Putting in at Giese Park
Just upstream from Hatchery Road
Playing a little kayak frisbee
A muddy section on the Boo
Very wide open channel
The first of several small outcrops
Very nice
A moss lined outcrop
A family of deer watching us float by
Paddling by the massive Hwy 12 bridge
Baraboo River: Giese Park to Gander World
This isn’t a top-notch section of the Baraboo River, but it is a popular paddle because it is easy to combine with downstream legs through the city of Baraboo. The trip started at Giese Park which was a great put-in option option. The river here was very straight and wide. Likely it has been artificially straightened for agriculture. The water and banks are somewhat muddy, and the shoreline while wooded was beat up from many previous floods.
One of the highlights of the trip are several rock outcrops. One is larger with an exposed smooth rock face, while the other is small with attractively adorned moss. Paddlers will soon travel under the new Hwy 12 bridge which is the quite the sight…I believe it is the tallest in Wisconsin.
All in all, a pleasant but mediocre section of the Boo. Most paddlers will prefer the downstream leg which has rapids or to combine that section with this. Astute blog readers will note this review has been rewritten. This was done to make room for a newer and more modern review of the city section in a separate review, and hopefully this didn’t cause too much confusion.
Giese Park is located just off Hatchery Road and was an excellent canoe launch. There was a nearby outhouse, but it was in poor shape.
The take-out would be at Gander Mountain. Disembark by the fire pit and and walk your boat up the trail to the parking lot. But really this is more of a put-in option than a take-out. Most paddlers will continue on to use one of the nicer landings in Baraboo. See the overview section and map for more options.
“Baraboo Canoe & Kayak Rentals” services this section as well as the subsequent Baraboo section. They can be reached at 1-608-737-1100.
The bike shuttle would be ok at 2.7 miles, but there would be some medium hills to climb (171′ of climbing and 128′ of descent).
The current moves along but isn’t too fast. There are no rapids, logjams or any other hazards.
We went at 392 CFS per the local depth gauge which was an ok depth, but this meant more mud in the water. Note, if you extend this trip though Baraboo, you’ll need more padding to get over the rapids and the figures below won’t be accurate.
- 0-200 CFS: Near severe drought like conditions. Likely good kayak conditions with clean water.
- 201-300 CFS: Average depth. Good conditions.
- 301-400 CFS: Ok conditions. Bit murky and muddy.
- 401-600 CFS: Likely very muddy and murky.
- 601-800 CFS: Navigable but not as intersting.
- 801-1000 CFS: Navigable, but starting to get pushy and ugly.
- 1001-1500 CFS: Very high depth…paddle at your own risk.
- 1501+ CFS: This is approaching flood stage. Likely not appropriate for paddling.
Detailed Overview
- Nutmeg Road to Hwy PP: 6.2 miles. Flows by the historic Elroy-Sparta Trail and is mostly open, but there are a few logjams. This is a narrow small stretch that will need very high water to be runnable. There are scenic outcrops on this stretch….maybe 3.
- Hwy PP to 2nd Main Street: 1.6 miles. Maybe 3 logjams.
- 2nd Main Street to Franklin Street: 0.9 miles. Maybe 1-2 logjams. Trip starts at a scenic covered bridge and on Class 1 rapids.
- Franklin Street to Hwy 82(South of Lincoln Street): 0.5 miles. A good stretch that is mostly open and has maybe one outcrop.
- Hwy 82(South of Lincoln Street) to Schultz Park: 0.6 miles. Maybe 2 logjams.
- Schultz Park to Hwy 82(South of Snyder Road): 4.0 miles.
- Schultz Park to Hwy 82(North of Lumsden Road): 0.6 miles. One outcrop, one logjam portage and a few tight fits.
- Hwy 82(North of Lumsden Road) to Hwy 82(South of Snyder Road): 3.4 miles. Three outcrops, three significant logjams and several tight fits. A section with good potential but needs cleanup work.
- Hwy 82(South of Snyder Road) to Hwy W: 1.9 miles. Maybe 2-3 jams…think this is doable though.
- Hwy W to Hwy 82/Union Center: 1.3 miles. Good prospect by the golf course with maybe 2 outcrops. Maybe 1-2 logjams.
- Hwy 82 to Hwy FF Landing/Wonewoc: 7.1 miles. A great section with one of the largest rock outcrops on the river.
- Hwy FF Landing to Wayside Park: 2.9 miles. There used to be a lot of logjams here. I think it might be doable…maybe 2-3 major portages.
- Wayside Park to Kalepp Road: 4.5 miles. An uninteresting part of the river with weedy, muddy banks. But…there are three fantastic sandstone outcrops.
- Kalepp Road to N. Dutch Hollow Road: 5.3 miles. One logjam portage with several “hoppers” and “duckers”. There are some outcrops but most are recessed and away from the river. Mud and downed trees are a bit unsightly, otherwise a pleasant paddle.
- N. Dutch Hollow Road to La Valle: 3.8 miles. Second best section on the entire river with great rock outcrops.
- From La Valle to Lake Redstone: 3.6 miles. One of the more underrated sections of the Boo, which I really liked.
- Lake Redstone to Monument Park/Reedsburg: 9.0 miles. Supposedly kind of boring, but the logjams should be cleared out.
- Monument Park to South Park: 1.4 miles. Spanning the length of Reedsburg, this should be a nice section mostly free of jams.
- South Park to Golf Course Road: 4.7 miles. Maybe 4-5 logjams. Probably one too many. Should be 1-2 small sandstone outcrops. Golf Course Road might not be a good access.
- Golf Course Road to Hwy 136(by Beth Road): 3.6 miles. Maybe a few jams. Likely mostly floodplain paddling and probably uninteresting.
- Hwy 136(by Beth Road) to Hwy 136(by Ableman’s Gorge): 6.0 miles. Maybe some outcrops at the end, but mostly uninteresting paddling I suspect. Likely several serious logjams with difficult portages because of the high muddy banks.
- Hwy 136(by Ableman’s Gorge) to North Freedom Boat Launch: 8.2 miles.
- Hwy 136(by Ableman’s Gorge) to Rock Springs Boat Launch/Firemen’s Park: 1.3 miles. One of the most scenic parts of the entire Baraboo River. Highlights include a steep gorge, riverside boulders and scenic outcrops.
- Rock Springs Boat Launch to North Freedom Boat Launch: 7.1 miles. This is a nice paddle, but with some downed trees to dodge and one to portage. Highlights include historic railroad bridges, scenic outcrops, and seeing the railroad museum from the river.
- North Freedom Boat Launch to Giese Park: 7.4 miles.
- North Freedom Boat Launch to Kohlmeyer Road: 4.3 miles. Stretch starts nice as the river naturally curves and has many shade trees. There is a scenic long outcrop after Seeley Creek. River becomes boring after that except for a scenic railroad bridge and a few rocky banks. Kohlmeyer Road isn't a great bridge access.
- Kohlmeyer Road to Giese Park: 3.1 miles. Some longer and less interesting stretches. There is however a unique large volume artesian well, and a historic railroad tunnel you can wade under.
- Giese Park to Gander Outdoors: 2.9 miles. A pleasant but simple farm country paddle. Highlights include the Skillet Creek bridge, the towering Hwy 12 bridge, and a rock outcrop upstream of Hwy 12.
- Gander Outdoors to Glenville Landing: 4.9 miles. A fantastic stretch through the heart of Baraboo with many light rapids.
- Gander Outdoors to Haskins Park: 0.6 miles. A good stretch with some fantastic rapids upstream of Hwy 136.
- Haskins Park to Maxwell-Potter Conservancy: 3.3 miles. The best section on the entire river with many rapids.
- Maxwell-Potter Conservancy to Glenville Landing/Hwy 113: 1.1 miles. A pleasant stretch, but lacking in rapids.
- Glenville Landing to Luebke Landing: 5.1 miles. A pleasant trip, but a little boring at times. I would rate this as one of the more uninteresting sections of the Baraboo. On the plus side it had no logjams (as of 2023) and remains plenty navigable even during big droughts.
- Luebke Landing to Hwy 33: 3.5 miles. This might be one of the better legs on the Lower Baraboo.
- Hwy 33 to Wayside Park: 8.0 miles. A stretch I’m curious about.
- Wayside Park to Hwy U: 3.9 miles. Simple but pleasant short section flanked by busy interstates.
- From Hwy U to the mouth: 5.3 miles. The final leg running through floodplain forest.
Notable Baraboo River Tributaries:
- West Branch of the Baraboo River: For the most part, too many logjams, but the flowage by Hillsboro is navigable with scenic outcrops by the dam.
- Dutch Hollow Lake: A heavily developed lake and popular with locals. Not as great as Lake Redstone but still nice. Dutch Hollow Creek is likely too shallow to run, but it (and the bike trail) goes past a fantastic and huge exposed rock face.
- Hemlock Slough: A nice little lake paddle with many rock outcrops and attractive hemlocks.
- Little Baraboo River: For the most part too many logjams. However the small flowage by Cazenovia Memorial Park is navigable and there are small outcrops both below the dam and on the northwest corner of Lee Lake.
- Lake Redstone: Definitely a fun paddle with fantastic red rock formations, a swimming beach, and a spillway waterfall.
- Big Creek: You can’t get too far upstream because of logjams, but there is a nice outcrop by Hwy F and this can be combined with a trip on the north side of Lake Redstone.
- Narrows Creek: There is a neat section by Weidman Memorial Park with boulders and light rapids with I believe nearby outcrops downstream. Unfortunately there are likely too many logjams. I did partly paddle a nice downstream portion from the mouth on the Baraboo before I hit a logjam and turned back.
- Seeley Creek:
- Hwy PF to Seeley Lane Boat Landing: 3.6 miles. A mix of creek and flowage paddling. Ok…maybe 2 logjams.
- Seeley Lane Boat Landing to Freedom Road: 1.7 miles. Probably too many logjams on this section.
- Freedom Road to Mouth: Neat stretch of the creek, but some logjams.
- Skillet Creek:
- From Gasser Road to Pewit’s Nest: Gorgeous, but filled with logjams.
- Pewit’s Nest: Stunning scenery, but the ledges are likely too steep and narrow for kayaking. Best experienced as a hike.
- Pewit’s Nest to Hatchery Road: A bit of nice geology, but likely small with several logjams. Neither endpoint is a great access.
- Rowley Creek: A scenic creek, but shallow and with hostile locals.
- Leech Creek: From Hwy U to Tritz Road would be 2.5 miles. Likely open and an easy paddle, but uninteresting because of the artificial channelization.
- Long Lake: A very slow creek that empties into the Boo close to the Wisconsin. There could be serious logjams by the mouth, but the upper sections are plenty navigable and are paddled by locals.
Trip Map
Overview Map
Photos Size:
My husband and I did from Haskins Park to the Glenville landing at Hwy 113 last week. It was fantastic! The rapids through Baraboo were fun and the river was flowing fast. We did the trip in an hour. Our average speed (according to cell phone GPS) was 4.1mph and our fastest was 5.5mph. Something new to note is that there is a handicap accessible kayak/canoe ramp on the dock at Haskins Park. Very cool! We noticed it after we put in just upstream of the dock. I took a picture of it. If you want one to post on your site let me know and I’ll email it to you. Thanks again for a great site!
Appreciate the comment!
Three of us kayaked this section from Giese Park to Hwy 113 take out July 31, 2017. Water was running at 995 CFS, gauge height was 10.95 ft. The 7-mile trip took us about 3 hours of easy to moderate but steady paddling. Rapids were quite doable, there were no log jams, and it was a wonderful run. The concrete take-out at Hwy 113 had about 4 – 6 ins. of mud on it due to recent flooding. Kinda nasty.
Thanks Gail for the feedback…good to hear that the Baraboo section didn’t suffer any jams after the big flood!