francisville Bridge between Iowa and Missouri, 2020-10-26 (3852)
Photo: Tim Kiser, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Fort Pike Access

A launch on the Des Moines River. No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle. No paddling school, club or hire within 50 km on the map. For new paddlers the best months are usually June, July, August and September, with about 7 good days in 7; in January, about 2. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Wayland Missouri.

  • River Des Moines River
  • Grade No grade is stated.
  • Who it suits No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle.
  • Access No source states the access rules: check locally.
  • Schools, hire No paddling school, club or hire within 50 km on the map.

Spots and rivers: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Whitewater sections © Rivermap (rivermap.org), Riverzone and Jonathan Riddell, ODbL.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,150–US$2,080 each

about US$1,150–US$2,080 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, kayak hire.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to BRL, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$107–US$228
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$154–US$255
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$349–US$584
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$637
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$201–US$376
Totalabout US$1,150–US$2,080

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Wayland Missouri

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Wayland Missouri

about 15 min by car

about US$134/nightcountry average

See places to stay in Wayland Missouri · Booking.com

About Wayland Missouri its beds, food and every spot near it

Nearest town: Wayland Missouri, 8 km. We have not checked places to stay in Wayland Missouri yet. The nearest beds we have counted are in Quincy, 60 km away. Search before you plan on staying there.

About US$134 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 4h 15m

About 4h 15m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → BRL, direct, then 1h 15m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

On the water

River level

Gauge at Des Moines River at St. Francisville, MO: 227 m³/s, high for November (updated 4 h ago). Running.

Bands are this gauge's own record: under its usual low, running, high, and in flood on its few highest days a year. Not a runnable range for the section: check before you go. River levels in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey (public domain). Credits

Paddling schools, clubs and hire nearby

No paddling school, club or hire mapped within 50 km.

Schools, clubs and hire: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

Saved: this link opens the same trip

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The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.