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Devil's Lake
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Devil’s Lake

Touring Devil’s Lake in Devil’s Lake State Park: An extraordinarily short but delightful paddle within Wisconsin’s most popular State Park, this little adventure provides a different perspective to the towering bluffs of Devil’s Lake, and is especially appealing during the…

Robinson Creek
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Robinson Creek II

Kelly Road to West Pine Hill Road: The fabled lower section of Robinson Creek features no fewer than five Class II-III ledges through a series of two separate mini canyons. As such, this trip demands caution and care, and…

Root River South Branch
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Root River: South Branch II

Preston Trailhead Park to Heron Road: A fantastic day trip on a narrow, often canopied river with plenty of delightful riffles, standing waves, and some very attractive outcrops. When you add it all up, it makes for a wonderful…

Cannon River
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Cannon River II

Cannon Falls to Welch: A bluff country paddle full of numerous riffles, gravel bars and island channels that cut through bluffed-valleys 300′ tall along the eastern edge of Minnesota’s Driftless region, this popular section of the Cannon River is…

Wisconsin River
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Wisconsin River XVII

Touring the Blue Heron Island Loop in Portage County: A circumnavigatory exploration of the backwaters and archipelagic cluster of wild islands surrounded by civilization, this trip is a perfect example of finding adventure (and solitude) in your own backyard,…

Horseshoe Island
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Lake Michigan: Horseshoe Island

Touring Horseshoe Island in Door County: There are a lot of opportunities for paddling in Door County, but here’s a great half-day destination paddle to a crescent-shaped island that offers a short hike, as well as prime fishing within…

Plover River
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Plover River I

Jordan Park to Iverson Park: One of the best examples of “finding adventure in your backyard,” this last segment of the Plover River through Stevens Point makes for a wonderful day trip through a mix of floodplains, tall sand…

Wedges Creek
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Wedges Creek II

County Road B to Rouse Road: An extraordinary gem of a stream quietly tucked away in the paddling playground of the Black River Falls area, Wedges offers a little bit of everything: clear water, occasional riffles, a handful of…

Black River East Fork
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Black River: East Fork II

Steponik Road to Overguard Road: A beautiful and almost entirely undeveloped swath of classic central Wisconsin landscape featuring tall pines, root beer-hued water, and modest granite outcrops, this section of the Black River’s East Fork is characterized by calm…

Lulu Lake
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Lulu Lake

Touring Lulu Lake in the Kettle Moraine State Forest: Take a lake to find another lake, a secret lake, one that’s surrounded by public land in the Kettle Moraine State Forest and protected as a state natural area, this little…

Bark River
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Bark River V

County Road E to Hagedorn Road: A two-for-one trip that demonstrates the admirable diversity of the understated Bark River, featuring a classic river-lake-river pattern through a mostly undeveloped landscape, the paddler can do these segments as two separate trips…

Pecatonica River Mineral Point Branch
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Pecatonica River: Mineral Point Branch II

Lake Ludden to S. Oak Park Road: A truly peculiar but unique branch of the Pecatonica system, this trip offers an obstacle course around strainers, some fun light rapids, and several stretches of gorgeous geology in a serene setting.…

Red Cedar River
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Red Cedar River II

County Road W to Colfax Park: One of the prettiest stretches of the leggy Red Cedar River featuring picture-perfect sequences of stunning hills and hollows with exposed rock outcrops, this longish trip is great for newbie paddlers as well…

Manitowoc River
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Manitowoc River II

County Road S to Manitowoc: A really fun daytrip along the meat-and-marrow of the Manitowoc River, with small boulders, continuous stretches of Class I-II rapids, a mix of bottomlands and steep wooded banks, and very little development for miles…

Manitowoc River
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Manitowoc River I

County Road JJ to County Road S: A truly pleasant little jaunt that packs a heckuva lot of punch in only 7 miles, this section of the Manitowoc River begins quietly through tranquil farm country then races along fun…

Maquoketa River North Fork
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Maquoketa River: North Fork I

Highway D61 to 60th Avenue: A long stretch of water that is eminently pleasant, this trip has the look and feel of a wild setting, despite its Iowan/agrarian surroundings. However, its length and relative monotony might tax some paddlers. But…

Beaver Dam River
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Beaver Dam River III

Cotton Mill Park to County Road J: A section of the Beaver Dam River that begins as an exhilarating urban paddle before quieting down towards the outskirts of town amongst suburban development, then narrowing again and alternating between wooded…

Sheboygan River
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Sheboygan River VI

St. Cloud to Sheboygan Broughton Marsh County Park: A surprisingly varied and pleasant trip for what otherwise might seem like a monotonous marsh, this section of the Sheboygan River rewards paddlers with a historic bridge, woodsy corridors, a labyrinth…

Sheboygan River
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Sheboygan River IV

Millhome to Johnsonville: Arguably the wildest and wooliest section of the Sheboygan River, this trip will be most suitable for roguish paddlers who are comfortable with the occasional discomfort of obstacles to dodge in a current that shouldn’t be…

Sheboygan River
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Sheboygan River III

Johnsonville to Dassow Park: One of the prettiest and most intimate segments on the Sheboygan River, this short trip will reward the paddler with clear water, a riffly current, steep wooded and attractively eroded banks, and more solitude than the…

Sheboygan River
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Sheboygan River II

Dassow Park to Sheboygan Falls: Everything you could ask for in a river but nothing to go out of your way for unless you live nearby or are passing though, this trip on the Sheboygan is generously endowed with…

Sheboygan River
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Sheboygan River I

Sheboygan Falls to Lake Michigan: Hardly a destination river trip to make a bucket list, but a splendid final segment of a great, underrated river in southeastern Wisconsin. This trip on the Sheboygan is never far away from development…

Wisconsin River
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Wisconsin River XV

Spring Green to Lone Rock: An easy, straightforward, entirely delightful stretch of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway featuring innumerable sandbars, wooded islands, rolling hills and even an exposed sandstone rock wall. Great accesses at the put-in and take-out make for…

Waupaca River
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Waupaca River II

Buchholz Road to County Highway Q: A long section with a generous mix of good and bad – the pluses being swift current, clear water, giant boulder gardens, attractive tall banks and great accesses; the minuses being notoriously shallow…

Willow Creek
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Willow Creek

Highway 58 to Dog Hollow Road: A scenic trip that’s as thrilling as it is serene set in the gorgeous Driftless country of Richland County. The best that Willow Creek has to offer the paddler is here, beginning with…

Chicago River
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Chicago River

Touring Downtown Chicago: This was a very unique experience for us (and would be for anyone) because paddling through the middle of a lively downtown in the third biggest city in the United States, surrounded by the sights and…

Wisconsin River
★ ★ ★ ★

Wisconsin River XIV

Castle Rock Dam to Lyndon Station: A peaceful trip that is light on individual details, but luxurious on general overall feel. There’s very little development along the banks, and several humongous islands that divide the mainstream into beguiling side channels.…

Menomonee River
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Menomonee River I

Frontier Park to Jacobus Park: A unique urban paddling trip that is surprisingly natural and preserved, featuring a ton of riffles and Class I rapids. There are several caveats, however – notoriously low water levels, two of the most…

Cherokee Marsh
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Cherokee Marsh

Touring Cherokee Marsh in Dane County: Quietwater enthusiasts love Cherokee Marsh for its abundant wildlife and acres of no-wake water. On various days in the marsh, you might spot sandhill cranes, geese, ducks, bullfrogs, eastern painted turtles and carp…

Fond Du Lac River
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Fond Du Lac River: West Branch

Highway 23 to Lake Winnebago: The rarely traveled Fond Du Lac River is an undiscovered gem that can and should be run at higher levels for a wildly frisky and fun paddling trip. It’s best for the intermediate paddler…