The Upper Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwest of the United States.

Its headwaters are in southeastern Minnesota, in Mower County (Le Roy and Lodi townships) near the border with Iowa. It then flows through the Iowa counties Howard Winnesheik and Allamakee and finally into the Upper Mississippi River. Along its course, it passes through the Iowa cities of Chester, Lime Springs, Florenceville, Kendallville, and Decorah.
The lack of any serious development makes this the only river in Iowa eligible for designation as a National Wild and Scenic River, though it has not yet attained this status, mainly due to the fact that much of the land and the riverbottom itself are privately owned. It is an excellent river for canoeing taking paddlers through the scenic bluff country. Many put their canoes in at Kendallville or down river from there, but many intrepid paddlers sometimes prefer to start at Lime Springs by the Lidtke Mill or at Florenceville.

See also

• List of Iowa rivers
• List of Minnesota rivers

Sources and External Links

• Watershed Map
• Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation
• Upper Iowa River Watershed Project
• Lime Springs to French Creek Bridge *pdf format
• NOAA (National Weather Service) site