Floating the Jacks Fork: Buck Hollow/HWY 17/Steel Bridge to Blue Spring (6/10/26)

We floated the Jacks Fork River in Missouri from Steel Bridge / Buck Hollow down to Blue Spring — not the big Blue Spring on the Current River, but the smaller one hidden along the Jacks Fork a few miles downstream. This was a short float, but it had plenty: clear Ozark water, bluffs, caves, tight turns, shallow spots, and one extremely suspicious beaver who waited until we bumped his rock before making his escape. I grew up about 4 miles from this location, doing this type of thing all the time (though it has been awhile). I took my 8-year-old son along for the trip - his first ever - so this is part river float, part father and son adventure, part “try not to wreck the canoe in front of the camera.” The stretch starts around Hwy 17 at Buck Hollow / Steel Bridge and runs downstream toward Blue Spring, with that classic Jacks Fork mix of quiet water, gravel bars, limestone, and woods right up against the river. If you’re looking for a quick look at this section of the Jacks Fork before floating it yourself, or you just like Ozark river footage, this one’s for you. Float route: Steel Bridge / Buck Hollow / Hwy 17 → Blue Spring on the Jacks Fork Filmed on the Jacks Fork River in the Missouri Ozarks on June 10th, 2026. #JacksFork #Ozarks #Missouri #Canoeing #RiverFloat #BlueSpring #BuckHollow #SteelBridge #OzarkNationalScenicRiverways