Hanover to West Whitton Road: A supremely pleasant trip that comes with some caveats, this lower slice of the Apple River is not nearly as scenic or swift as its upper “core,” but it’s more reliable and less illegal.…
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Paddle Report
Highway 22 to Shaws Landing: A return visit with a twist, this trip on the Little Wolf treats paddlers to boulder gardens galore and tasty Class I rapids before ending in bayou-like bottomlands at its confluence with the Wolf…
Symco to Highway 22: An “interlude” between two more popular trips, this segment of the Little Wolf doesn’t raise the Class II hackles of Big Falls or the yahoo heckles in rental tubes in between Royalton and New London.…
Fox Landing to Highway 70: A vaunted northwoods paddle primarily surrounded by state forests, this segment of the upper St. Croix offers swift water, Class I-III rapids, a unique option to dabble on the Kettle River in Minnesota, fabulous…
Saxon Falls to Highway 122: A short but thrilling trip in between two of Wisconsin’s steepest waterfalls before slipping into Lake Superior, this fabled segment of the mighty Montreal River is paradise for paddlers seeking continuous Class II-III rapids…
Lime Springs to Highway 30: A long and mostly slow-going trip with intermittent riffles and simple Class I rapids, this upper stretch of the Upper Iowa River doesn’t glitter with outrageous rock outcrops or bubbling natural springs as its…
Highway 55 to Highway 139: The beginning of the Pine proper after the confluence of its north and south branches, this long trip is a paddler’s dream come true: exhilarating rapids, creek-like intimacy, a wild landscape surrounded by northwoods…
Power Dam Road to Town Road DD: The long version of the last segment of the Pine River – from below the Powerhouse of the WE Energies dam to a mere mile above its confluence at the Menominee River…
Highway 141 to Grogan Road: A gorgeous rumpus of a river that can be sliced and diced on many individual levels depending on paddling preferences thanks to several outstanding accesses, the first/final 14 miles of the Pike River –…
Wapsipinicon State Park to Newport Mills Access: A truly rewarding, picturesque trip that can be extended overnight via sandbar camping – a rarity in Iowa – this segment of the “Wapsi” begins at a handsome, historical state park and…
Touring Loew Lake within the Kettle Moraine State Forest: This is an easy there-and-back trip on the impounded waters of the Oconomowoc River and the little bulge called Loew Lake, surrounded by the Kettle Moraine State Forest featuring pretty…
Elgin to Elkader: A pleasant but by no means spectacular section of the Turkey River in between the towns of Elgin and Elkader, paddlers can expect good wildlife, gravel bars galore, and a mix of meadows with cornfields in…
Rainbow Flowage Dam to Bridge Road: A mix of northwoods, lowlands, and home lawns, this long-feeling, slightly monotonous day trip on the Upper Wisconsin River does have a few moments of fun, pop, and pretty, but not enough to…
Willow Flowage Dam to Prairie Rapids Road: A wild-feeling and mostly isolated landscape dominated by hardwoods and conifers, marsh, meadows, sandy banks, and two sets of brief but fun Class II rapids, this “official” section on the Tomahawk is…
Krogh’s Landing to Two Rivers Landing: A surprisingly diverse river with natural features that continue to change over the course of ten miles, with countless riffles and easy and fun Class I rapids, weeping seeps and natural springs, eye-popping…
Kruger to the Mississippi River: The final leg of the mighty Zumbro, this trip will appeal only to purists and aspiring river-adopters. But truth be told it’s got plenty of grit and heart to it, redounding the paddler with…
Cascade to Highway D61: A pleasant trip on a very pretty river, this tine of the Maquoketa River’s North Fork offers a morsel that’s toothsome and scrumptious. Relatively short on account of logistics, combine this trip with four miles…
Highway 30 to Kendallville: A primer trip for the jaw-dropping grandeur that awaits in the subsequent stretches of the photogenic Upper Iowa River, this section features plenty of its own rock outcrops, bluffs, riffles, and light Class I rapids,…
Touring Lake Superior from Tettegouche State Park: A truly wild and rugged environment along a sliver of Lake Superior’s north shore that treats paddlers to exquisite cliffs hundreds of feet high composed of rock over a billion years old,…
Black Brook County Park to Random Drive: This slice of the Apple River, southwest of Amery, offers some fun (not freaky) whitewater, served with a dollop of gentleness and languor that will appeal to both novice and seasoned paddlers.…
County Highway E to Apple River County Park: I took on two slices of the Apple River in northwestern Wisconsin on successive days during a sultry July weekend in 2024. This is a review of the first slice –…
Touring Busse Woods Reservoir in Busse Woods Forest Preserve: Rated as one of the best lakes for paddlers in the Chicagoland area, Busse Woods offers a lot to explore for beginner paddlers looking for a quiet lake to paddle.…
CCC Bridge to Burnt Bridge: While much tamer than the raucous stuff for which the Peshtigo River is known for, this trip has several fun stretches of continuous Class I-II rapids nonetheless – all in a secluded national forest…
Rustic Drive to County Road H: Branching out on some eastern Wisconsin water, this trip aimed to travel not just one, but two branches of the Milwaukee by way of the main stem. With a convenient bike shuttle along…
Bobcat Lane to Paoli: A return trip to reflect the many updates, improvements, and changes that have occurred in the last decade, this segment of the upper Sugar River is vastly better than what it used to be –…
U Avenue to Eldorado: A trifecta paddle that comprises three separate but interrelated rivers in one long day trip, this mini odyssey begins with unabashed grandeur, but soon fizzles and never matches its initial enchantment. Alternate accesses allow paddlers…
Fayette to Heron Road: A truly exquisite experience, this section of the beguiling Volga River will be hard to catch with enough water to paddle, but oh so worth it when serendipity presents itself! Almost entirely enclosed within public…
Touring the Lower Cache River Swamp Trail: A veritable bayou trip down near the southernmost tip of Illinois, this section of the big Cache River is renowned for its breathtaking cypress and tupelo trees, some of which are 40′…
Galena to Mississippi River: A fairly primitive yet tidy trip, this last leg of the Galena River starts in its historic namesake city and then ends in a side channel of the Mississippi River. While the current is next…
West Council Hill Road to Galena: A hinge trip that comprises two opposites – first, a rugged and ragged landscape teeming with bluffs, rock outcrops, and galloping riffles, then a kind of makeover landscape approaching the quaint town of…