DES MOINES, Iowa – Paddlers are being urged to use caution on the Upper Iowa River in Winneshiek County.

The Iowa Department of Transportation says a large log jam has formed upstream of Chimney Rock Park which has flipped canoeists and kayakers and gotten them stuck in fast currents, leading to the need for rescue. The DNR says the log jam does not block the whole river and can be avoided but a strong current pushes boats toward it. Boaters should get on the river right to avoid being sucked in.

A section of the Raccoon River in Des Moines has also cut a new channel full of wood debris and scattered strainers.
“Paddlers and tubers need to recognize that obstructions like this can happen anywhere on a river after a tree falls in,” said Todd Robertson, Iowa DNR River Programs Outreach Coordinator. “We’ve gotten a lot of reports about these two, but it’s natural for rivers to have this type of hazard.”

For real-time hazard updates and locations or to report new hazards, visit the Iowa DNR’s interactive paddling map at iowadnr.gov/paddlingmap.