Red River

The Red River of the North is a river that flows north for 550 miles from Breckenridge, Minnesota, to Lake Winnipeg in Canada. For most of its length it forms the border between Minnesota and North Dakota, and 395 miles of that border run along the river. It begins where the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers meet. Lake Winnipeg drains through the Nelson River to Hudson Bay. The river crosses the flat bed of glacial Lake Agassiz and passes Moorhead and East Grand Forks. Its channel ranges from under 100 feet wide to more than 500 feet wide in the north, and average depths run from 10 to 30 feet. Clay soil keeps the water dark, and summer visibility is usually less than two inches.

The Minnesota DNR manages the river as the Red River of the North State Water Trail. Minnesota and North Dakota together list 34 public access points between Breckenridge and Pembina, North Dakota. Some are maintained by the states and some by local communities. Minnesota ramps include M.B. Johnson Park in Moorhead, Halstad, LaFave Park in East Grand Forks, where a double-wide ramp was completed in 2024, and the Golden Grain and Hilltop trailer accesses. The DNR lists dams, snags, water levels that change widely, and flooding at any time of year as hazards. Rules differ between the two states and Canada.

Channel catfish are the most popular species with anglers. Walleye, sauger, northern pike and smallmouth bass are also caught. Lake sturgeon have been restored to the river since 1997 and are open only to catch-and-release fishing.