Millville to Theilman:
Swift riffles past sweeps of bluffs one after another, this trip down the Zumbro through the heart of a somewhat undeveloped valley is positively engaging. Nasty snags left behind from former floods lie here and there that, because of the brisk current, could be a challenge for beginner paddlers. But some basic boat control together with the sizeable width of the river itself should ensure a safe paddle.
Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Trip Report Date: October 3, 2023
Skill Level: Beginner
Class Difficulty: Class I
Gradient:
≈ 3.75′ per mile
Gauge Recorded on this Trip:
Zumbro Falls: ht/ft: 5.2 | cfs: n/a
Recommended Levels:
This is the lowest recommended level. Another great resource for correlating water levels is Minnesota’s DNR Water Level page. The data is different but much more user-friendly. Using this map for reference, 12′ is high. 7-9′ is recommended.
Put-In:
Highway 2, Millville, Minnesota
GPS: 44.2418, -92.29645
Take-Out:
Theilman access off Highway 4, Theilman, Minnesota
GPS: 44.28674, -92.18687
Time: Put in at 11:45a Out at 4:15p. (This included 5.5 more miles from Hammond to Millville.)
Total Time: 4h 30m
Miles Paddled: 10
Wildlife:
Bald eagles, bald eagles, and more bald eagles (plus all the other usual suspects – ducks, deer, hawks, herons, etc – even an egret). But seriously, bald eagles.
Shuttle Information:
9 miles. Given the steep hills, long distance, farms, and general area not necessarily accustomed to bicyclists, this would be an insufferable shuttle on two wheels – unless, of course, yours is an e-bike.
Background:
It was autumn vacation time, and all eyes were on Zumbro in October for a three-day/two-night junket. To make a long story short, our Zumbro zoom was decided on around 11 pm on a Sunday before leaving the house Monday morning around 10 am and driving 3.5 hours to get there. Add to that math trip delays brought to you by beltline congestion in Madison, an annoying harangue picking up a package from a UPS warehouse in Middleton, and a road construction nightmare on the interstate between New Lisbon and Fort McCoy that was something to the unsavory equivalent of a migraine and constipation. The upshot was arriving well over an hour late – and too late to take on the original trip idea: the first leg of the Zumbro River.
While Scotty waited for me in Zumbro Falls with his characteristic patience and forgiveness (the likes of which saints themselves would envy), he came up with a brilliant alternative: starting in Zumbro Falls instead of ending there and taking out in hole-in-the-wall Hammond for a 7ish mile dabble that would be delightfully practical when launching at 3pm in October on a river neither of us had ever been on and also was very low. Alas, that trip – which is hands down my single favorite segment of the Zumbro River – is not this trip. No, this trip ultimately continued where we’d left off the day before – and overlapped some Barry’s debut Zumbro many moons ago. In retrospect, this change on the fly was perfect, as it afforded our two driving days with short paddle trips and our one full day with a big, nice, long outing on the river.
As always while in our neighboring state of gophers, we took as our lead the good word of Paddling Southern Minnesota, a must-have guidebook that’s full of good words. The authors, Lynne and husband Robert Diebel, lay out four separate trips on the Zumbro proper (not to be confused with its hydra-headed branches and forks upstream, which is another story altogether – several stories, actually). So, Scotty and I essentially added the second half of their Zumbro River 2 trip starting in Hammond with the entirety of their Zumbro River 3 trip, or Millville to Theilman (pronounced “tile man,” fyi). (Also, the “zum” in Zumbro rhymes with sum, not zoom, much to my disappointment.) That’s how we came up with this hybrid. [Editor’s Note: In a tip of the hat to the Diebels, and in keeping with aligning guides, this report covers the Zumbro River 3 trip proper from Highway 2 to the Thielman Access point.]
Overview:
This trip is beautiful and is blessed with miles of buxom bluffs, frisky riffles, bald eagles galore, and several sections of cool rock outcrops. It would be repetitive and make for uncaptivated reading to mention them all. My hope is only to capture some of the feeling (and, yes, flavor) and leave the rest for you to experience on your own (which I personally hold is the best a recreational resource can achieve).
While the accesses on this section of the Zumbro are not as developed as those found upstream, they are dedicated landings nonetheless. The notable exception to this is in Millville, where there used to be a county park a smidge upstream of the Highway 2 bridge with a solid landing. Alas, that park is now a private campground where you’d certainly have to ask permission to access…and possibly fork over a few bucks, too. Alternatively, there is a sliver of a path on the downstream side of the bridge on river-right, but it’s a steepish schlep with room for no more than a few vehicles on the shoulder of the road at the intersection of 593rd Street.
Below Millville the river veers northeast. Highway 11 is never far, but it’s not always as close as before. The Diebels describe this next leg of the Zumbro thusly: “great views of the bluffs and a pleasant sense of isolation.” That is spot-on; I’d add only that some of the bluffs feature attractive rock outcrops. Compared to Hammond to Jarrett and Jarrett to Millville, the next 11 miles (which, admittedly, is a long stretch) has a distinctly different feel: gravel bars are everywhere, bluffs abound, and riffles resume. Rock outcrops make cameo appearances now and again, too, as do some very steep sand banks.
After coursing northward for a few miles, the next primitive riverside campsite will be found on the right; if you find yourself flowing east, you’ve missed it. It’s about three miles east and a hair south to the takeout. The notorious snags for which the Zumbro is both known and named after definitely accumulate in clumps. Generally speaking, the river is so wide (~ 150′) that circumnavigating these should pose no problem for paddlers who’ve spent some time on a river; newbies should heed more caution, however.
About half a mile upriver from the takeout is another private campground, presumably newish since it’s not mentioned in the Diebels’ book. Also of note, it was a ghost town when we paddled past it; nary an RV, bivouac, or pup tent in sight. The place didn’t even have a name; the sign simply reads “CAMPING – Family Gatherings & Get-Togethers” with small font at the bottom that reads in no uncertain terms “Customers Only – All Others will be Charged with Trespassing.” No misspellings here, although the selective capitalization is questionable. Sketch? Probably not. Awesome camping? Again, Larry David.
A bend to the right, then left leads to a quick zigzag after which you’ll see the concrete ruins of a former bridge abutment on river-right. Directly across from this is a plush sandy beach on the left to land on for the take-out. It’s a short schlep from here to where your vehicle should be. Note: this is a dead-end dirt-gravel road off of Highway 4; the take-out is not at the bridge.
What we liked:
Frequent riffles, forested bluffs, a palpable sense of privacy and isolation with numerous sandbars, gravel bars, and small islands, not to mention a copious display of bald eagles – no kidding, over a hundred sightings – what’s not to like? (Did we see 100 eagles? No. Fifty two times? Maybe. Seriously – it was ridiculous.)
Gotta give a shout-out to the graffiti artist(s?) of Driftless rivers bridges and their Andre the Giant spray-painted stencils. Love it – always makes me smile. As did the 6′-tall pink flamingo statues flanking the front lawn of a house in Jarrett. Perhaps the homeowners are UW alums… And who doesn’t dig a geodesic dome abode, also in Jarrett? We paddled this trip on the third day of October. Based on the Diebels’ book, intuition, and our own experiences on Wisconsin rivers, the Zumbro is a popular place to float in summer, especially on tubes. The aforementioned isolation in terms of river environs as well as congregants on the water itself make this an especially pleasant paddle in autumn. And listen to this lovely description: “In the fall, dense forests on the bluffs glow with color. The river bottom, painted in gravel paisley patterns on the sand, is clearly visible in the algae-free water.” Poetry brought to you by Lynne and Bob Diebel.
What we didn’t like:
Honestly, there’s very little not to like about this trip. While it’s not a five-star experience, the bluffs, riffles, and wildlife definitely make it more than a “3” – given the roads, guardrail, tiny towns, and private campgrounds. Now, if we didn’t have two vehicles and had to do a bike shuttle, well then, that would be a different story.
If we did this trip again:
It’s probably circumstantial, why and how the Diebels divvied their trips the way they did, linkages inspired by towns and access points along the meandering brow of the mighty Zumbro. But between Zumbro Falls and Theilman are roughly 5.5 miles one needs to do something with (the distance between Hammond and Millville). They packed theirs into a great daytrip that starts in Zumbro Falls, while we did ours in a long trip that ends in Theilman. Which is better? Neither – one just longer for a daytrip. I’d just skip that segment of the Zumbro, period (unless, of course, you intend on using the campsite upstream of Jarrett). It’s not bad per se, but whereas Zumbro Falls to Hammond is absolutely fabulous and Millville to Theilman also is fantastic, Hammond to Millville alone is essentially three stars, in my opinion.
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Related Information:
Zumbro River I: County Road 7 to Zumbro Falls
Zumbro River II: Zumbro Falls to Millville
Zumbro River IV: Theilman to Kruger
Zumbro River V: Kruger to Mississippi River
Zumbro River: South Fork: 90th Street to Zumbro River County Park
Article: PostBulletin
Outfitter: Zumbro River Ratz
Outfitter: Zumbro Valley Canoe Rental
Overview: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Wikipedia: Zumbro River
Photo Gallery:
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