Big Sioux River Kayak
Distance
8.08 Mi
Days
1
Speed(CFS)
398
Paddle Time
4:23:56
Difficulty
Easy
Put In
Elmwood Park
Take Out
Pasley Park
Fish Caught
0
I was visiting my mother, a resident of Sioux Falls, in April of 2025. I decided to bring my Packraft. Why? During a previous visit, I was walking her dog and noticed some people kayaking down a river in Tuthill Park. It stuck, and Easter weekend 2025 was when the stars aligned to see what the river was like.
The goal of the afternoon was to kayak from Elmwood Park to Falls Park. It just seemed like a good distance and not much thought was put into it. Kayaking through downtown Sioux Falls did sound like a good time though!
I have walked down by the river a decent amount and always noticed a place to take your boat out (seen above). I planned to end the trip there!
Research
Basically nothing. I found this map, which is great if you wanted to view the entire river system, not great for a quick and precise city trip. Imagine my mom: where will I drop you off? Where will I pick you up? How long will this take? Will you die?
All great questions. I shared my location on my phone and headed off.
Another great resource for kayaking in Sioux Falls is this webpage run by the state of South Dakota: South Dakota Paddling
One other thing I looked at is this AllTrails track. I don't know that this did much, but I did use it to be able to judge some distances to try to come up with a ballpark of how long this was going to take. You can see this on AllTrails here
Flow
Check the flow before you go! I did not. I could not find anything on the internet recommending a minimum flow for rafting. Here were the stats when I went:
- Skunk Creek: 33.2 CFS -- Considered Average
- Big Sioux River at Sioux Falls: 43.9 CFS -- Considered Much Below Average
- Big Sioux River at North Cliff Ave at Sioux Falls, SD: 398 CFS -- Considered Below Average
The above numbers were not high enough. There were some portions that needed to be walked and other portions that required lots of dragging on the bottom. I would consider the above numbers the minimum in order to have some kind of a good time!
You can check the current flow here!
Putting In
I put in at Elmwood Park. I had never been to Elmwood Park and it was easy enough to find a place on the bank to launch from. I would say this is the case with this entire portion of the river. If you walked on top of the levee at any given point, I'm sure you would see a decent place to launch!
Elmwood -> Madison Street
Not much water. There was a significant amount of dragging on the bottom. I had to get out of the boat to cross the rip rap under the Madison Street Bridge.
Madison Street -> Zoo
There was water on this section. I found out why at the end!
These rocks / dam are labeled on the official map. Here is a more exact location:
Zoo -> Confluence with Skunk Creek
Starting below the rocks was the worst water on the river. There was hardly any and I did not even attempt to launch. I ended up almost calling the trip at this point but I decided to walk down to Skunk Creek to see if there was more water. It turns out there was! I walked across the below bridge and down to the confluence to launch!
I would bring shoes for the walk. You never know what you are going to find down by the river in Sioux Falls! I found a couple of syringes :(
Skunk Creek -> Farm Field Park
The water came and went. There was still a significant amount of dragging. The closer to Farm Field Park I got the better the water. There were a few small rapids on this section. If that's not your thing I would skip!
Farm Field Park -> Pasley Park
Probably the best water of the trip. There is also a fun little rapid at Tuthill Park. Some asshole decided to park his plane in the woods. Not sure what that is all about?
Taking Out
Taking out can be done almost anywhere along the river. I chose Pasley Park on the fly due to time constraints. Next time I will make it to the falls!
Wild Life
I was able to see a ton of waterfowl: birds, ducks, geese sitting on eggs, and Sandhill cranes. I was also able to see turtles and a couple of deer. The most exciting thing was a river otter. Am I sure that I saw this? No. Did I get a picture? No. However, I am pretty sure this is what I saw! Big mussels were also spotted.
Farm Park Put-in
There is a nice kayak launch at this park. Honestly, Farm Park to Falls Park would be the most fun section of the river and is what I would recommend.
Falls Park Takeout
I went down to Falls Park after the outing on the river and found a better place to take out, especially if you were going to portage through Falls Park. The below picture is on the east side of the river above the falls and is where I would take out.
Right now there is construction at the top of the falls. This could change in the future!
Review
It was a beautiful day to be out on the water! I would like to continue to kayak more sections of the river. Pasley Park to Brandon is something that I have in mind for the future! If you are really into kayaking this might not be something you would be into. It is definitely a stupid activity, but those are my favorite!
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