Little Fork River

The Little Fork River (Ojibwe: Baaganowe-ziibi) is a river in northern Minnesota that flows about 160 miles from north-central St. Louis County northwest into Koochiching County, joining the Rainy River about 11 miles west of International Falls. It takes its name from being the smaller of two tributary rivers to the Rainy. Its watershed covers nearly 1.2 million acres and is sparsely populated; Cook and Littlefork are the towns along it. The lower river crosses the flat former bed of glacial Lake Agassiz. Its heavy sediment load gives the water a dark tint.

The Minnesota DNR has managed the river as a state water trail since 1963, mapped in two segments split at river mile 90. Rapids are separated by long stretches of quiet water; the upper segment has numerous Class I-II rapids and Class VI rapids at Hannine Falls. Between river miles 97.7 and 57 the landscape is wild and nearly inaccessible. Flow usually peaks in late April, and a reading of 3 feet or lower on the USGS gauge at river mile 21.6 means most rapids are too shallow for easy passage. DNR-recommended day trips run from Veterans Park in Cook to the Highway 73 bridge (15.2 miles) and from Dentaybow to Fiedler (13.1 miles). Lofgren Memorial Park in Littlefork has a boat access and campground.

The DNR lists walleye, northern pike, muskie, smallmouth bass, rock bass and sturgeon in the river. The region's last major log drive, in 1937, ran down the Nett Lake and Little Fork rivers to the Rainy.