North Fork Crow River

The North Fork Crow River is a river in central Minnesota, 157.5 miles long. It begins at Grove Lake in eastern Pope County and runs generally east-southeast through southwestern Stearns, northeastern Kandiyohi, northern Meeker and central Wright counties. Along the way it passes through Rice Lake and Lake Koronis and flows past Regal, Paynesville and Kingston. The Middle Fork Crow River joins it in northern Meeker County. Near Rockford it meets the South Fork to form the Crow River, which enters the Mississippi River at Dayton. Average discharge at the USGS station at Paynesville is 173 cubic feet per second. The reach from the Lake Koronis spillway to the Meeker-Wright County line lies entirely within Meeker County. It is part of the Minnesota wild and scenic rivers system and is classified as a recreational river.

The Minnesota DNR made the river a state water trail in 1967 and maps it in two segments: Koronis Lake to Howard Lake, and Howard Lake to the Mississippi. From the spillway to Kingston the channel is narrow and shallow, and a two-mile stretch below Lake Koronis can be paddled only in high water. Below Kingston the river deepens and widens, winding through a floodplain sometimes more than a mile wide. Hazards include a low bridge, snags and overhanging trees, along with a few class I rapids near Forest City. The DNR recommends a 10.2-mile day trip from the Betty T. Mason carry-in access to Wildlife County Park, where camping requires a permit.

In 2012 a DNR fish population assessment covered about 93 river miles, from Dayton up to the Meeker-Wright County line. The survey recorded channel catfish up to 30.7 inches, as well as smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike and black crappie.