The Sauk River flows through several lakes along its 125 mile journey until its confluence with the Mississippi River on the north side of Saint Cloud Minnesota. The Sauk River has always drawn people to live along its shores beginning with the Ojibwa and the band of Dakota Indians for whom the River was named. Dave Simpkins writes"...Nicollet (Joseph) also reported the waters of the river were clear and tasted sweeter than the Mississippi." - Sauk River Log
The entire Sauk River is a state-designated canoe and boating route although the northern most portion, from its headwaters at Lake Osakis down to Guernsey Lake, are impassible for part of the year due to lower water levels.The Sauk River's elevation drops 328 feet from its beginning to it's confluence with the Mississippi River. Accessible to novice canoers the river still provides challenges and when the River is flowing, with the spring run off, sections provide short, pool-drop, class I-II rapids and scattered small surfing waves.
Located about 1/2 way down the Sauk River rapids is a low-head dam, at Whitney Park, and it is strongly recommended that the dam be portaged. Today there are 3 major dams along the Sauk River: one just south of Sauk Center MN at mile marker 95, one just south of Melrose MN at mile marker 78, and one located, between the State Highway 23 bridge and the Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge, just west of Cold Spring at mile marker 22.
For Geology buffs (rock-hounds), the Sauk River is a gold mine, with some of the oldest rocks in the world found in the various outcroppings along its banks. Some of these rocks have been dated back more than 3 billion years, through carbon dating. The Chain of Lakes area in Richmond MN, just west of Saint Cloud, have 2 prominent glacial features, the whaleback and the moraines, that contain examples of this ancient rock.
The Sauk River Watershed is 75 miles in length and up to 30 miles wide in areas covering 667,000 acres or approximately 1,041 square miles. Lake Osakis is the largest lake in the watershed covering 6, 768 acres with another 242 lakes covering a grand total of 35,700 acres. The Sauk River Watershed District newsletter is available online and containes many more interesting facts about this fantastic area in central Minnesota and the Sauk River. As the Friends of the Sauk River would say: "Promote it, Paddle it, Protect it!"
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