Watonwan River
In August 1838, famed explorer Joseph N. Nicollet, in the company of two fellow Frenchmen and Chief Sleep Eyes, left an encampment at Lake Hanska in Brown County and began heading toward Traverse des Sioux (at present day St. Peter). At about 9 a.m., they reached the Watonwan River.
"At the spot where we crossed," Nicollet wrote in his journal, "the Watonwan is nearly 60 feet wide, with a depth of 3 feet. Its waters are clear and navigation be canoe sure...." The following day, Nicollet and his fellow travelers continued on, noting the beautiful prairies and the "rocky and rapid Watonwan river... We took observations on the junction of the Watonwan and Mankato (Blue Earth River) where the country is still more beautiful..."
The Watonwan today is as lively and lovely as is was back in Nicollet's day, its banks blanketed by a mixture of bottomland trees. Although the river flows quickly at times, the river's gradient is low, only about 3.6 feet per mile. The most enjoyable portion for canoeists is from Madelia to its confluence with the Blue Earth River at Garden City, approximately 30 miles distance.
The Blue Earth River, from below the Rapidan Dam to its confluence with the Minnesota River at Sibley Park in Mankato, offers some of the most scenic and interesting canoeing in the area.
The Watonwan River is included on map section three of the Minnesota River series:
