Trips That Didn’t Make the Cut
In addition to excluding trips whose cons outweighed their pros, I did not include trips within the city of Madison or any in north central Illinois. Why didn’t either of these regions make the cut? Let me address that question in two parts.
Madison is heavy on lakes but light on rivers. The lakes themselves are pretty and quintessentially Madison, but they don’t make for the most exciting paddling in my opinion—especially when one considers the volume of motorboats and Jet Skis. One exception to this is Lake Wingra, which is almost entirely surrounded by the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and upon which all motors are prohibited. It’s a pretty sanctuary in the heart of the city, but it’s unlikely that anyone from out of town would purposefully come to Madison just to paddle it. But if you’re already here, it’s worth a couple hours of your time. Altogether, there are a handful of places like this in the Madison area that aren’t so notable as to warrant their own chapters in a guidebook like this but are pleasant enough as asides.
Illinois, our neighboring state to the south, is another matter. Illinois suffers from a self-inflicted curse of antiquated bylaws that are unfriendly to the public (to put it mildly). In Wisconsin, virtually all streams that can reasonably float a boat are considered public right-of-ways; more on this below. In Illinois, the opposite is predominantly the case. That said, Stephenson and Winnebago Counties in north central Illinois are the progressive exceptions to the reactionary rule, offering some of the relatively few public waters in the state, so I want to at least recognize these streams. But limiting myself to 60 trips was difficult enough without blurring the line of a porous border where the climate for paddlers is less than welcoming. (Sorry, Kishwaukee!)
Nonetheless, you will find suggestions for paddles in Madison in Appendix A at the back of this book. In Appendixes B and C, I have listed additional destinations in metro Madison and north central Illinois that did not merit detailed paddling-trip profiles but are otherwise worth consideration.
Before launching into the specifics of each trip, you can use the Trips at a Glance section following this introduction to pinpoint excursions based on factors of interest other than geography. Feeling skittish about tipping over or triumphant after handling your first rapids while staying dry? Then scan the Trips by Skill Level list to see the list of trips best suited for beginners and those for more experienced paddlers, respectively. Planning to take the kids this time? Check out the Best Trips for Kids list. Feel the need to commune with the water but only have time for a short jaunt? Peruse the Trips by Distance list.
Be sure as well to reference the glossaries in the back to learn more about paddling terms and how they’re used specifically in this guide.
The Overview Map, Overview Map Key, and Legend
The overview map on the inside front cover shows the primary locations for all 60 trips. The numbers on the overview map pair with the map key on the facing page. A legend explaining the map symbols used appears on the inside back cover.
Regional Maps
Prefacing each regional chapter is an overview map. The regional maps provide more detail than the overview map, bringing you closer to the trips.
Trip Maps
Each trip also includes a detailed map showing the route, the put-in and take-out, and landmarks/points of interest such as bridges, parks, and boat landings.
Trip Profiles
These are organized according to their geographic relation to Madison: northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest. Each profile begins with “The Facts” of the trip at a glance, followed by a brief overview of the trip and shuttle directions for getting to and from the water, which include GPS coordinates for the take-out and put-in in degree–decimal minute format (first latitude, then longitude).
Next comes “The Flavor,” the trip description itself. This detailed narrative shows you what to expect while you’re on the water.
The final portion of the profile is “The Fudge,” where, when relevant, I’ve tried to describe any possible additional trips you might want to consider (or were wondering about) in close proximity to the trip being profiled. In many cases, this entails a description of what you might encounter if you’d paddled farther up- or downstream. Also in “The Fudge” are mentions of nearby curiosities, spots to enjoy a post-paddle bite to eat, nearby campgrounds, rental outfitters, and so on.
“The Facts” lists the following information:
Put-in/take-out Where to begin and end
Distance/time Length of trip in miles and hours
Gradient/water level Slope of water bed (measured in feet per mile [fpm]) and measurement of water flow (in cubic feet per second [cfs])
Water type Typical motion associated with the trip’s waters
Canoe or kayak Type of boat better suited for the trip
Skill level Beginner or experienced
Time of year to paddle Seasonal preference (if any)
Landscape Prairie, marsh, hardwood forest, bluffs, sandbars, and the like
Allow me to explain aspects of these in more detail:
PUT-IN/TAKE-OUT Only a few streams and lakes offer dedicated boat launches, so usually getting in and out of the water is done where the banks are most convenient. Most often, these will be at bridges, sometimes at dams. As such, there are no street addresses per se.
Instead, you can translate the GPS coordinates provided in the shuttle directions into driving directions quite easily using Google Maps. To do so, go to maps.google.com and then type the latitude and longitude, with a comma between, into the search box, and click “Search” (magnifying-glass icon). Next, click on the blue arrow in the search box to “Get Directions.” Now enter the address of your starting point—Google will fill in the coordinates you typed earlier and the return directions, which you can then have sent to your phone.
DISTANCE/TIME Most of these trips will take the casual paddler anywhere between 2 and 6 hours to complete. There is no golden rule for how long it takes to paddle a river, since all rivers are different and everyone paddles at different paces. Width, water volume, wind, curves, obstructions—all determine how long it takes to get from point A to point B. Plus, sometimes you’ll want to take a break to picnic, and sometimes you’ll need to pause to let cows cross the stream. Keep my time frame in mind, and then allow for your own preferences within that range.
GRADIENT/WATER LEVEL The term gradient refers to how many feet a river drops per mile between two points. It’s also a way of
