Red Lake River

The Red Lake River is a river in northwestern Minnesota, about 193 miles long, that begins at the outlet of Lower Red Lake, where flow is controlled by the Red Lake Dam managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It flows generally westward past Thief River Falls, St. Hilaire, Red Lake Falls, Crookston and Fisher to join the Red River of the North at East Grand Forks; the confluence gives Grand Forks its name. The Thief River joins it at Thief River Falls, where the Thief River Falls Dam forms a reservoir and generates some hydroelectric power, and the Clearwater River enters at Sportsman's Park in Red Lake Falls.

The Minnesota DNR designates the river a state water trail in two segments, Lower Red Lake to Thief River Falls and Thief River Falls to East Grand Forks. Public accesses are run by the DNR, Pennington, Red Lake and Polk counties, and the cities of Thief River Falls, St. Hilaire, Crookston and Fisher; they include Smiley Bridge, High Landing, Huot Park, Central Park in Crookston and the Red River Recreation Area access near Grand Forks. The DNR lists several dams as hazards, along with Class I-II boulder-field rapids between St. Hilaire and nearly Crookston, where the river drops 110 feet in 17 miles.

The DNR notes the river for channel catfish, especially below the dams at Crookston and Red Lake Falls and near the mouths of the Thief, Clearwater and Black rivers; walleye, northern pike and, in the upper reaches, smallmouth bass are also present.