The 2015 paddling season wouldn't have been complete without a trip down one of our favorite sections of the Waupaca. Riffly, woodsy and wonderful, this section of the Waupaca is popular due to its proximity to the city but…
Browsing Tag
Wisconsin
Here's a look at one of our favorite paddles of 2015 (and one of our favorites in general) which starts in the stunning blue-ish green waters of Marl Lake and continues to the headwaters of the Crystal River near…
County Road J to Lake Michigan: A true gem of a stream, the highlight of which is its endless riffles and playful current. Add to that a pretty environment with lovely moraine hills, numerous public parks and one of…
Mukwonago to Big Bend: To be honest, this is a fairly boring trip. It has a pleasant beginning but it gets dull and monotonous soon after… and then all the way to the take-out. Rating: ☆ ☆ Trip Report Date: November…
County Road YY to Czech Lane: An obscure section of a relatively obscure river, there’s a lot to like but also a lot to loathe about this trip – wooded hills, cool trees, clear water, good current but very…
Germania to Lock Road: One of the better getaway destinations for paddling in southern Wisconsin with a northwoods-like feel, the Mecan features crystal clear water, peppy current, and minimal development – all enclosed within an engaging environment. Not recommended…
Amherst to Durrant Road: A trip from hell (for me personally) but a real treasure for most paddlers featuring sparkling clear water, countless swift riffles, plus a couple of rapids, stupendously big boulder gardens, steep hillside banks and decent…
River Bay Road to Norway Drive: Divided perfectly to highlight the best of the upper and lower dells, these 11.5 miles are full of breathtaking formations, bluffs, overhangs, nooks, crannies, inlets and outlets to discover. You haven’t experienced the…
Kanow Park to County Road P: Often wide, always slow, muddy and usually surrounded by agriculture, the big old Rock River is hardly a glamorous destination. But it does provide for some pretty, undeveloped moments, abound in wildlife and…
Middle Road to Riviera Avenue: Wedges is yet another Black River Falls creek that you’ll want to add to your bucket list. This brief 4.25-mile run makes for a great half-day adventure or add another few miles of Black…
Cemetery Road to Morrison Landing: On clear water in a near-wilderness environment with zero development, an endless array of light rapids as well as one challenging Class II+ pitch, approximately one gazillion boulders, stunning rock walls with weeping seeps and…
County Road K to Riverside Landing: Crystal clear water, good current, great wildlife, dozens of free campsites along the way to provide for fun multi-day trips, and all set in a very wild-feeling environment because of minimal development, the…
Center Road to County Road W: Hands down, this was the single most fun and exhilarating run of whitewater we’ve ever experienced. This brief but beautiful and exhilarating segment of the Pine River is an absolute must. Non-stop Class…
County Road A to Lily: A mostly fun and pretty trip on what can be described as the dress rehearsal of the famed Wolf River rapids further downstream, this stretch is mostly quietwater with a couple notable exceptions. Just…
County Road S to Highway 56: The West Fork of the Kickapoo is a “river” by name only. This is very much a creek and creekers will love this lively and twisty section which shares distinct similarities to not…
Highway 131 to Ontario: With water clarity as stunning as the sandstone rock outcrops before and above you, this “path less paddled” of the otherwise extremely popular Kickapoo River will dazzle newbies and delight old hands alike who sensibly…
Hatfield to Black River Falls: Combining two trip types into one full day of paddling – the first a couple fists of adrenaline-inducing rapids through rugged granite rock outcrops, the second a calm palm of relaxed water but no…
County Road WW to Wisconsin River Road: A fun and scenic jaunt on a lesser known segment of an already hardly known tributary of the Wisconsin River just northeast of Wausau, this short trip is satisfying in every sense.…
School Section Road to O’Riley Road: A truly outstanding trip that will win the hearts of newbies and seasoned paddlers alike due to the surrounding scenery and river environment itself, with numerous access points to shorten or lengthen the…
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…
Newburg to Fredonia: A revisited paddle at much more accommodating water levels, Newburg to Fredonia was anticipated to be a little more exciting than it turned out to be but what it did offer was a swift current with…
Spring Parks to School Section Road: A combination of two streams on one trip with a few hassles that should disabuse most sensible paddlers of recapitulating this, doing each separately instead, but this area of the upper Turtle Creek…
New Fane to Kewaskum: An exceptionally pretty section of the awesome East Branch of the Milwaukee River, this trip picks up where the last one left off. It has less swift water and less of a rugged feel, but…
Fall River to Columbus-Fall River Road: An exploratory trip full of initial promise with riffles, ledges, sandy-bottomed clear water, outstanding wildlife and little development, but also the most neglected and obstructed stream I have ever been on. Eventually, I…
New Prospect to New Fane: A smorgasbord of a paddle featuring a variety of landscapes in less than eight miles. Ranging from woods to meadows to lake to swamp to rugged hills and rapids, this outstanding trip does have…
Menomonie to Dunnville: A sweet and easy, serene trip down a wonderful river, this final leg of the Red Cedar rewards the paddler with excellent accesses, an obstruction-free but still engaging stream, tremendous wildlife, a true sense of getting-away,…
Saylesville to Neosho: A potentially fun river with lots of riffles, great wildlife and pretty scenery but way too many obstructions and portages – there’s a reason why you’ve never heard of the Rubicon River or at least paddling…
Manchester to Kingston: Featuring a river as beautiful and becoming as its surrounding countryside that is undeservedly mugged by a mind-boggling amount of obstructions, this trip is utterly rich in potential but obscenely robbed of its reward. Rating: ☆…
Woodford to Highway 11: The last stretch of the Pecatonica’s East Branch, before it merges with the mainstream between South Wayne and Browntown, offers some truly pleasant moments (modest rock outcrops, tall bluffs and some riffles) but it’s a…
Leipsig to Lowell: A trip that has several sweet moments but also a lot of monotonous redundancy, in addition to tedious paddling towards the end where the river widens out to a lake-like impoundment caused by the dam. But…