County Road O to Endeavor: A trip that has its pretty moments but is also monotonous and slow, with virtually no current since the river starts to sprawl out into a huge lake near the takeout. That said, it…
Browsing Tag
Wisconsin
La Valle to Reedsburg: A trip that begins with a bang of rapids, several scenic sandstone bluffs, an expedition trek to an incredible waterfall (albeit artificial), but then peters to a long and unremarkable monotony (the only highlight of…
County Road J to Huckleberry Road: A monotonous trip through a marshy wetlands that empties into the Fox River between Princeton and Berlin. There are far too many obstructions and really not much “there there” to recommend doing this.…
Brownton to Winslow: A lazy-loaf float trip down the slow muddy waters of the Pecatonica River in its last stretch in Wisconsin before dipping down into Illinois. There are no outstanding rock outcrops or riffles on this trip but…
Merton to Highway 83: A strange smorgasbord of paddling environments and a trip of contrasts which include public land, subdivisions, the Ice Age Trail, downtown Hartland, rocky rapids and cottonwood marsh. There’s much to admire about this section of…
Marl Lake to Shadow Lake Road: If you haven’t paddled the Crystal in a few years or never navigated the lakes leading to the headwaters, you now have every reason to reintroduce yourself. With the added miles of some…
County Road TT to Canal Road: A sluggish trip upstream and down to the interior of the Deansville Marsh and subsequent mile of the Maunesha River before the lake impoundment caused by the dam in Marshall. This trip is…
County Highway Q to Brainards Bridge Park: Riffly, woodsy and wonderful, this section of the Waupaca is popular due to its proximity to the city but also because water levels are usually favorable to paddle it all season. With…
Olson Road to Aztalan State Park: With not much to look at and slow current, this is a totally fine but mostly unremarkable trip on the Crawfish River, which is usually the case on this river. Rating: ☆ ☆…
This short 7-mile section, just upstream from the more popular stretch (County Highway Q to Brainards Bridge Park) has a lot of what you'd expect from the Waupaca. We paddled this in early fall when the colors were just…
Mud Lake to Lake Kegonsa: The river section connecting Mud Lake (via Lake Waubesa) and Lake Kegonsa, this very brief section has a couple of pretty but fleeting moments – fun for a late winter jaunt when open water…
Touring Lake Columbia in Columbia County: A human-made lake containing the discharge water to cool off a coal-fired energy plant, this surreal pool of super-heated water (around 70 degrees warm even in the dead of a Wisconsin winter) provides…
Here's a look at a pleasant (and sandy) stretch of the Trempealeau River starting in Whitehall, Wisconsin. As it gently flows through coulee country on its way to the Black River, the Trempealeau is short on excitement but sometimes…
County Road B to Sunrise Road: As close to the very headwaters of the Badfish as one can reasonably get, this short trip is realistically only interesting for those of us in love with the Badfish, due to the…
This was a long 16.5 miles on the La Crosse (and more than we’d recommend biting off in one day) but it's a beauty of a river and perfectly fit for a couple day trips. It's a difficult task…
Sunrise Road to Old Stone Road: A short segment upstream of our preferred trip on the Badfish, the creek here is painfully straight and channelized. While it’s certainly not without its charms, (especially the first two miles) ultimately it…
Have a look at our very short journey down the East Fork of the Black River near Black River Falls from back in June...…
Halls Creek was one of our all-time favorite paddles. It's a beautiful and exhilarating creek and one we can't recommend enough. It actually made for a difficult task to cut the footage down to a manageable viewing length (it…
It was a tough paddle (more portaging, than paddling) but with some hindsight and distance between then and now, there were a few highlights to Six Mile creek in Waunakee...…
Lake Kegonsa to Stoughton: A short stretch of slow, wide water between Lake Kegonsa and downtown Stoughton that is mostly developed but still pleasant. This makes for a great beginner’s river or after-work float. Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ Trip…
Mud Lake Road to County Road G: A quick trip, rich in potential but poor in payoff, this is the last handful of miles of the Beaver Dam River before its confluence with the Crawfish in a sucker-punched part…
Clocking in at 62 miles long, the Yahara River has three identities: the upper, the chain of lakes and the lower...…
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…
Stoughton to Stebbensville Road: Half boring and slow, half gorgeous and swift, here the Yahara River feels like it faces a personality crisis – with the latter part of the paddle winning the day in a most glorious manner.…
Cross Plains to Black Earth: A section of the beautiful Black Earth Creek that’s a lot of fun if you like a little adventure and can manage a whole lot of obstacles. By Denny Caneff A Miles Paddled contributor…
Highway 108 to Veterans Memorial County Park: A perfect little trip if you have only an hour or two to paddle. Whether together with your morning cup of coffee before a long boring day of errands or with a…
Highway 35 to Perrot State Park: An easy trip surrounded by a national wildlife refuge that finishes with one of the absolute prettiest backdrops of Mississippi River bluffs. Set one after the other in such dramatic fashion, it’s easy…
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…
Miller Dam to County Road H: An absolutely wonderful trip that begins in a beautiful and secluded section of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, below its namesake flowage, with nothing but miles of undeveloped scenery and forests that lead to…
Luke’s Heights Lane to Big Falls County Park: A robust and haunting river on the cusp of the Chequamegon National Forest that features two sets of rapids in short order and riverbanks mostly undeveloped, this trip on the Jump…