The Mississippi River is about 2,300 miles long. At Itasca State Park in northern Minnesota the headwaters could be designated as mile marker 2300, but instead the headwaters are designated mile 1,341.6. This represents the number of miles the river flows until it reaches the confluence with the Ohio River, at which point the mileage resets to 954 and counts down to the Gulf of Mexico.

There are about 500 river miles from the headwaters until you reach Minneapolis. The Mississippi River 140 Canoe and Kayak race takes place from mile marker 1006 at Lum Park in Brainerd and goes to mile 866 at Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park.  When you put your boat in the water at the start of the race the Mississippi has already flowed 335 miles. 

There are fourteen dams prior to reaching Minneapolis, five of which are on the MR140 race route and one of which marks the end of the race (the Coon Rapids Dam). All of the dams upstream from Minneapolis must be portaged around--there are no locks to go through. 

Over the course of the MR140 there are four major tributaries that join the Mississippi that are excellent paddling rivers in their own right and are state-designated Water Trails themselves. In order they are the Crow Wing River which enters from the west at mile 990.6 (16 miles into the race), the Sauk River which enters from the west in St. Cloud at mile 929.7 (76 miles into the race), and the North Fork of the Crow River which enters from the west at mile 879.6 (126 miles into the race) and the Rum River which enters from the north (on the “east” side of the river) at mile 871.4 (135 miles into the race).

The first section of the race is 38 miles from the start to the city of Little Falls. After portaging around the Brainerd Dam just two miles into the race, paddlers pass through the city of Brainerd. The city of Brainerd is famous for having 460 lakes within 25 miles and many Twin Cities residents associate the area with the lakes, cabins and pine trees of northern Minnesota. Paddlers will pass eight miles on the east bank that are part of Crow Wing State Park. Later, after the Crow Wing River joins the Mississippi, the Fort Ripley Military Reservation lies on the west bank for the next 18 miles. 

The second section of the race is 39 miles from Little Falls to St. Cloud. This section includes a portage around the Blanchard Dam, which at 47 feet is the tallest dam on the river. It is an impressive site when the water is high and a loud, powerful torrent of water comes over it. The portage trail includes a challenging up-and-down single-track trail through the forest. This section also includes the exciting class 1-2 Sauk Rapids in the six mile stretch of river between the Sartell and St. Cloud dams.  Paddlers have the option of running the rapids or portaging around them. This section concludes with the river running through the neighboring cities of Sartell, Sauk Rapids and St. Cloud. Together these cities form the largest metropolitan area in central Minnesota.

In the third section of the race, the 60 miles from the St. Cloud dam to race finish at the Coon Rapids Dam, there are over 100 islands and no dams or portages. This section begins with the 12 mile state designated scenic and wild section through the Beaver Islands. The river flows past the towns of Clearwater and Monticello before reaching the outskirts of the suburbs of Minneapolis. You will paddle past distinctive downtown Elk River and Dayton but in the other suburbs you will paddle past both scenic undeveloped parkland and past many fascinating homes and backyards--these cities include Otsego, Ramsey, Champlain, Anoka, Brooklyn Park and Coon Rapids.