Eleven Point River Overnight Trip – June 14-15, 2025.

After shuttling vehicles, we put on the water at about 10:15 am. There were 11 members in 10 boats.  The river was right at 4.3 ft. on the Bardley gauge. The river was about 12 inches higher than normal, and we averaged faster float times than normal. On April 5^th of this year the river hit a flood stage of 20 feet. Most of the main channel was clear but there were several trees down on the side of the river that made it a little more challenging than normal. Everyone handled it well with only one person getting wet just once. Thankfully, the boat stayed upright and the only thing that floated away (and later found) was a safari hat.

We made the customary stop at Turner’s Mill for lunch.  For those readers who are not familiar with this area, Turner’s Mill is the site of an old mill town known as Surprise, MO. The town had its own post office from 1895 until 1925.  All that is left of the old mill is the 25-foot steel overshot wheel. The old schoolhouse is still standing, and we all did a short hike through the woods to check it out. It is a must stop if you are in the area. The only bathroom at that place was mysteriously locked, which explains why this place called Surprise, MO.

Then it was on to Whitten Access where we decided to camp. We normally camp on a gravel bar but with the water a little high, and many trees down because of the previous flood, so we decided to stay at a maintained campsite.

The campsite was a busy place with many boaters, kayakers and rafters coming in after the day of floating. The only two riverside camping sites were occupied, one with an RV and the other one with an entitled local who thought it was a great idea to park her truck and a boat trailer right smack in the middle of the site.  Her inconsiderate behavior resulted in all of our group to be spread out to several sites further back from the river.  Some people.

One group of rafters ran into some major trouble, where their rafter was completely overturned and swamped underneath a strainer, their gear, dry boxes containing cell phones and car keys, coolers with adult beverages and of course PFDs were doing their own swimming lessons down the river and all rafters, including several young kids end up hiking a mile and a half back to the campsite. Someone end up calling a Sheriff’s Office and a rescue boat was launched to check on the condition of the raft and to ensure no one else was at the “crash site”.  Of course they came back empty-handed.

Safety was the topic of the conversation because none of them wore PFDs and it could have been a disaster if things  did not work out the way they did.  We also observed several rafters and kayakers getting off the river with many not wearing PFDs. The icing on the cake was one genius who had his young child’s PFD tied to the boat and had to get her out of the PFD to untie the knot. Yes, some people.

We still end up having a nice relaxing gather before heading to bed.   

The next morning after breakfast we packed up and headed down river to Bose Mill Spring. This spring is one of the largest in Missouri and produces an average of 12-14 million gallons of water per day. This is also a “must see” when in the area.

We saw three Bald Eagles, which is always a rare treat!

Less than a mile down from Bose Mill, there is a fun little Class II rapid called “Halls Bay Rapids”. The rapid was more challenging than normal because of the increase in water level and current speed but everyone made it through without incident. Then we were off to take-out at Riverton. We made it there before noon.

After loading boats and saying goodbye to 3 of our group, 8 of us had our customary celebratory dinner at Crumpie’s Eleven Point Smokehouse. The food was good, the desserts even better!  The staff was wonderful, and our waitress surprised our ladies with a small fresh-cut flowers and all the guys were given a beautiful daisy flower, which made the Father’s Day even more special.

Everyone had a great time, camping on the river makes it even more fun and overall, it was a fantastic weekend on the river with great friends.

Trip Details:

      • River gauge at Bardley (USGS gauge number 07071500) – 4.3 ft.
      • Put In: Greer Crossing Recreation Area
      • Take Out: Riverton (East)
      • River Miles: 19
      • Campground: Greer Crossing Recreational Area.