Overguard Road to East Fork Campground: The East Fork of the Black River is a wide river and pleasant paddle through classic Central Wisconsin Pines with occasional rapids but none too dangerous at these levels. Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆…
Browsing Category
★ ★ ★
Haskins Park to Highway 33: A trip of contrasts that begins in an urban setting and ends in the country, first surrounded by downtown buildings and a circus museum, then ancient rock formations, with a bang of Class I…
Pine Island to Portage: A mostly uneventful but still pretty section of the Wisconsin River located downriver from the Dells but before the Driftless bluffs of the lower 92 miles. The best this trip offers is plenty of sandbars…
Loy Road to Highway 23: A pretty creek but a mostly miserable paddling experience with one notable exception at the very end. I wouldn’t even recommend this trip to my enemies. Unless, of course, you like difficult portages, poisonous…
Seeley Lake to Hatchery Road: A lovely stream with solid water volume, Seeley Creek is the largest tributary of the Baraboo River that passes by some astonishing rock outcrops and lovely hills followed by one of the prettier sections…
Argyle to Blackhawk Memorial County Park: Another tranquil, slow-paced trip past oak trees, a couple gentle bluffs and tallgrass in southwestern Wisconsin, this section of the East Branch isn’t dramatic but it’s very pleasant. Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ Trip Report…
County Road G to Duck Creek Road: If you like paddling through marsh, this is your ticket, especially in early spring, where there’s lots of birds coming and going. Ultimately it’s a very pleasant, pretty stretch that often feels…
Highway HK to Hollandale: Alternating between serene, sublime and sucky, this trip is quite a mixed bag. The water levels are fickle and the obstructions are frustrating but there are fun riffles coupled with magnificent rock outcrops (ancient in…
South Avenue to Dellwood: A previously unknown creek (to me, at least) that was rich in potential, coursing entirely through public land but poor in practical paddling since it’s almost always obstructed with tree limbs and branches. Rating: ☆…
Pine River to Texas: A very abbreviated segment of the Merrill to Granite Heights trip (11.25 miles) due to lack of time and winter conditions. Highlights include a swift current leading up to one very solid Class I+ rapids,…
Darlington to Red Rock: A very pleasant stretch of river that gets little to no attention but is quite worth paddling, the second half of this trip in particular. With small rapids at the very beginning, some hills midway…
Richmond to Spring Grove: An attractive creek in northeastern Illinois, admirably maintained by volunteers that effectively begins in a glacial moraine and concludes in a woodsy area before feeding one of the chain of lakes, with countless riffles along…
Janesville to Beloit: Beginning in the heart of one city and ending at the beginning of another, this segment of the Rock is not as industrial as one might think. Indeed, there are a few miles on this trip…
Serena to Wedron: Good current, sandy bottoms and beautiful sandstone rock formations lining the entire way, the Fox River down here in Illinois looks nothing like its originating self up in Wisconsin by Waukesha. The two snags, however, are…
Walking Iron Park to Blynn Road: Black Earth Creek is known more as a Class I Trout stream than it is for canoeing and kayaking. The good news is that it’s navigable, the bad news is that’s it’s not…
County Road X to County Road EE: This section of the Sugar is the kind of water you paddle more for escape, than for excitement or unique features. It’s a pretty, clean and accessible stream that flows through a…
Spring Valley to 770th Avenue: A real charmer of a river that works its way southeast to the Chippewa River, cutting through beautiful hill country and lush farmland, while offering crystal clear, fish-friendly and riffly water. A very thirsty…
Oregon to Dixon: An otherwise huge river featuring slaloms of large islands to take cover from powerboats and provide a sense of intimacy to better focus on several eye-catching rock formations, the Rock is worth the trek. Rating: ☆…
Lime Kiln Park to Thiensville: An exhilarating start with riffles and a Class I drop beside a rock wall that remains intimate and pretty for the next few miles before becoming a much deeper, wider and slower river with…
Sheridan Springs Road to Wagner Park: A tale of two very different experiences on one river. The first beginning with “game-on” maneuvering in fast Class I rapids that ends with a hackles-raised Class II+ drop under a bridge. The…
Lone Rock to Muscoda: A normally beautiful stretch of the lower Wisconsin River with tons of sandbar islands, rolling bluffs and a couple of rock outcroppings, that in high water is a bit adulterated. Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ Trip…
Dakota to Highway 22: A popular river for paddling, as well as fly fishing, the Mecan River is a clear, sandy-bottomed and twisty trout stream flowing through the beautiful pines of Central Wisconsin. Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ Trip Report…
Busseyville to Lake Koshkonong: A trip not for the faint of heart due to constant obstacle-maneuvering, deadfall and corners, including a few blow-downs which require portaging. The trips ends in a way-finders dream though, through flooded woods and a…
Ensche Road to Buckhill Road: Comfortably runnable only in spring or after sustained rainfall, this is an enjoyably bubbly stretch of the river that swerves around bluffs, hills and cliffs. It begins in Wisconsin, where the river is called…
Fair Street to County Road V: A somewhat grueling paddle prone to a lot of logjams that will need to be portaged but an otherwise charming little creek in a lovely environment of rolling hills, the highlight of which…
Cambridge to Hoopen Road: A convenient bike-shuttle on CamRock trail and a nice little post-paddle diversion at CamRock Café & Sport makes for a great day trip on the Koshkonong if the water level is right and it’s free…
Rowley’s Bay: A very short and peaceful paddle through one of the most pristine freshwater estuaries in the country, the Mink River is a unique diversion to seek out in Door County. Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ Trip Report Date: August 16,…
Calamine to Darlington: While not overly spectacular, the Pecatonica is just a solid and pretty paddle located in the driftless area. Coupled with a convenient atv trail for a bike shuttle, this is a very accomodating waves-to-trails paddle. Rating:…
Union Center to Wonewoc: A brief jaunt that is frankly somewhat dull and monotonous until the very end of the trip, where a spectacular rock outcrop 150′ high towers above the river. Combine this with a bike shuttle along…
S. Concord Road to County Road P: A glacial stream featuring crystal clear water and a sand-gravel bottom with a couple boulders, small ledges, and precious little development along the way. While not necessarily spectacular, this last section of…