2024 Year End Review
And so concludes the 2024 paddling season. Thanks to all blog readers who tagged along for a record 37 reports…24 of which were new rivers/creeks. Thanks to those who contributed comments and an extra special thanks to those who contributed guest water trail reviews.
BIGGEST TRIP DISAPPOINTMENTS: It was a great season, but there were a few strike-outs.
- Pebble Creek: A nice creek despite its proximity to Waukesha. But the logjams were a bit much…hopefully locals clear them out.
- Sinsinawa River: The scenery was fantastic (comparable to other Grant County rivers) but the fences, shallow depth, and cattle were too much.
- Lunch Creek: Too many logjams…but it was nice in spots.
- And that’s it…all the other 2024 trips were winners.
FAVORITE 2024 TRIPS: I handed out 15 five stars…maybe a bit much and inflationary…but it was a good season. Here are the best of the best in order.
- Deer Creek: Minnesota’s version of the Kickapoo…cliffs were incredible.
- Spirit River: Some of the best boulder gardens I’ve ever paddled through.
- Rush River: The gorges and cliffs were way better than expected.
- Bearskin Creek: This was a somewhat spontaneous and unplanned trip that turned out really nice. The highlight was the dense “pine walls” which were incredibly scenic.
- Maquoketa River – Backbone State Park: Terrific clarity and bluffs through one of Iowa’s most popular parks.
- Trappe River: Fun small river adventure through dense woods and boulder fields.
- Kickapoo River – Bridge 7 to 14: Some of the best cliff kayaking in Wisconsin.
- Red Cedar River – Colfax: Gorgeous sand banks.
- Somo River: Terrific pine walls.
- Wisconsin River – Gotham: Best sandbars of the season and a surprising number of cliffs.
- Rush Lake: An underrated paddle I don’t think other paddlers will appreciate. I loved the cattail corridors though.
- Mississippi – Crater Island: Another underrated paddle…the back sloughs by La Crosse were gorgeous and Crater Island was unique.
- Lake Redstone: Sadly the lake is ridiculously overdeveloped and has too much boat traffic…but if you go during a no-wake event, you can really enjoy the red sandstone cliffs.
- North Fork of the Maquoketa River – Ozark Wildlife Area: Amazing paddle through hidden valleys and past impressive bluffs.
- Whitewater River – Elba: Highlights included incredible clarity and terrific goat prairies.
- Rock River – Kaul Park: Not on the same tier as the above…but a deceptively nice paddle with attractive reflections and fall color.
2024 LOWLIGHTS:
- Sinsinawa River Cattle: Shallow water I can deal with…but not when combined with close grazing cattle and what looked like a few bulls.
- Pebble Creek Logjams: All clustered mostly in one area…just one after another.
- Getting Lost on the Somo: I’ve gotten lost before…but have never deviated off course by this great a distance. I’m appreciative to the boaters who helped me find my way back.
- Lunch Creek Logjams: Not as horrible as Pebble Creek, but enough that I can’t recommend Lunch Creek as a water trail.
- Mecan River: Trip was solid, but after the trip my starter motor died and I had to be towed to a Montello repair shop.
- Tomahawk River Rednecks: I was chewed out not once but twice (unfairly) for ‘trespassing’.
- Kickapoo GPS Fiasco: I had multiple GPS failures happen at the same time which required some tricky navigation through Driftless Area back roads while not 100% knowing where I was.
- Little Wolf Weed Jams: The section below Iola was fantastic…five stars. But above Iola, weeds have sealed in parts of the lake. I was able to cut my way through but it was a bit annoying.
- Spirit River Bears: When I arrived, I hadn’t realized this was a black bear hot spot (both for bears and hunters…of which both were plentiful).
- Door Creek Ice Jam: Fortunately I was able to paddle through the ice. It wouldn’t have been the end of the world if I had to portage Lake Kegonsa, but it was very nice I didn’t have to.
- June Floods: For much of June and early July, strong floods made many water trails dangerous or unappealing. Your average kayaker doesn’t appreciate how much high water magnifies danger, and there were several high profile accidents that made the news. As a general rule…stay off big, fast or woody rivers when high. You can still paddle during high water, but choose wisely…typically smaller streams, slower rivers, marshes, and lakes can be easily done during high water.
- Crater Island Excavation: A trip I had planned and looked forward to long in advance was almost ruined by poor timing. When we arrived at the island, heavy earth equipment was active and access was discouraged. We still got to access part of the island though which I was grateful for.
- Maquoketa River Bike Issues: Bolts vibrated themselves free and I lost the front axle rod to my bike when driving home. Only the brakes saved the tire from bouncing off onto Hwy 151. Special thanks to Wildside Action Sports in Baraboo who fixed this for me at no cost (no appointment required either). IMO one of the best bike shops in Sauk County.
- Yellow River Camera Issue: A dust speck got INSIDE of my nitrogen sealed waterproof camera lens. It was a huge distraction trying to bounce the dirt out of the center of the lens. Ultimately I was forced to purchase a new camera.
- Rush Lake Cattails: The trip turned out great and GPS saved the day. But without it I would have gotten lost in the cattail labyrinths.
- Trappe River Rain: I got caught in the rain…but I actually think it added to the experience and provided ambiance to the video and pictures.
MOST POPULAR TRIPS WITH USERS:
A lot of work goes into these reviews (more than you might suspect). So it’s nice when some take off in popularity and disappointing when others don’t. This year Youtube traffic was down. Most videos averaged between 100-200 views, but unfortunately many were under 100, including several I thought would get more views (like Crater Island on the Mississippi, which only got 67 views). The three most popular videos were the Yellow River, Rush River, and Trappe River. As a general rule videos with rapids do well, while slow rivers don’t.
For page views, the Rush River was the most popular. Second place was Backbone State Park, and in third place was the Whitewater River. All long drives…but apparently worth it.
In July somebody linked to a kayak trip I did on Fish Lake (where you can paddle by flooded homes) from Reddit. My traffic to that page spiked to almost 20k page views in one day…a record for me. Sadly, many of the Fish Lake homes have been removed and that exact experience is largely (but not completely) unreplicable.
The fewest page views award went tor my Kickapoo – Gays Mills trip. Too low to publicly admit…but shockingly bad. I’m surprised…yes, the Lower Kickapoo isn’t as nice as the Upper Kickapoo, but it’s still worth checking out. In all fairness though, it was the end of the year and most people had probably put their paddles away.
Second fewest views were for my Neenah Creek review…that was also surprising as it was a really nice trip and within an hour drive of Madison. Third lowest was the Kishwaukee River (IL)…but that is maybe understandable as most of my visitors are from Wisconsin. Fourth lowest was the Somo River…again, a disappointment given how nice it was and the effort I put into planning/executing/writing up the trip.
It’s interesting looking at what reviews are popular and which aren’t. Often it is feast or famine. Generally speaking “name brand” rivers in the eastern half of Wisconsin get the most traffic (that is where most people live). While, outside of the Upper Kickapoo, few click on the water trails for Southwest Wisconsin/Driftless Area. Many of the all time lowest viewed pages are either on the Pecatonica River or a tributary to it. I’m still going to do more paddles in the Driftless Area though!
WATER TRAIL UPDATES: Things change with river conditions…sometimes for the better and sometimes not. Sadly, heavy storm activity created a lot of new logjams in 2024. Here are a collection of the latest rumors:
- Badfish Creek: A tornado caused multiple logjams on Badfish Creek. But thankfully, Mad City Paddlers cleared out the main affected section (between Old Stage Road to the mouth).
- Little Platte River: Farmers now have five fences up on the section by Platteville, some of which are electric (Eric).
- Ashippun River: Logjams were an issue between County P and Roosevelt Road (Gregor).
- Crystal River: The Lower Crystal to Shadow Lake is now open, with one ducker. The section above the mill had several logjams, but I presume those were already removed (Gregor).
- Rubicon River: From Wacker Drive to Liberty Ave, logjams have largely filled in the river. The section by Hartford likely is no longer viable for paddling unless it gets a major cleanup (Gregor).
- Bark River: There are four major logjams between Hwy 67 and Atkins Olson Memorial Park.
- La Crosse River: The section by Sparta (Perch Lake to Amundsen Park) now has many downed trees (Lynn).
- White River: There was a downed tree between Sheridan and Burlington…otherwise this stretch is pretty open (Glen). Note, I think the logjam was removed later in June.
- Oconomowoc River: There are many logjams on the river between Monches and North Lake, likely caused by the Emerald Ash Borer (Gregor).
- Rubicon River: There are two major logjams below the Neosho Dam (Gregor).
- Black River Neillsville: A kayaker reported the rapids below the city at 752 CFS were “brutal” (Mike).
- Mecan River: An iconic river culvert at Hwy JJ/Y was destroyed by an over-zealous DOT and replaced with an ugly cement slab bridge.
- Yellow River – Necedah to the Mouth: This section is now more open…one paddler said they only had to get out a few times.
- Yellow River – Cty F to 9th Street: There are many new logjams on this stretch (Lori).
- Yahara River by DeForest: There are many new downed trees…figure 2-3 portages for large strainers. Hopefully these get cleaned out in the future (Ahnna).
- Rock River – South Branch: Local officials rescued kayakers pinned by a logjam east of Waupun.
- Rocky Run Creek: Alder branches and a low bridge proved to be challenging obstacles (Phil).
- Big Green River: There were three logjams between the mouth and Hwy K, but the creek was nice (Charlie).
- Beaver Dam River: There is a nasty logjam below the Davis Street Bridge. There are additional obstacles but not as major (Jon).
- Nine Springs Creek: From Hwy MM there was a minor logjam and the railroad tracks had to be portaged (Wendy).
- Token Creek: The section between Portage Road to Token Creek County Park was mostly cleared out (Jared).
- Blue River: A fence (possibly new) was a bit tricky to get past (Charlie).
- Oconto River: Many downed trees between Hwy H to Underhill County Park, with two being major and requiring portages (Kenny).
- Scuppernong Creek: Cattails have completely sealed in the stretch by Parry Road. There are also additional logjams now on the upper leg (Jon).
- Six Mile Creek: Locals cleared out the logjams between Mary Lake and Lake Mendota. They removed a significant number of logjams above that too.
- Pewaukee River: Paddlers almost got stuck trying to get through the I-94 tunnel during high water. Do not attempt to go under the freeway when the river is high!
- Little Wolf River: The Manawa dam was breached, making national news. I think I was the only one in the world that had previously warned that the dam was in poor shape.
- Upper Kickapoo: Multiple logjams popped up after recent storms, but as of November 2024, I believe they were all cleared out.
- Milwaukee River: Multiple paddlers had kayak mishaps on the Milwaukee during high water. Several sections of the Milwaukee are too rough during high water.
- Milwaukee River above Goeden Park: Several logjams in this area now require portaging.
- Black Earth Creek: There were logjams between Olson Road and Lion’s Park but they were cleared out (Jared and Bob).
- Rock River – East Branch: There is a new access/dam bypass by Kekoskee. There is a logjam between Kekoskee Dam and Horicon Marsh (Matt).
- Sugar River: There is a new logjam below Paoli.
- Crawfish River – Goat Island: The goats are back!
- Lemonweir River: There were only two minor logjams between 19th Ave and HH, which is good news.
- Mecan River: Cumberland to Y was cleared out by Mad City Paddlers.
- Milwaukee River – East Branch: There are multiple trees down near the mouth (Denny).
- Kishwaukee River: A major cleanup effort was completed on the upper stretches. The river should now be navigable from Siems Memorial Park to the County Line Access. There is also a new landing off Woodbine Lane.
Advertising: For the first time I added “Adsense” (Google ads) to the footer of most pages. I hadn’t previously planned on doing this…but the real world is getting more expensive. I’m not sure I like the ads or how they compete with the comment section and I may remove them in the future. If you see issues with this, definitely let me know. Don’t feel guilty if you use an ad blocker.
Website Goals: There are lots of broken links I need to get cleaned up. I also want to re-organized my trip maps to make them more accessible to visitors. I don’t think most readers realize the maps (both trip and overview) will show your location on a phone if opened in Google Maps. This makes real time navigation using my landmarks possible.
Website Suggestions: If you see issues, let me know. I know I miss stuff.
AI Content: In the future AI will likely replace search engines for water trail research. To my surprise many of the big AI engines already index my website and are using it for answers. E.g., go to https://chatgpt.com and ask “Can you kayak the Sinsinawa River?” Creating an AI bot assistant for WisconsinRiverTrips.com might be a fun feature…you can already ask and get impressive kayaking answers from ChatGPT like:
- What is the best stretch on the Mecan River to kayak?
- Is the Kickapoo River currently too high to safely kayak?
- Can I sandbar camp on the Lower Chippewa River?
- What kayak rental services are there on the Sugar River in Wisconsin?
- Where are Class 3 or stronger rapids on the Black River in Wisconsin?
- What is the current water temperature of the Kickapoo River?
Paddling Goals:
- Southwest Wisconsin: Definitely want to return to the Grant, Platte, and Otter Creek. I also have a surprise prospect in Grant County which could be really nice (or…be another Sinsinawa River).
- South Central Wisconsin: Returning to the Koshkonong and Allen Creek are high up on my todo list. A redo of an old Badfish Creek trip is in order. There are still water trails to explore on both the Sugar and Yahara Rivers.
- Southeast Wisconsin: Expect more Cedar Creek, Milwaukee River, Bark River, Illinois Fox, Honey Creek, Turtle Creek, and hopefully two surprise prospects.
- West Central Wisconsin: Top on my todo list are more Mississippi trips, the Bad Axe River and Mill Creek. Despite not being popular, I do want to do more Lower Kickapoo trips.
- Central Wisconsin: Duck Creek and the Grand River are high up on my todo list. I do want to redo Upper Neenah Creek which has had some cleanup work. This is my “home turf” and is well grazed, yet I think I can still come up with a few surprise water trails in the future.
- East Central Wisconsin: I’ve come to really like the Upper Rock and will do more trips on it. Plenty more sections to do on the Beaver Dam River and Crawfish Rivers. There are smaller/sketchier creeks that I might gamble on as well.
- Northwest Wisconsin: The Lower Chippewa was high on my todo list but I never got to it in 2024. Still lots more to explore on the Black, Jump, Hay, and Yellow Rivers. Also need to get back to the Lemonweir, despite its logjams. Hope to redo some older Morrison Creek and Halls Creek reviews too.
- North Central Wisconsin: I made this a major focus in 2024, with four straight Tomahawk area trips in the fall. It’s a super cool area of the state I previously overlooked and now need to catch up on. I had hoped to do the Pine and New Wood Rivers in 2024, but those will have to wait for 2025. There are also more sections to explore on the Copper, Little Eau Pleine, Big Eau Pleine, and Tomahawk Rivers . I also hope to find some more Bearskin Creek-type paddles by doing some map research this winter.
- Northeast Wisconsin: Expect a return to the Plover, Little Wolf and Waupaca Rivers. I do want to do both the Red and Embarrass Rivers, but both are rocky and difficult to time. One of these days I need to paddle Door County. South of the peninsula there are still more good water trails to do on the Pigeon, Branch, Sheboygan, and Manitowoc Rivers.
- Deep North: These are tougher for me to do, as typically I don’t do overnight trips. But I would love to do the St. Croix.
- Minnesota: I’m looking at the Root River – South Branch, definitely the Zumbro, definitely Bear Creek, and maybe more Deer Creek. Still lots to do on the Lower Root…which I’ll probably save for low water levels.
- Iowa: Crane Creek and the upper Volga have been on my todo list forever. A lot of Iowa trips are challenging because of the bike shuttles, but I think there are still some manageable trips that can be done on both the Maquoketa and Turkey Rivers . Would love to return to the Upper Iowa as well.
- Illinois: Apple River and Carroll Creek have been on my todo list forever…but need careful timing. Other ideas include the Piscasaw Creek, more Kishwaukee and perhaps paddling in downtown Chicago. Unfortunately there isn’t much else in the state on my todo list.
