Royertown Access to Joinerville Park:
What might be called an encore performance of the stellar set list that begins below the Monticello dam, the 15 or so miles above the Maquoketa dam offer adaptive paddlers a range of trip lengths thanks to multiple accesses, remarkable rock outcrops, and sweeping wooded ridges. Not as knock-your-socks-off as other sections, this trip should be on any paddler’s list seeking the Maquoketa just the same.
Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆
Trip Report Date: April 4, 2021
Skill Level: Beginner
Class Difficulty: Quietwater with occasional riffles
Gradient:
≈2′ per mile
Gauge Recorded on this Trip:
Manchester: ht/ft: 5.2 | cfs: 330
Recommended Levels:
We recommend this level.
Put-In:
Royertown Access/Bridge off 50th Avenue, Baldwin, Iowa
GPS: 42.12017, -90.82983
Take-Out:
Joinerville Park off 123rd Street, Maquoketa, Iowa
GPS: 42.08102, -90.75145
Time: Put in at 2:30p. Out at 6:00p.
Total Time: 3h 30m
Miles Paddled: 10.5*
*The miles from Royertown Access/50th Avenue to Joinerville Park are only 7.5, but for this trip I paddled past the park, near the dam, and then back upstream to the boat landing at the park for a total of 10.5 miles.
Wildlife:
Bald eagles, turkey vultures, hawks, and deer.
Shuttle Information:
10 miles. Doable by bike (I biked it), but hardly a “fun” ride.
Background:
Welcome to the Maquoketa! This trip was the first in what would be many visits to a very intriguing river over the course of five years. As always, at the helm was Nate Hoogeveen’s excellent guidebook, Paddling Iowa, in which his fourth and final featured segment on the Maquoketa offers this trip as an honorable mention. Perhaps it’s my predilection for underdogs that had me begin at the end, or maybe it’s my coming around to the Midwest sensibility of “start with me last.”
At least in my first edition copy of his guidebook, Hoogeveen sections out four trips on the Maquoketa River bookmarked by dams – the first beginning below the Lake Delhi dam, the last ending a few miles above the Maquoketa dam, and the one in Monticello separating trips 2 and 3. The first two trips average about 10 miles apiece; the third trip is a whopper (or, wait, should that be a Big Mac instead?) at 20 miles; and the fourth is 14 miles and change. The mileage discrepancies have as much to do with logistics and feasible accesses as desirable aesthetics. That said, the 50-mile stretch in between the Monticello and Maquoketa dams is an indisputable showstopper (although some segments are a little tepid). With no fewer than nine accesses in between the last two dams, paddlers can cobble together a wide array of trip lengths and environments, depending on their time and druthers. See below for a full breakdown of various access and the mileages between.
Please bear in mind that the Maquoketa is a big river by this point, often around 200′ wide. As such, it runs shallow since whatever volume it has is spread thin across its width. The Maquoketa is mostly sand-lined, so scraping isn’t too much of an issue, but there are several gravel-bottomed areas where you can expect to run aground. Also, given its width and that you’re in Iowa, beware of the wind! And whereas paddlers can reasonably anticipate solitude for most of this trip, sharing the wide water with motorboats should not come as a surprise up- and downriver from Joinerville Park, where the Maquoketa dam creates enough depth to allow for outboards. On the plus side, unlike the Lake Delhi or Monticello dams, there is no fake lake reservoir above the Maquoketa dam.
Overview:
Immediately below the 50th Avenue bridge, where this trip begins, a wooded ridge appears on the right, followed by exposed rock outcrops on the left, a pattern that will repeat several times. While most of the bluffs and outcrops are more modest than those found in Pictured Rocks County Park or in the Canton area, both upstream, they put on a pretty good show all the same – at least when the trees are leafless. Up close and personal, you’ll come upon a boulder as large as a garage before seeing the attractive green truss bridge at 82nd Avenue (aka Chennelworth Access). Here, as elsewhere, the bridge has a sign telling you the road name as well as how many miles lie between it and the next landing.
In between the Chennelworth & Moorehead Accesses the river is mostly runty and sandy, though occasional cool rock “sculptures” are found now and again up in the woods, along with interesting sand terraces nearer the water. Below Moorehead, the river is quite wide and sandy at first. But soon wooded ridges and occasional rock outcrops reappear, together with colossal logjam pileups. When I did this trip (caveat: five years ago), there was some obstacle dodging under and around these downed trees, but nothing requiring me to portage. And so it came as quite a surprise to me when I heard and then saw a motorboat pass me (and later pass me again in the opposite direction) in between Moorehead and Joinerville Park. Really?!? Yes.
Below Joinerville, the river is wider, woodsier, and even wilder. The highlight here is a wrap-around cliff on the left that’s like a birthday cake topped with icing-like outcrops and conifers as candles, all rising well over 100′ right out of the water. It’s truly astonishing! Alas, the reverie is brief, as a private RV “campground” follows it, after which the effects of the dam can be felt. The surrounding bluffs are still quite remarkable, but there’s no current on the river. One could portage around the Maquoketa dam, on the left, and either continue another 1.5 miles to the next access at N. 5th Street or ferry over to the river-right bank, where there is designated parking but no dedicated river access. While doable, the latter would be impractical and is not advocated. Or one can do as I did, following Hoogeveen’s advice: turn around after taking in the scenic cliff and paddling back up to the Joinerville Park Access.
What we liked:
Since this was my first taste of the Maquoketa, I was already jazzed to be exploring a new river in a (mostly) new state. Plus, being early April, the surrounding landscape had not yet sprung into its mad splendor of leafy greens. As an unapologetic acolyte for all things barbeque, I appreciated the meat-on-the-bone of all the exposed bedrock and broken off boulders. Yum!
What we didn’t like:
I was surprised by how wide the river is here. Granted, it was my first time even laying eyes on the Maquoketa River, never mind launching a boat. But my 12’ solo canoe felt swallowed whole by the river’s width. Wide rivers also invite wind – and it’s always windy in Iowa (though rarely in the direction you want it). Combined with some very long straightaways, I often felt overwhelmed.
Really though, the two main things I didn’t like were the surprising and unwelcome encounters with motorboats trolling past me and, later, paddling upstream after taking in the cliff to get back to Joinerville Park. You know how dogs look when they have to wear those collars after a medical procedure? That’s how I feel while paddling upstream; there’s just something shameful and degrading about it. Paddling upstream and against the wind? Well, that’s plain wrong.
If we did this trip again:
I’d definitely do this trip again, though with a couple twists. First, I’d start 2.5 miles upriver, at 30th Avenue/Millertown Access, to take in some of the best bluffs and rock outcrops. Second, I’d either end at Joinerville Park without intentionally passing it only to paddle back up to it, or I’d go all the way down to the dam, portage around it, and finish at the next access. About 16 miles, that would be a long trip, but it would follow the river’s changing geology in an engaging way. I’d definitely do it in a longer boat, however! And, if water levels allowed, I’d save it for late October or early November. There’s a hardscrabble feel to the landscape in this section of the Maquoketa that would complement a post-foliage fall paddling trip. Some trips are best in spring, others in autumn. This is the latter.
As I mentioned above, there are several accesses in between the Monticello and Maquoketa dams for paddlers to tailor individual trips. Here’s a cheat sheet:
Monticello dam to Pictured Rocks Access: 7.75 miles
Pictured Rocks to Eby’s Mill Access: 6.5 miles
Eby’s Mill to Temple Hill Road/Supples Bridge Access: 8.5 miles.
Temple Hill Road/Supples Bridge to Canton Access: 6 miles
Canton to 30th Avenue/Millertown Access: 6 miles
30th Avenue/Millertown to 50th Avenue/Royertown Access: 2.5 miles
50th Avenue/Royertown to 82nd Avenue/Chenelworth Access: 2.25 miles
82nd Avenue/Chenelworth to 74th Street/Morehead Access: ~2 miles
74th Street/Morehead to Joinerville Park Access: 3.5 miles
Joinerville Park to the Maquoketa dam: 4.25 miles
Maquoketa dam to 5th Street Access: 1.5 miles
After the 5th Street Access, the North Fork merges with the main stream Maquoketa River, which practically doubles in size and slowly flows for another 30 miles before finally reaching the Mississippi River.
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Related Information:
Maquoketa River I: Quaker Mill Dam to Bailey’s Ford Park
Maquoketa River II: Delhi to Hopkinton
Maquoketa River III: Monticello to Eby’s Mill Road
Maquoketa River IV: Eby’s Mill Road to Supples Bridge Access
Maquoketa River VI: Bridgeport Access to Iron Bridge Access
General: Jones County Conservation
General: Jones County Driftless Area highlights
Guide: Paddling Iowa by Nate Hoogeveen
Guide + Map: Iowa DNR
Outfitter: Monticello River Rentals
Wikipedia: Maquoketa River
Miles Paddled/Driftless Kayaker Video:
Photo Gallery:
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