Canoers and kayakers haven’t traveled the Red River since June 17, when rentals were halted due to dangerously fast flows. (Photo/River Keepers.)

Christine Holland
River Keepers

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

The Red River may look appealing to those with paddles on their minds, but it holds a more or less hidden threat – one that has forced River Keepers and Moorhead Parks and Recreation to temporarily suspend the popular rentals of canoes and kayaks at Viking Ship Park.
“That river is moving fast,” reports Christine Holland, executive director of River Keepers. “We don’t want to encourage people to get out there until we know it’s safe, especially for beginners.”
In a typical year, the partners begin renting the small watercraft on the Monday after Memorial Day. That’s how the 2025 season began, with a few days of paddling and the first of the paddle excursions planned for the season.
“But then,” she says, “the river went up.”
Late June rains have energized the Red. Though only now approaching minor flood stage, she observes, “the water has been moving really fast. We use the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ interpretation of when it’s safe for paddling. They estimate that it’s safe for most paddlers when it’s running at about 1,500 cubic feet per second. It’s now approaching 4,500 CFS,” or three times the acceptable speed.
Most of those who rent canoes and kayaks for river runs, she notes are either beginners or people whose experience has been limited to languid lakes. “They think they know how they’re doing,” she says, “but they don’t have experience with the river current.”
All is (probably) not lost. With more typical – that means “drier” – days ahead, Christine expects that rentals may resume around mid-July. That means that River Keepers’ series of paddling excursions, too, will be back on track.
“We got our first one in before we shut it down,” the director says. That was the Animals and Habitats excursion conducted by Nicole Lee of the Red River Zoo June 11. The second event, Midwest Outdoors’ Social on the Red, was not so lucky; it was canceled due to the fast-running current. The bird-spotting trip planned by Audubon Great Plains, too, was scratched.
Assuming Christine is correct about the river’s imminent reversion to a more moderate speed, the third scheduled paddling excursion (originally planned for July 7) will take place July 12, when Petra Gunderson-Leith of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County leads a session on the Red River’s history. Two more fill out the summer calendar: Trees of the Red, led by Alec Miller of the Fargo Park District July 23; Gentle Mind of the Red River, a more meditative experience under the guidance of Caroline McGuire of CJM Yoga Aug. 7; and Discover the Red River by Christine herself, Aug. 20.
Registration is required for all excursions, which are limited to about 20. Paddlers can sign up at https://moorheadparks.activityreg.com. Advance registration is $10, or $15 at the time the group departs from the launch in Viking Ship Park.
Depending on conditions, Race the Red – the canoe and kayak race initially scheduled June 23 – may take place July 21. “Our biggest was in 2019, with 68 vessels and 84 participants taking part,” Christine says. The competition follows the watery course for 1.5, 3.5 or 6 miles. Paddlers receive prizes at the downstream turn-around point: color-coded garbage pickers volunteers use on other days to clean the banks of the waterway.
Race registration is $20 per person before July 10, then $25 thereafter. Sign-ups can be made at www.riverkeepers.org.
Christine has her fingers crossed that the mighty Red relaxes in days and weeks to come. “I’m really hopeful and excited,” she says, “that we can get back out there soon.”