Old County Road PB to Highway 69: With a lot of deadfall, climbovers, duck-unders, tree dodging, cow dodging, shallow spots, several very low cattle gates and a 100-yard tunnel, this trip isn’t for everyone. That said, for the courageous paddler,…
Sugar River
Clocking in around 90 miles long, the Sugar River is one of the more prominent streams in southern Wisconsin. Despite its name, the Sugar isn’t always so sweet. Just west of Verona, it starts clear and gurgles with a…
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…
Brodhead to Avon: A surprisingly interesting and isolated stretch with a lot of sweet scenery and a couple unique features found nowhere else on the Sugar River, this long(isn) trip can be broken in two by using the convenient…
Here's a look at the Albany to Brodhead section of the Sugar River. Popular with the tubing contingent, we caught it before tubing season officially began. Unfortunately, it's quite unspectacular all the way through Decatur Lake...…
Albany to Brodhead: Knowing full well that this stretch of the Sugar River is most popular with the tubing contingent, we caught it before tubing season officially began, so as to avoid the crazies. It’s wide and quite unspectacular…
Another notch on the Sugar River belt. Here's a look at the County Road X to County EE paddle from back in August...…
Colored Sands Forest Preserve to North Meridian Road: Another in the unofficial “escape to Illinois” series for 2013. This final segment of the Sugar River is actually distinct from its usual connotations in Wisconsin. It’s sandy instead of muddy,…
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…
Here's a look at our trip down the Sugar River a couple weeks ago. It was a beautiful 10 mile paddle from Belleville to Highway X...…
Belleville to County Road X: This is a fine introduction to what the Sugar River is all about. While there’s nothing notably spectacular about this section, it’s semi-remote, generally wide enough to avoid deadfall and an overall pleasant paddle.…
Valley Road to Paoli: An otherwise pleasant river, this is not a segment of the Sugar I’d recommend. There are just too many wires to slip through, deadfall to negotiate, concrete footbridges to portage, etc. Rating: ☆ Trip Report…
Paoli to Belleville: A lengthy stretch of the Sugar River with far too many obstructions to warrant paddling – one being quite dangerous. Add to that, the poor take-out options, and this becomes one we can’t recommend. Rating: ☆ Trip Report Date: July 3, 2011 Skill…