Newbie here. Wondering where to go in or near St. Louis, etc.

[dmharris]

Hey, I'm new to both the forum, and to boating. My gal and I went on a float trip with a bunch of friends a couple months ago, and that was the first time I had ever gone. It was a VERY docile river though, the kind you pretty much just drink beer and don't need to worry about anything.

We got bit by the bug, bought a rinky dink little 3-Person inflatable boat (the two of us barely fit in it, and we are not big people by any stretch of the imagination, so I shudder to think how tiny the 2-Person boat I almost bought would have been), and took it out to Creve Coeur Lake City of Maryland Heights : Creve Coeur Park by our house. This is a pretty small extremely docile lake which was perfect for us, being that we know next to nothing about boating, and were in a boat that cost $99 including oars, presumably which wouldn't be capable of handling very much.

We've been out there a couple times, but really want to go somewhere else rather than the same boring lake every time. Problem of course being safety and practicality with what semblance of equipment we have. So, I was wondering if anyone knew of anywhere else around here where we could take our little inflatable boat. Or some basic info on how to find places that we could know are acceptable for what we have...

And also, I think in the near future we would want to upgrade to something a bit more solid and venture to more interesting bodies of water to play in. So any info on good types of boats that are relatively inexpensive and versatile.

Any and all information would be very much appreciated, and I will also be looking around the forum to see if I can glean some good info without needing to bug anyone Y'all have an excellent weekend, now!

Thanks, Dave H.

 

[Firemedic4]

Re: Newbie here. Wondering where to go in or near St. Louis, etc.

I believe Busch Wildlife off Hwy 94 and Hwy 40 has little lakes that you can fish. I believe there is a little lake on the north side of 370 that allows small boats. We have our pontoon boat up at Mark Twain lake (2hrs north). I guess if you get real adventurous you could do the river over by Grafton.

 

[dmharris]

Re: Newbie here. Wondering where to go in or near St. Louis, etc.

I believe Busch Wildlife off Hwy 94 and Hwy 40 has little lakes that you can fish. I believe there is a little lake on the north side of 370 that allows small boats. We have our pontoon boat up at Mark Twain lake (2hrs north). I guess if you get real adventurous you could do the river over by Grafton.

Thanks, I'll check those places out. I have heard that Busch Wildlife has a nice outdoor shooting range I have wanted to check out for a while now and never got out that way. I'm hesitant about rivers still just due to how flimsy the boat is, I think a rock or branch would rip it in half :laugh:

 

[TimBobCom]

Re: Newbie here. Wondering where to go in or near St. Louis, etc.

Fellow St. Louisian here! Well, St. Peters actually, but close enough.

I wouldn't recommend either the Missouri or the Mississippi rivers (especially on a weekend) but you could possibly try the Meramec, depending on the size/toughness of the boat.

St. Peters has a new park with a lake along 370 just a couple miles east of 70. Ironically, it's called "Lakeside 370" I think there is a small launch/use fee but they allow boats, not sure how the fishing is since it's a newer lake, but it's worth a shot.

Busch Wildlife won't let you bring in your own boat, but they do have john boats for rent on some of the lakes. Decent shooting range as well (100 yard rifle, 25 yard pistol, skeet, trap) and a nice archery range as well as thousands of acres to explore.

Mark Twain Lake was mentioned, and I have seen others out there using inflatables. They usually don't venture too far from the ramps, but go back in the coves to fish where the other boats can't go due to all the standing timber.