Growing up in the St. Charles area, I was always aware of the Mississippi River and the marinas that provide boating access to Pool 26. Yet—other than some family friends owning some boats in the 90s—I never took a serious look at what this waterway has to offer. First, the cost of owning a boat through slip fees, insurance and annual maintenance can be daunting and often times be the one and only decision factor in exploring this hidden gem in America’s Heartland.
That is when we came across a membership-based boating club known as Freedom Boat Club. For those that live close to the Mississippi River in St. Charles, this is a great opportunity to explore the Mississippi River and everything that this area has to offer in the form of boating—from dockside restaurants, to skiing and tubing and to motoring out for a quick evening sunset picnic on the water. The club offers up to nine boats that you can reserve on a daily basis.
For our first outing, we chose one of the two “deck boats” that offered plenty of space for the kiddos, yet enough engine power to cruise along the channel at an exhilarating speed. We arrived at the boat dock on a perfect fall day around 2 PM. We quickly put on our life jackets, did a quick safety check to see if we had everything we needed and then “hit the road” on our way up to the confluence of the Mississippi and Cuivre Rivers.
One aspect of navigating the Mississippi River is the varying depths of the channel, as sand moves and deposits in different areas with the flow of the water. This might give some folks pause on wanting to operate a boat, but a simple depth finding tool displayed through the onboard navigation system gave real time depths in order to navigate safely and confidently. Once we reached our destination, we cut the engine and let the river slowly carry us back in the direction we came from. This portion of the Mississippi has a plethora of islands that provide a safe haven for migrating birds. While we relaxed for a picnic, we took in the vistas of the bluffs on the Illinois side of the river and got to see two full grown bald eagles swoop overhead to their perches at the top of the tree line.
After wrapping up our packed lunch, we clicked on the engine and headed back down river via the Dardenne Slough—a relatively calm portion of Pool 26 that is perfect for tubing and skiing in the warmer months. At the confluence of the main channel, we motored over to the Boat House—a restaurant just south of the marina that has a courtesy dock for day boaters. We enjoyed an early evening snack as the sun was about to set, along with views of the hills that make up Pierre Marquette State Park on the Illinois side of the river. After about three hours on the waterway, we headed back to the marina to dock the boat.
All in all, this was a carefree and simple process that allowed us to maximize our time on the boat and remove the time that is needed with individual boat ownership. The best part is that the club is less than ten minutes away, making these types of daily adventures a frequent affair in our future—all while allowing us to be back for dinner in the comfort of our own home. For more information on joining the freedom boat club and for a map of accessible locations throughout the U.S., visit: www.freedomboatclub.com