Short answer: For a Missouri float trip, wear a buckled life jacket and shoes that strap on. Pack sun protection, more water than you think, a roll-top dry bag for anything that has to stay dry, a small first aid kit and a trash bag, and clip it all in. Overnight floats add a compact tent, a sleeping bag sealed in a dry bag, a small stove, a headlamp and a way to treat water.
A plain checklist for a canoe, kayak or raft day on Ozark rivers like the Current, Jacks Fork, Meramec, Gasconade, Eleven Point or Niangua. Print it, hand it out, check things off at the truck. Your outfitter has the final word on what they supply and what goes in the boat, so ask before you go.
Outfitters and float groups are welcome to link to or print this page for guests.
Before you leave the house
- ☐ Put-in time, shuttle pickup and take-out spot confirmed with your outfitter
- ☐ River level and weather checked that morning, for the river, not the nearest town
- ☐ Someone at home knows your put-in, take-out and check-in time
- ☐ Outfitter rules on coolers, containers, pets and alcohol
- ☐ Missouri fishing permit from MDC if anyone is fishing
- ☐ Phone charged, power bank in a dry bag
Wear it
Most float-day trouble starts with something packed instead of worn. Ozark rivers are shallow until they are not, so the life jacket goes on and stays buckled. Bringing your own? Check the fit on everyone, kids especially. A universal-fit vest like the Old Town Outfitter Universal PFD is the livery style many rental fleets use. Clip a pea-less whistle, like a Fox 40 Micro whistle, to the shoulder strap.
- ☐ Life jacket for every person, fitted and buckled
- ☐ Whistle clipped to the life jacket
- ☐ Water shoes or sandals with a heel strap (no flip-flops)
- ☐ Felt-free soles if you will wade-fish. Porous soles are banned in Dent, Texas and Shannon counties.
- ☐ Quick-dry shirt and shorts or swimsuit, no cotton
- ☐ Hat with a chin strap, sunglasses on a retainer
- ☐ Water-resistant sunscreen on before you launch, plus a stick in your pocket
Clipped in the boat
If it matters, it goes in a dry bag, and every bag gets clipped to the boat. A cooler is not a dry bag. A backpack in the bottom of a canoe is a sponge. Use one big bag for shared stuff, like a 20-liter Attwood dry bag with D-rings to tie off, and one small clear bag, like a clear 10-liter roll-top dry bag, for phone, keys and wallet so you can find them without unpacking. Roll each top at least three times before you buckle it.
- ☐ Large dry bag: dry layer, towel, lunch, sunscreen, extra water
- ☐ Small dry bag or phone pouch: phone, car key, ID, fishing permit, cash
- ☐ A refillable water bottle per person, plus a shared jug
- ☐ Snacks that can handle heat and a dunk
- ☐ Small waterproof first aid kit
- ☐ Throw bag with floating rope
- ☐ Sponge or bailer and a spare paddle (ask if your outfitter supplies them)
- ☐ Strap or carabiners to clip in bags and the cooler
- ☐ Mesh or trash bag. Everything you bring goes home with you.
Blisters, hook punctures and shins scraped on limestone are the usual float injuries. A sealed kit like the Adventure Medical Ultralight/Watertight .9 kit covers 1 to 4 people for 1 to 4 days. A 70-foot boater's throw bag is the item most groups skip and the one you want when someone swims a riffle. More options are in Safety & Survival and Water Bottles, Filters & Hydration.
The cooler
- ☐ Cooler that latches shut, strapped in low and centered
- ☐ Block ice. It outlasts cubes on a hot gravel bar.
- ☐ Food and drinks only in containers your outfitter allows
- ☐ Fish you keep: measure first, then into a cooler that closes. Segment limits change, so check MDC.
Kids on the float
- ☐ Life jacket sized to the child's weight, tried on at home with the straps snug
- ☐ Sun shirt and hat, plus dry clothes in their own bag
- ☐ Snacks and water within reach, not under the cooler
- ☐ A seat in the middle of the canoe, not up front
Overnight on a gravel bar
Two-day floats turn the canoe into a pack mule. Pack everything in dry bags at home and keep the load low and centered. Our Kayak Camping on Midwest Lakes and Rivers guide covers the same rules for kayaks.
- ☐ Compact tent (Tents & Shelters)
- ☐ Sleeping bag and pad, sealed in your biggest dry bag (Sleep Systems)
- ☐ Small stove, lidded pot, lighter in a dry container (Camp Kitchen)
- ☐ Headlamp on you, one lantern for camp (Lighting & Power)
- ☐ Water filter or treatment. Clear spring water is not safe water. See How to make camp water safe.
- ☐ Small tarp for rain and to keep dry bags out of the mud
- ☐ Camp well above the high-water mark. Storms upstream raise rivers faster than your phone forecast.
Spring and fall nights on the river run colder than the forecast. See Fall Camping in the Midwest for bag ratings and Camping in the Rain for storm setup.
If you plan to fish
The canoe is your ride, not a bass boat. Eddy out, wade the tail of the riffle, keep moving. One breakdown rod and a small lure box are plenty. Our Fishing Missouri Rivers guide covers what lives where and the trout-ribbon rules that catch visitors.
- ☐ Missouri fishing permit, plus a trout permit or tag where required
- ☐ One breakdown rod on a rod leash, spare line and a few crayfish-colored lures in the small dry bag
- ☐ Pliers and a tape to measure fish before you keep one
Leave it at home
- ☐ Anything you would hate to lose on the river bottom
- ☐ A cotton sleeping bag, or any bag that is not inside a dry bag
- ☐ More gear than the boat can carry low and centered
- ☐ A packable lake inflatable. Those belong on calm lakes, not Ozark current.
Quick printable checklist
- ☐ Life jackets, fitted and worn
- ☐ Whistle
- ☐ Strap-on water shoes
- ☐ Hat, sunglasses, sunscreen
- ☐ Large dry bag
- ☐ Small dry bag or phone pouch
- ☐ Water and snacks
- ☐ First aid kit
- ☐ Throw bag
- ☐ Cooler that latches
- ☐ Straps or carabiners
- ☐ Trash bag
- ☐ Dry clothes for the drive home
- ☐ Fishing permit (if fishing)
Overnight, add: tent, sleeping bag and pad in dry bags, stove and pot, headlamp, water treatment, tarp.
Float trip FAQ
What should I bring on a Missouri float trip?
A life jacket for every person, worn and buckled; shoes that strap on; sun protection; plenty of drinking water; a roll-top dry bag for anything that must stay dry; a small first aid kit; and a trash bag that goes home with you. Overnight floats add a compact tent, a sleeping bag sealed in a dry bag, a small stove and a headlamp.
How do I keep my phone and keys dry on a float?
Seal them in a small roll-top dry bag or a waterproof phone pouch and clip it to a thwart or seat, not loose in the bottom of the canoe. Roll the top at least three times before you buckle it. A hatch, cooler or backpack is not a dry bag.
Do I need to wear a life jacket on an Ozark river?
Wear one. Ozark rivers are shallow until they are not, and a life jacket only works if it is on and buckled. Make sure each one fits the person wearing it, including kids, and ask your outfitter what they provide.
What shoes should I wear floating?
Closed-toe water shoes or sandals with a heel strap that will not come off in current or on slick gravel. Skip flip-flops. If you plan to wade-fish the Current River area, porous felt soles are banned in Dent, Texas and Shannon counties, so wear felt-free boots.
What should I leave at home for a float trip?
Anything you would be upset to lose on the river bottom, a loose cotton sleeping bag, more gear than the canoe can carry with the load low and centered, and a lake inflatable. Packable lake rafts belong on calm water, not Ozark current.
What extra gear do I need to camp on a gravel bar?
A compact tent, a sleeping bag and pad packed in dry bags, a small stove with a lidded pot, a headlamp kept on your person, and a way to treat river or spring water. Pitch camp well above the high-water mark, because storms upstream can raise the river overnight.
How we use this list
John and Suzie Dent run Camping Life USA from Excelsior Springs, Missouri. We camp Missouri state parks most weekends, and this is the list we would hand anyone heading to the river for the first time. Gear questions: campinglifeusa1@gmail.com
