KEOSAUQUA, IOWA -- About fifty canoes and kayaks speckled the waters of the Des Moines River for Canoe Van Buren this weekend.

"Along here there are lovely bluffs and then there are historic towns and then there are more lovely bluffs," said Participant Gerry Rowland.

Rowland, a Des Moines visitor, hasn't missed his chance to paddle through historic Van Buren County in his kayak since this event began back in 2001.

"My favorite part is being on the lovely river all the way from Selma down to Farmington," Rowland said.

Stacey Reece from the Villages of Van Buren's Office of Tourism told KTVO that boaters travel a total of 41 river miles throughout the weekend at a relatively low speed.

"The water is flowing at about five miles per hour this weekend," Reece said.

Organizers make sure no one gets stuck up the river without a paddle, keeping safety a priority.

"All of the canoeists have numbers, we flag the beginners so our people out there on the water, they know which ones they need to keep an extra close eye on," Reece said.

Of course, event coordinators also make sure it's easy for visitors to stop along the way and help boost the local economy.

"We're encouraging people today when they go to Bonaparte and Bentonsport to go to specialty shops and we'll have a delivery service so if they buy something, we'll take the packages on down river and they can pick them up after the float is over," Reece said.

A total of 73 boaters and more than 50 volunteers took part in the event.