Kayaking the Galena River - Galena, IL - Highway 20 to N Ferry Landing Road (Mississippi) - Feb 2024

Put-in at the dedicated landing at Highway 20 and South Main Street (behind the Illinois Bank and Trust) in Galena, IL. There is a paved parking lot and dedicated ramp to the river. The take-out at the boat landing at the end of North Ferry Landing Road. The landing is a dedicated landing for boats and canoes with plenty of gravel parking.
Because this is all flatwater, the level for this is mostly dependent on the level of the Mississippi; I can’t imagine that this would get too low because it was plenty deep the entire trip with at least several feet of water. It’s a very easy paddle and you mostly feel out in the middle of nowhere, except for the bike trail to one side and the train tracks. We saw three trains on this trip and that’s always cool. The shuttle is very short and easy, right up N. Ferry Landing Road and only two turns once you get in town.
The weather was crazy warm at 60 degrees on FEBRUARY 27th! Fortunately or unfortunately, the temperature dropped by 50 degrees within 24 hours of this trip to bring us back to normal