A roguish trip by and by, one with several moments of knock-your-socks beauty and unique features in a mostly undeveloped corridor in the gorgeous Kettle Moraine State Forest, alas the overwhelming obstructions and obstacles outweigh the charms...…
Browsing Category
★ ★ ★
An easy there-and-back trip on the relatively obscure headwaters area of the vaunted Bois Brule River, paddlers will be delighted with innumerable backwater pools, springs and spongy bogs surrounded...…
Watertown to Johnson Creek: A long pleasant daytrip down the tranquil Rock River that starts off in an attractive urban setting, courses through long straightaways past residential backyards, then meanders through a mostly undeveloped wild area that rewards the…
Dover Avenue to Germania: Quite possibly the single most boring stretch of the otherwise lively and lovely Mecan River, the only honorary aspects to this trip are the novelty of paddling the Germania Marsh (if you’re into that) and…
Mecan River Springs to 11th Road: Two exploratory trips combined into one (for the sake of simplicity) that certainly tested one’s patience and fortitude, but also offered extraordinary beauty and a cool sense of pioneer paddling. Not for casual…
Mifflin to Jones Branch Road: A surprisingly swift section of the otherwise sluggish Pecatonica River surrounded by steep hills, modest bluffs, several striking rock outcrops and very little development, this trip suffers from shallow water levels, poor accesses and…
Touring the Lake Waubesa Wetlands in Dane County: A pretty network of backwater sloughs and spring-fed streams to explore, the Lake Waubesa Wetlands are an interesting local diversion, conveniently located just fifteen minutes from downtown Madison. Rating: ☆ ☆…
County Road I to County Road G: Probably the prettiest stretch of the Crawfish River, this is a relaxing ride on a slow stream where you shouldn’t ever have to worry about water levels or portaging obstructions, instead take…
Bell School Road to County Road DD: Honey Creek is a delightful stream with attractively clear water, a sandy bottom (occasionally gravelly), many riffles, a couple light rapids and a view or two of pleasant hills. Alas, you’ll also…
Lake Mills to Millford: An obscure little stream that you’ve probably passed countless times on I-94 without knowing it, this trip has a couple of genuinely redeeming features, (up to and including the strangest but most thrilling Class II…
County Road YY to Czech Lane: An obscure section of a relatively obscure river, there’s a lot to like but also a lot to loathe about this trip – wooded hills, cool trees, clear water, good current but very…
Germania to Lock Road: One of the better getaway destinations for paddling in southern Wisconsin with a northwoods-like feel, the Mecan features crystal clear water, peppy current, and minimal development – all enclosed within an engaging environment. Not recommended…
Kanow Park to County Road P: Often wide, always slow, muddy and usually surrounded by agriculture, the big old Rock River is hardly a glamorous destination. But it does provide for some pretty, undeveloped moments, abound in wildlife and…
Newburg to Fredonia: A revisited paddle at much more accommodating water levels, Newburg to Fredonia was anticipated to be a little more exciting than it turned out to be but what it did offer was a swift current with…
Spring Parks to School Section Road: A combination of two streams on one trip with a few hassles that should disabuse most sensible paddlers of recapitulating this, doing each separately instead, but this area of the upper Turtle Creek…
Menomonie to Dunnville: A sweet and easy, serene trip down a wonderful river, this final leg of the Red Cedar rewards the paddler with excellent accesses, an obstruction-free but still engaging stream, tremendous wildlife, a true sense of getting-away,…
Woodford to Highway 11: The last stretch of the Pecatonica’s East Branch, before it merges with the mainstream between South Wayne and Browntown, offers some truly pleasant moments (modest rock outcrops, tall bluffs and some riffles) but it’s a…
Leipsig to Lowell: A trip that has several sweet moments but also a lot of monotonous redundancy, in addition to tedious paddling towards the end where the river widens out to a lake-like impoundment caused by the dam. But…
La Valle to Reedsburg: A trip that begins with a bang of rapids, several scenic sandstone bluffs, an expedition trek to an incredible waterfall (albeit artificial), but then peters to a long and unremarkable monotony (the only highlight of…
Brownton to Winslow: A lazy-loaf float trip down the slow muddy waters of the Pecatonica River in its last stretch in Wisconsin before dipping down into Illinois. There are no outstanding rock outcrops or riffles on this trip but…
Merton to Highway 83: A strange smorgasbord of paddling environments and a trip of contrasts which include public land, subdivisions, the Ice Age Trail, downtown Hartland, rocky rapids and cottonwood marsh. There’s much to admire about this section of…
Mud Lake to Lake Kegonsa: The river section connecting Mud Lake (via Lake Waubesa) and Lake Kegonsa, this very brief section has a couple of pretty but fleeting moments – fun for a late winter jaunt when open water…
County Road B to Sunrise Road: As close to the very headwaters of the Badfish as one can reasonably get, this short trip is realistically only interesting for those of us in love with the Badfish, due to the…
Sunrise Road to Old Stone Road: A short segment upstream of our preferred trip on the Badfish, the creek here is painfully straight and channelized. While it’s certainly not without its charms, (especially the first two miles) ultimately it…
Lake Kegonsa to Stoughton: A short stretch of slow, wide water between Lake Kegonsa and downtown Stoughton that is mostly developed but still pleasant. This makes for a great beginner’s river or after-work float. Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ Trip…
White Crossing Road to Valley Road: A random lark of a trip that was part accidental, part intentional, mostly to scratch a curious itch about the upper Sugar River in conjunction with crazy-high water levels, this jaunt won’t be…
Stoughton to Stebbensville Road: Half boring and slow, half gorgeous and swift, here the Yahara River feels like it faces a personality crisis – with the latter part of the paddle winning the day in a most glorious manner.…
Peshekee Grade to 3 Mile Mark: For sure beauty, the Peshekee is stunning. Nestled in the foothills of the Huron Mountains, copper-hued water flows past towering pines and tangles with numerous gravel beds, rock-cuts and boulder gardens all in…
Whitehall to Independence: A truly inviting river that gently flows through coulee country on its way to the Black River, the Trempealeau is short on excitement but sometimes excitement is overrated. Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ Trip Report Date: August 16,…
Kewaskum to Barton: A pleasant stream gently meandering around the bottom hills of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, this upper stretch of the Milwaukee River lacks the small rapids and scenery downstream but is nice enough in its own…