Crow Wing River

The Crow Wing River is a 113-mile tributary of the Mississippi River in north-central Minnesota. It rises in a chain of 11 lakes in southern Hubbard County at about 1,391 feet. From there it flows generally south and then east to join the Mississippi at Crow Wing State Park, northwest of Little Falls. In Wadena County it runs from the Blueberry Bridge northeast of Menahga to the county's southeast corner just west of Staples. Its watershed covers about 1,946 square miles in nine counties. The river is named for a wing-shaped island at its mouth.

The Minnesota DNR manages the Crow Wing River State Water Trail, which runs 90 miles from southern Hubbard County to the Mississippi in two segments: Eleventh Crow Wing Lake to Nimrod, and Nimrod to the Mississippi. The river is seldom more than 3 feet deep but is nearly always deep enough for canoeing, and it has no major rapids. The DNR lists rapids and dams as hazards and notes that channels between the northern lakes can become impassable with vegetation. Wadena County runs primitive campgrounds along the river. In that county the river has no dams or portages, and the current averages about 3 miles per hour. Landings include Huntersville (N), Mary Brown, Little White Dog and Cottingham County Park. State rules require a life jacket for each paddler and a license for non-motorized craft over 10 feet. Boaters must also clean off aquatic plants and drain water before leaving a landing.

The DNR says the river's sandy bottom and lack of deep pools make it a poor game fish river. Northern redhorse and white sucker are its most common species. In 1792 the North West Company built the Wadena Trading Post where the Partridge River joins the Crow Wing.