Zumbro River

The Zumbro River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the Driftless Area of southeastern Minnesota. It is 64.6 miles long from the confluence of its principal tributaries and drains a watershed of 1,428 square miles. It forms from three forks. The South Fork is dammed by the Lake Zumbro Hydroelectric Generating Plant, which creates Lake Zumbro. The North and South forks join about 4 miles east of Mazeppa in Wabasha County. From there the river flows east through the Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest, past Zumbro Falls, Hammond, Millville and Kellogg, and enters the Mississippi about 4 miles east of Kellogg. French fur traders called it the Rivière des Embarras because snags blocked their canoes.

The Minnesota DNR manages the river as the Zumbro River State Water Trail. The DNR Division of Parks and Trails runs carry-in accesses at Green Bridge, Theilman, Zumbro Bottoms–Funk Ford Trail Bridge, Hammond, Kruger and Kellogg, and a ramp at Zumbro Falls. The City of Hammond runs a ramp at Hammond Village Park. The DNR describes a lively current even at moderate levels. Hazards include snags, logs, dams and flash floods, which generally follow a storm by about four hours. Below Theilman the valley widens. Mild rapids at Jarrett become a rocky obstacle course at low water. Canoe-in campsites are near river mile 15 in the Zumbro Bottoms unit, and a campground is near river mile 12 in the Kruger unit.

The DNR lists smallmouth bass, catfish, bullheads and suckers in the river. A Star Tribune report adds muskies, northern pike and some walleyes.