Mecan River: 11TH ROAD TO DIXIE AVENUE
• THE • FACTS •
Put-in/take-out 11th Road/Dixie Avenue. See “The Flavor” for an alternative take-out.
Distance/time 9.5 mi/Allow for 5 hrs
Gradient/water level 3 fpm/There is no gage, but levels are almost always sufficient since the river is spring-fed. However, it’s worth a phone call to Mecan River Outfitters (920-295-3439) to ask for current conditions, because if the river is high, low-clearance bridges and fallen trees will require portaging and the current can be pushy, making for challenging moments at obstructions.
Water type Quietwater with riffles and light rapids
Canoe or kayak Kayak preferred
Skill level Experienced
Time of year to paddle Anytime, but exceptionally lovely in autumn
Landscape Upland forest, bogs, and grasslands
OVERVIEW A virtual mecca for paddlers in southern Wisconsin, the Mecan features crystal-clear water with a peppy current surrounded by vast tracts of sparsely developed land. Enhancing that allure is the river’s narrow width and meandering path through soggy bogs, spongy fens, and small boulders in the streambed, flanked by gnarled oaks, birch, and pine trees atop the banks.
It’s impossible to overestimate the enchantment of such an environment in contrast to development elsewhere in the southern part of the state. There are also lots of kettles in the forest here, as well as trout, great blue herons, sandhill cranes, kingfishers, turtles, wood ducks, deer, beaver, wild turkey, and owls.
PLANNING ADVISORY While the Mecan River is a popular paddling area, don’t underestimate the current, the need to maneuver around obstructions, or the meandering nature of the stream (I like to call it the “Mecander”). Make sure you pack a dry bag of extra clothes, food, and water, and that you are physically and mentally prepared for a long day on the river. It’s a truly beautiful stream that I highly recommend; just plan accordingly.
SHUTTLE 6.5 miles. From the take-out, head west on Dixie Avenue. Turn right onto 14th Avenue. Turn left onto CR JJ. Stay on CR JJ as you turn left at the next intersection, and then cross the bridge and turn right. Turn right again onto 11th Road. There’s a parking area just north of the bridge.
TAKE-OUT N43° 57.120' W89° 19.560'
PUT-IN N44° 00.420' W89° 23.520'
• THE • FLAVOR •
PUT IN ON THE UPSTREAM SIDE OF THE BRIDGE at 11th Road, river left. (You can park one or two vehicles here, but there’s an additional area to accommodate more only 200 feet north.) The current here is swift as the river drops a foot, shooting into the left culvert of the bridge, so it is advised to paddle upstream 10 or 20 yards to get a better head start. The drop is fun! (Alternatively, if you don’t mind paddling against the current some, the river environment is especially pretty upstream of the put-in.)
The Mecan River is a paddler’s paradise.
Here and there, you’ll come upon wooden pier remnants jutting just above the water line; some have improbably hosted enough grass to resemble a punk-rock hairdo. Complementing the natural feel of its surroundings, the river itself has a pleasant balance of obstructions to dodge, duck under, or ride over, but none so formidable as to require an actual portage. (That said, it behooves you, the paddler, to have the basic skills and boat control to experience this pleasant balance without getting frustrated—or wet!)
After a mile, you’ll see a house or two (ranging from shabby cabins to country chic), but only briefly at the edges of bends. You’ll pass under a rickety-looking wooden footbridge that belongs to one of them—the first of two in this stretch. The right bank rises some 15 feet, the current picks up, and the river zigzags around moss-strewn logs. The setting feels wild, even if you’re never far from a road. Things will remain tranquil as the river meanders through secluded woods. An atypical straightaway precipitates the culvert at the CR Y bridge. As before, the current picks up as the river funnels through the culvert, and riffles prevail on the other side. Be careful not to get too close to the culvert walls to keep from tipping in the brisk current.
Many paddlers begin their trip on the Mecan at CR Y from the left, so don’t be too surprised if you see someone at this point. (Indicative of this, you’ll see more tree clearing and branch sawing here than upstream. Someone even thoughtfully cut out a notch for headspace on one large, bank-to-bank downed tree.) Downstream from CR Y, the river is very narrow along a corridor of rightward bends around a raised left bank. Soon you’ll come upon a low-clearance farm bridge; if the river is high, it may be prudent to portage it. The river heads south in a low-lying area before heading east toward the 14th Avenue bridge (where the upstream side is notably lower than the downstream side). Paddlers can cut this trip to 7 miles by taking out on the downstream (right) side of this bridge (N43° 57.889' W89 20.844').
After 14th Avenue, the river flows southeastward in one of the prettiest sections in the area. All along the river on the right lies the beautiful Mecan River Pine-Oak Forest, a Wisconsin natural area and the only known old-growth forest of white pines and black oaks in the Central Sand Hills Ecological Landscape. Some of these trees are as wide as 3 feet in diameter. The eye is beguiled by that which lies beyond as the stream nears, turns away, and then returns to the canopies of the right bank.
Eventually you’ll see a stately log cabin atop a right bank, soon followed by another footbridge. Bends to the right and then left lead to a straightaway of some 500 feet before a final meander for good measure at the base of a 15-foot-tall right bank before the culvert bridge at Dixie Avenue. Take out here, on river right on the downstream side of the bridge. There’s a parking area at the top of the small hill.
• THE • FUDGE •
ADDITIONAL TRIPS Upstream of the put-in, the river is quite beautiful, but poor accesses, shallow water, and deadfall should dissuade the casual paddler from exploring this section. However, there’s an excellent boat launch at the headwaters of the Mecan at a spring-fed pond off Chicago Road, where most of the land is public and undeveloped. This is lake paddling, but the environs are pretty.
Downstream from this trip’s take-out, the Mecan passes beneath several low-clearance farm bridges that are impassable when the water is high, and then the river slows to a crawl above the sprawl of Germania Marsh. Below the marsh lies a fun Class II drop at the CR N bridge. There’s decent access on both sides of the bridge, allowing for play and multiple runs. Downstream from CR N to its confluence at the Fox River, the Mecan meanders 10.5 miles, but the landscape is a bit flatter and more monotonous, and obstructions can be quite a nuisance.
CAMPING AND RENTALS Mecan River Outfitters & Lodge (W720 WI 23, Princeton; 920-295-3439) offers log-cabin rentals and primitive tent sites along the river, as well as river-trip rentals.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Mecan River Outfitters & Lodge serves food. Or, for a delicious vegetarian meal washed down with a local microbrew in a cute setting, stop by MORE Healthy Foods and Cafe (15 Main St., Montello; 608-297-8111), located at Marquette County’s one and only stoplight. Also darling is Once in a Blue Moon (538 W. Water St., Princeton; 608-295-6100). In fact, there is much charm along Water Street in downtown Princeton.
SHOUT-OUT
