Milwaukee River V

Grafton to County Highway T:
Simply an exhilarating ride down the rapids of the Milwaukee River surrounded by beautiful limestone and dolomite dells and multiple islands that braid the main channel, this is a great trip for light whitewater enthusiasts with at least one white-knuckle drop that’s definitely worth the drive.

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Trip Report Date: June 20, 2015

Skill Level: Expert
Class Difficulty: Class II

Gradient:
42′ per mile (Grafton dam to Lime Kiln Park). 8′ per mile (Lime Kiln to takeout).

Gauge Recorded on this Trip:
Cedarburg: ht/ft: 6.1 | cfs: 375

Current Levels:
Cedarburg: ht/ft: 6.35 | cfs: 466

Recommended Levels:
We recommend this level. It can be paddled at lower flows (i.e., 250 cfs), though scraping will become a nuisance. Skilled whitewater paddlers will want to do this above 400 cfs.

Put-In:
14th Avenue parking lot (behind buildings) in the southeast corner (approximately 700’ downstream from the Grafton dam), Grafton, Wisconsin
GPS: 43.31673, -87.94868
Take-Out:
County Highway T/Lakefield Road
GPS: 43.29459, -87.94498

Time: Put in at 5:45p. Out at 6:50p.
Total Time: 1h 5m
Miles Paddled: 2.75

Wildlife:
Great blue herons, fish and a woodchuck.

Shuttle Information:
Ordinarily, this would be a simple 3-mile jaunt along Green Bay Road past Lime Kiln Park. Due to the aforementioned bike race we had to take a more indirect route.

Background:
Since we were in the area, having paddled an upstream section of the Milwaukee River earlier in the day, we decided to tie another on before driving back to Madison. Not just any other either, but one of the steepest gradients on the Milwaukee River. It’s a short run of under 3 miles but it offers great rapids chased by more relaxed riffles and the ability to have that much coveted celebratory beer after the adrenaline rush.

This short trip has two distinct feels. The first is fast current flanked by rather stunning rock formations on a wide river ranging between 90-130 feet. The second is slower and less rocky but just as pretty because it’s undeveloped (there are several private residences along the tall banks in the first half) and more intimate due to the side channels. Each is great in its own right.

The whitewater section (1.4 miles) is nonstop paddling fun, plus the dolomite dells are quite attractive (it’s a little heady to think that this backbone of geology is the very same that lines Door County, continues under the waters of Lake Michigan, into the U.P., into lower Ontario, and then Niagara Falls itself). The flatter but more primitive section (1.3 miles) is a sweet treat unto itself – though probably of little interest to whitewater paddlers.

This is really a great diversion, or add-on trip, like we did. Or consider it a destination paddle and as they say, “it’s so nice, let’s run it twice.”

What we liked:
This is essentially a whitewater run but you don’t have to be a hardcore whitewater paddler to do it. (We certainly aren’t!) Nothing on this stretch rates higher than Class II and there’s only one ledge that requires caution, scouting and strategy. It’s a super-fun ride. And gorgeous.

There is no exact put-in per se – the dam in Grafton just upstream requires a lengthy portage to an imprecise place via a parking lot off 14th Avenue – but swift water is everywhere, both riffles and easy Class I bumps.

There is indeed a sign that marks the “Portage” route but the put-in isn’t defined so it’s a choose-your-own-path-to-the-water type of adventure and involves some shimmying down a well worn bank that appears to be popular with fishermen. There, riffly rapids await.

For the first mile and change the river is lined here and there with beautiful 20’-tall limestone dells that are part of the mighty Niagara Escarpment, a huge rocky ridge (a cuesta, to be precise) in the shape of an arc connecting southeastern Wisconsin to Niagara Falls.

About ¾ of a mile downstream from the put-in is the only tricky spot on this short trip, a diagonal-shaped ledge across the entire river where a dam was removed in 2000 (there was first a Chair Factory there in 1848, and then a record factory for phonographs in 1916). To run the ledge, you’ll want to go far left or far right, not the middle, where’s there an island. We chose the right because it looked safer (there was a bit of tree debris below the drop on the left that we had no business being near in that velocity of water). And it’s actually three individual ledges, not one single drop, each one pitched at a slightly different angle. The first is straight into a large pool (and if you’re not wearing a skirt like one of us… “hello, boatload of water!”), then you veer right down the second, then pivot left for the third. It’s an intuitive read, but having solid boat control is needed because the current is squirrelly. And you don’t want to run this in a long boat!

We stress that you need to scout this drop before you’re on the water, because both banks are private property; thus, it’s technically trespassing to get out of your boat there (in other words, you must run this drop one way or another – there’s no portaging around it). To scout it, first stop at the Falls Road bridge, immediately downstream from the ledge(s). Also, there are no eddies here to catch and slow down in and the current is strong. If you wish to pause before running this, you’ll need to lodge against the shore and hang on to a rock. It’s really a ton of fun but nerve-racking until you run it.

Swift riffles will guide you down to Lime Kiln Park (a very cool park definitely worth checking out), where sweet rapids are found in the right channel after another removed dam site. This one is straightforward but no less splashy, or fun. After that, the river bends to the right and then makes a long horseshoe-bend to the left where the current slows down, notable because up to this point the river has principally been a fast straightaway. The last of the rock outcrops is found here too. A series of large islands braids the river in several side channels, each enticingly inviting and undeveloped. The current is still riffly and moving but the adrenaline rush has subsided. This denouement is the perfect way in the perfect place to have a beer and relax.

The takeout is on the downstream side of the County Road T bridge on river-right. It’s not a designated landing, but from the sight of trampled grass and banks it’s clear that paddlers use this regularly. In fact, it was at the landing where we met a guy who had just run this section (including the drop) with his wife and kids… in a canoe. Amazing (and kinda ballsy).

What we didn’t like:
There’s certainly can’t be that much to dislike about a 3-mile paddle, right? Well, other than being too short when it’s this fantastic, right?

The trespassing issues with the land along the banks by the Chair Factory dam rapids is, quite simply, stupid (let it be noted that it is also underscored on the American Whitewater site that this is an issue). Apparently it’s not enough to own ginormous houses along a beautiful stretch of river; you have to own the banks too. (Grafting in Grafton?) Oh, the wealthy suburbs of Milwaukee…

Compounding the problem was that our visit coincided with the Giro d’ Grafton, an extensive bike race in downtown Grafton, resulting in Falls Road being closed off to traffic. So we couldn’t scout the ledge(s) and had to do our best deducing/inferring upstream and hope for the best. Everything worked out and it was a big adrenaline rush, the kind that leaves you with a grin ear-to-ear afterward. But we definitely do not recommend doing it this way!

Also, one quick note about some of the pics below. Timothy’s definitively not-waterproof SLR camera was unintentionally water-tested, which is why a lot of the shots are blurred or daubed with a bead of water. At one point he noticed that his camera, worn around his neck, nonetheless was resting in a pool of water collected on my spray skirt. Brilliant! The camera promptly stopped working after that point. Go figure.

If we did this trip again:
We will in a heartbeat and indeed, we’re looking forward to it again already. But on the next occasion we’d paddle down to the following bridge at County Road C (aka Pioneer Road) and take-out there, adding another 1.7 miles.

On a parting note: Two years ago Timothy did a portion of this trip alone, starting at Lime Kiln and going down to Thiensville. Doing a late-afternoon, part 2 paddling daytrip with Barry this time around was pitch perfect. While we believe there is a time and place for solo paddling (indeed, the vast majority of the trips we do are by ourselves) we would argue that whitewater is not one of them. For one, there’s the safety concern; it behooves a paddler to have someone at the ready to rescue in the event of capsizing or getting pinned. But beyond basic prudence, there’s a real sense of camaraderie paddling rapids with another. You experience the thrill of reading drops and riding waves twice. Besides, you can’t give or receive a high-five when you’re by yourself.

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Related Information:
Milwaukee River I: Newburg to Fredonia
Milwaukee River II: Estabrook Park to Bruce Street
Milwaukee River III: Lime Kiln Park to Thiensville
Milwaukee River IV: Kewaskum to Barton
Milwaukee River VI: Fredonia to Grafton
Milwaukee River VII: West Bend to Newburg
General: American Whitewater
Good People: Milwaukee Riverkeeper
Wikipedia: Milwaukee River

Miles Paddled Video:

Photo Gallery:

The put-in off 14th Avenue in downtown Grafton.

Gorgeous dolomite dells along the river for first 1.7 miles.

Looks a little like Oehler Cave, eh?

A wild ride of endless Class I rapids.

Approaching Falls Road bridge and ledge rapids, Class II.

Scouting the drop just upstream of the ledges (run it river-right).

Making the first descent.

The highlight of this trip is Chair Factory rapids, a Class II drop (there are three total ledges at different angles).

The ear-to-ear grin of running a hair-rising rapids correctly.

Looking upstream from under the bridge.

Class I fun leading to Lime Kiln Park.

Random waterfall in someone’s back yard.

The beginning of Lime Kiln Park.

One more thrilling Class I-II rapid in Lime Kiln.

Another unique outcrop.

County Highway T bridge.

The take-out just downstream, river-right of the County Highway T bridge.