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Starting the trip at Hwy 53

Where there is a great landing

The river starts pretty big

Kind of a scrubby, sandy shoreline

But nice

In high water, the river forks here and this is the start of Van Loon Island

Geese

Peaceful section of the river

Driftless hills in the distance

Taking a sandbar break

This is a nice one

A dragonfly nymph

Not too many pines but some

Taking a break to explore

Checking for insects

Nice little outcrop

Still paddling around Van Loon island…typically the Black is much bigger

More nice sandbars

Paddling up Beaver Creek

The first of three large sand banks

Time to explore

Great clam river

Looking up

The is actually the second bank…also nice

Coming up on the third sand bank

This one might be the best

Reverse view

Live clam

Taking out at Hwy 35

Black River – Hwy 35

Date:

September 8th, 2012

Put-in:

Hwy 53/93 Landing

Take-out:

Hwy 35 Landing

Distance:

8 Miles

Water Level:

Black River @ Galesville 380 CFS (tad too shallow)

While the Black River is one of the more popular rivers to paddle in Wisconsin, this downstream section close to the mouth is very rarely reviewed. You can put in at a canoe landing located at Highway 93/53. The landing is nice and has parking, but there are no bathrooms and it is a steep decline down to the landing (not that bad). About a half mile into the trip, you should come to a major fork in the river. The Black River does something odd here as it divides into two and forms a massive island (five miles long?) in the middle (called, I believe, the Van Loon State Hunting Grounds). You definitely want to follow the main channel to the right. When I went in the summer of 2012, the water level was so low that the left channel was closed by a large sandbar. The divergence of water here actually gives the Black a smaller river feel as it loses a lot of volume to this and other tributaries (a good thing IMO). While there are sandbars sprinkled throughout this section, the best are on the first third of the trip (important to consider for lunch).

After you pass the main river divergence, you’ll come across some small bluffs. Nothing major and can’t compare to the more famous upstream sections but they are nice.

After a couple of miles, you’ll come across a decent sized creek running into the Black and the first of three mega-sand banks. These banks are quite cool and are the highlight of the trip. The creek itself is navigable and pretty clean…but I was only able to make it up a little ways before hitting a log jam.

Continuing on with the ‘middle third’ of the trip you’ll encounter the other two mega-sand banks. After the third bank, the Black splits off into a creek (that goes straight to the Mississippi) and the Black loses a lot of volume. I didn’t really encounter any serious low water level issues on the first two thirds, but I did have my share of hang-ups on the last third of the trip. It wasn’t too bad because for the areas where I couldn’t ‘hop’ over logs and had to get out wading was easy because of the sandy bottom. From what I understand it was much worse earlier during the height of the drought.

You’ll take out on Highway 35 on your left. Again, nice landing, but no bathrooms. If you are willing to go four more miles to ‘Lytle Landing’ you can get pretty close the Mississippi. I don’t know what the river is like down there or if there are any decent access areas on the Mississippi/Lake Onalaska.

Quick Overview

Black River:

Upstream of Hwy 73: Obscure sections of the Black with little known about them. Some legs will have logjam issues.
Hwy 73 to Lake Arbutus: 48 miles. Good legs with a mix of rapids, boulder gardens and undeveloped banks. Only reason these legs don't receive more paddling traffic is because they're located away from population centers.
Lake Arbutus: 3 miles. A scenic but challenging lake because of the waves.
Hatfield Dam to Halls Creek Landing: 7 miles. Some of the best and most fun whitewater on the Black River.
Halls Creek Landing to Black River Falls Dam: 6 miles. An impounded part of the river, but nice with cool cliffs.
Black River Falls Dam to North Bend: 37 miles. This is the heart of the Lower Black and sees the most paddling traffic. No major rapids, but there are many scenic cliffs and creek inlets.
North Bend to Mouth: 30 miles. This is the second half of the Lower Black. While not as scenic, there are still cool sandbars and sandbanks. Few paddle these stretches.

Noteworthy Tributaries:

Robinson Creek: One of the best paddles in all of Wisconsin.
Halls Creek: Also one of the best and with amazing sandstone walls.
Morrison Creek: Very scenic creek with some fun whitewater.
Wedges Creek: Great paddle with amazing boulder gardens.
East Fork of the Black River: Some fun riffles and unique granite geology.
Perry Creek: Shallow but a super scenic creek.
Dickey Creek: A wonderfully scenic creek with fantastic sandstone…but too many logjams.
Beaver Creek: Some fun rapids and amazing sandstone in Galesville, but logjams on the downstream portions.
Popple River: A shallow whitewater river that is very nice.
Arnold Creek: A pleasant tributary to Lake Arbutus with really nice reflections.
Rock Creek: Many scenic boulder gardens, but usually this creek is too shallow to run.
Roaring Creek: Very scenic creek with a great waterfall at the mouth, but might be a challenge to paddle.
Vismal Creek: Super scenic but has a lot of logjams and is shallow. Requires very high water conditions.
Plus countless small creeks that are too small to paddle but quite fun to explore by foot. If you know of viable paddling options, let me know! Am very curious to know more about Douglas Creek, Levis Creek, O’Neal Creek, and Crawley Creek.

Detailed Overview

Headwaters to Neillsville:

Upstream of Division Drive: Likely too many logjams to be navigable.
Division Drive to Sawyer Ave: (6.5 miles) Rocky and a few light rapids. Maybe 4 logjams.
Sawyer Ave to Hwy 64: (2.5 miles) Rocky and a few light rapids.
Hwy 64 to Bridge Road: (14.4 miles) Solid prospect reviewed by Mike Svob. Some Class 1 rapids and nice gravel bars. Intermediate access points at Bahnkes Ave and Hwy AT.
Bridge Road to Hwy X: (6.0 miles) Little is known of this section…likely pretty simple.
Hwy X to Colby Factory Road: (6.0 miles) Little is known about this section…likely some rapids and outcrops. Intermediate alt access points at Hwy 29 and Hwy N.
Colby Factory Road to Popple River Mouth: (7.9 miles) This stretch has far fewer rapids than downstream legs with only a few minor rapids. It should still be pleasant though.
Popple River Mouth to Reese Ave: (5.3 miles)
- Popple River Mouth to Warner Drive: (1.0 miles) This is a slower and less interesting stretch, but does include 4 Class 1's and scenic Hemlock Rapids which are Class 3.
- Warner Drive to Greenwood Park: (3.4 miles) A good leg with many rapids (3 Class 2's and 17 Class 1's).
- Greenwood Park to Reese Ave: (0.9 miles) A slower stretch with just 2 Class 1's. Part of this passes through the community of Greenwood.
Reese Ave to Twenty Six Rd: (5.1 miles)
- Reese Ave to Sladich Rd: (0.7 miles) A mostly nondescript wooded stretch. The exception is Greenwood Rapids where an island splits the river. The right side is scenic, but the left side has fun Class 3 rapids.
- Sladich Rd to Willard Rd: (1.6 miles) A somewhat slow and relatively uninteresting leg. Highlights include one nice outcrop, a few gravel bars and a 400' stretch of Class 1 rapids.
- Willard Rd to Twenty Six Rd: (2.8 miles) A great leg with 10 Class 1's and 2 Class 2's. Highlights also include scenic boulder gardens and a few outcrops.
Twenty Six Road to Hwy H: (5.0 miles) Multiple Class 1 & 2 rapids.
Hwy H to Grand Ave/Hill Road: (8.0 miles) A great trip with several Class 2 rapids and scenic granite outcrops.

Note, for more details on the Upper Black, I highly recommend “Indian Head Rivers” by Michael Duncanson.

Alternate Black River Trips – Neillsville to Black River Falls:

Grand Ave/Hill Road to Opelt Road Landing: (6.7 miles)
- Grand Ave/Hill Road to Hwy 10: (2.2 miles) Nice section with a handful of rapids. These are mostly Class 1 at lower depths, but strengthen to Class 2 during high flow rates.
- Hwy 10 to River Road Landing: (4.3 miles) Fantastic whitewater section. Maybe six Class 2’s and two class 3’s. Scenic boulder gardens and a few outcrops.
Opelt Road Landing to Bryan Ave Bridge: (1.1 miles) Not sure there is anything special about this stretch.
Opelt Ave Bridge to Hwy 95: (4.4 miles) Ok…nothing special.
Hwy 95 to West Arbutus County Ramp/Hatfield Dam: (4.8 miles)
- Hwy 95 to North Arbutus Boat Landing: (2.4 miles) Includes a scenic gorge, boulder gardens and rapids including the Class 3 Red Granite Rapids. River slows after rapids.
- North Arbutus Boat Ramp to West Arbutus County Ramp: (2.4 miles) A large open water paddle on Lake Arbutus that can feature challenging waves on summer afternoons.
Hatfield Dam to West/East Channel Confluence: 0.2 or 0.3 miles.
- West Dam to West/East Channel Confluence: 0.3 miles. There is a large boulder field and Class 2 rapids below the west dam. At the outlet of the west channel is a Class 4 drop. This is easy to scout and portage.
- East Dam to West/East Channel Confluence: 0.2 miles. Perhaps the most extraordinary rapids in the state with Class 4/5+ rapids. The action starts below the dam where steep granite banks narrow the river significantly and force it down deep chutes. The gorge starts with Class 2-3 rapids but ends with two significant drops. American Whitewater warns “between the dam and this point lie some serious drops which contain near inescapable boiling cauldrons at moderate to high flows”.
Hatfield Dam Confluence/West Clay School Road to Powerhouse Road Landing: (3.1 miles)
- Hatfield Dam Confluence to Hwy K: (0.3 miles) One of the most scenic paddling areas in the state with massive granite outcrops. There is one set of Class 2 rapids.
- Hwy K to Powerhouse Road Landing: (2.8 miles) The first half mile by Hwy K is very scenic and contains one Class 3. The second mile is mostly flatwater. The third mile is almost continuous rapids and features one Class 3.
Powerhouse Road Landing to Halls Creek Landing: (4.0 miles) Scenic section with a few Class 2 rapids and a steep ledge.
Halls Creek Landing to Black River Falls Dam: (6.2 miles) Wonderful sandstone cliffs.

Alternate Black River Trips – Black River Falls to Mouth:

Black River Falls Dam to Mason’s Landing: (4.7 miles) A great little section.
Mason’s Landing to Irving Landing: (9 miles) A good section.
Irving Landing to Lost Falls Campground (2.3 miles) A popular stretch. Highlights include a few small outcrops, two tiny waterfalls, several impressive sandbars, and one large sandbank. A side hike to Roaring Falls can be arranged. Note Lost Falls Campground is private and you must purchase a pass from them to use their access.
Lost Falls Campground to Grinde Landing: (6.4 miles) A popular section with some nice outcrops and a waterfall by Roaring Creek. Wolf Creek may also have a cool slot canyon. The river splinters into multiple channels, some of which may be quite shallow in later summer. As of 2023, Grinde Landing is closed because somebody stole the owner's deer stand.
Grinde Landing to Melrose Landing: (3.9 miles) A shorter section but with a really nice rock outcrop before Melrose Landing. As of 2023, Grinde Landing is closed because somebody stole the owner's deer stand.
Melrose to North Bend: (10.1 miles) Likely the most popular stretch with the best sandbars on the river, three sets of outcrops, and a few waterfalls.
North Bend to Hwy 53: (13.3 miles) Likely a nice paddle with sandbars, large sandbanks and maybe a few outcrops. Unfortunately it is very long.
Hwy 53 to Hwy 35: (8 miles) A nice section with epic sand banks.
Hwy 35 to Lytle Road: (4.0 miles) Goes through the Van Loon Floodplain Forest. This can be a shallow trip but features many nice sandbars.
Lytle Road to Fred Funk Boat Landing (Mississippi): (5.0 miles) Multiple options because of the river delta.

Trip Map

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Overview Map

Photos
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