The 16 Best Rivers to Row on in the USA

America’s big rivers are not all good rowing water. A river can be famous and still be fast, shallow, cold or busy with barges. The list below is sorted by how practical each is for rowers, not by length, and it is honest about the ones that are better left to paddlers.

What makes a river good for rowing

A rowing shell is long, light and fragile, and it needs a few things that many famous rivers lack:

• Slow or manageable current. Strong flow turns a training row into a battle one way and a risk the other.
• A long, straight, deep reach. Rowers need uninterrupted water to build rhythm, which usually means a dammed, managed or tidal stretch rather than a wild one.
• Shelter from wind and wash. Boat wakes and gusts are the enemy of a narrow boat.
• A boathouse. Safe launching and landing, and people who know the water.

Keep these in mind as you read the list. A river that is breathtaking from the bank may be poor rowing water. For water that has earned its reputation with rowers around the world, see the most popular rowing locations.

Rivers with established rowing

Potomac River. Boathouses near Washington D.C. give access to the stretch by Georgetown, and clubs there run programmes for all levels.

Hudson River. A wide tidal estuary with a long rowing history. See our guide to rowing in New York.

Delaware River. Rowing here is closely tied to Philadelphia, though the city’s Boathouse Row sits on the Schuylkill, a tributary, rather than on the Delaware itself.

Ohio River. Several cities on the Ohio have rowing clubs. The river is wide and used by commercial traffic, so local guidance is essential.

Tennessee River. Rowing centres on Chattanooga, home of Lookout Rowing Club, and on Fort Loudoun Lake at Knoxville, a dammed and calmer stretch that has hosted the Head of the Tennessee regatta.

Sacramento River. Calm reaches in northern California suit training, with warm weather for much of the year.

Allegheny River. Rowing is based around Pittsburgh, where the Allegheny meets the Monongahela to form the Ohio.

St. Johns River. A slow river in Florida, mild in winter, which makes it popular for year-round rowing.

Columbia River. A very large river with dammed, calmer sections where rowing takes place. Wind in the gorge can be strong.

Mississippi River. Clubs row on stretches around cities such as Minneapolis and St. Louis, but the river is large, powerful and commercial.

Arkansas River. Calmer, controlled sections are used by crews at Wichita, where Wichita State trains, and at Tulsa, where rowers returned to the water after Zink Lake opened.

Rivers better suited to other boats

Missouri River. Long and powerful. Rowing is possible on managed reaches, but currents and sandbars make it a river for experienced boaters.

Colorado River. Famous for whitewater and canyons. Sculling is not realistic in most places.

Rio Grande. Rowing is limited. The river is shallow in many stretches and its flow varies.

Yellowstone River. A mountain river, better for rafting and fishing than for racing shells.

Yukon River. A remote wilderness river for expedition paddling rather than club rowing.

Questions to ask before you row any river

1. Where is the club, and which stretch does it use? Row where they row.
2. What is the current today? Rain upstream or dam releases can change a calm reach quickly. Ask whether the flow is above its normal level.
3. What is the traffic? Barges, ferries, fishing boats and pleasure craft all share many American rivers, and larger vessels cannot stop or steer like a scull.
4. What is the water temperature? In spring and autumn, cold water makes a capsize dangerous even if the air feels warm.
5. What are the hazards? Weirs, low dams, submerged trees and bridge piers are often unmarked from a rowing boat’s point of view.
6. What are the landing options? If you need to get off the water in a hurry, where can you go?

How to pick

If you want to row, find a club first and the river second. Local clubs know which reaches are safe and when. Our clubs hub and rowing clubs in the USA page are the best places to start, and 10 best rowing locations in the USA covers lakes and bays as well.