A favorite section among water sports enthusiasts, as well as those who are new to paddling, is the six-mile stretch of the Crow River between New London’s Mill Pond dam and Nest Lake, near Spicer. While not currently designated as a Minnesota State Water Trail, this route provides sparkling water, beautiful scenery and a relatively calm, easy paddling and outdoor recreation opportunity.

Embarking with a canoe or kayak below the dam, the Crow River is navigable to Nest Lake. The River will vary considerably with flow volumes. Caution needs to be exercised when the river is high as there can be many sweepers (downed trees and live trees growing out from the banks) which can be very dangerous. The lower river is basically flat water which can move swiftly in high water and would rarely produce great than Class I rapids. However, paddlers should have intermediate paddling skills to effectively avoid sweepers. The river flows through a culvert under Hwy 40 which can be hazardous in high water as a boat may become trapped due to lack of clearance. Also, the bridge under County Rd 9 can be a little tricky in high water.

Intermediate paddling skills with no greater than class 1 rapids.

Click Here to view the Willmar Lakes Area Water Trails Map.