Can you literally take a boat trip from the mouth of the mississippi to the source?

Question

If so, how long would it take? Do you need to pay in order to pass through any points?

Answer 1

The "navigable head of the Mississippi" is just north of downtown Minneapolis, MN. Meaning this is as far north as the corps of engineers dredges the river for traffic. The lock at St. Anthony Falls is #1 on the river, and thats where is all starts.

Practically, you can get up to the dam at Coon Rapids, but there is no lock there, so you are finished.

The lock and dam system in the United States is free of charge, pleasure boats use them every day in season. As a matter of fact the season just opened last week with the first barge coming up river.

Stay off the lower Mississippi, it is boring, dangerous, and very few places to fill with gas. Come north on the Tenn-Tom waterway, and then come over for the trip up the Upper Mississippi.

Answer 2

The true source of any river is a trickle from something like a an underground water source or a run off from a higher point

Answer 3

Yes, it has been done many times, but it's cheaper to do it in the other direction (north to south), as going in that direction, you're floating with the current instead of powering your way upstream against the current.  There are several locks and dams you will have to pass through, but no charge.  Length of the trip depends on how fast your boat is, but figure an average 2-4 weeks.

Answer 4

You can do the Great Circle route and go from the Mississippi to the Great Lakes and out the St Lawrence or Hudson into the Atlantic, or go the other direction. There is a charge for some of the locks. People plan to do the northern areas in warmer weather,.

Answer 5

the mississippi is free all the way from minnesota to the gulf of mexico