Eight state parks, five in South Dakota and three in Nebraska, as well as an excellent Army Corps of Engineering facility complete the area and offer plenty of land-based exploration. Thousands of people come to the Missouri to paddle the great river. A float trip by canoe or kayak on the Missouri is not easy and is not for the inexperienced paddler. Although the water is flat and generally free of holes, riffles and hydraulics, the Missouri can flow very fast, up to seven miles per hour. The river is littered with strainers and snags, and the relentless prairie wind makes it difficult to maintain a straight course.
Paddlers have to share the river with both pleasure craft and occasional commercial barge traffic.
But if you have the experience, retracing Lewis and Clark's path is a very rewarding trip. If you want to paddle the eastern half of the park you will start at the Gavins Point Dam in Yankton, South Dakota. Access to the river can be found below the dam on the Nebraska side, but be very cautious during times of dam releases as the water flow and currents can be very unpredictable. The first ten miles of the trip is relatively uninspiring past Yankton on the South Dakota side and farms on the Nebraska side. In the fall the banks come alive with black oak, black walnut, ironwood, and cottonwoods changing color.