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…
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…
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 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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…