Waupaca River

Just Googled Tomorrow River on bus trip back from Brewers game. Never heard of it before. I sold my whitewater kayak a few years back. Need to get a 12 footer as I am now too big for 9 footer. I enjoyed everybody's comment and the original post. Very informative!

Just went from Hwy A to otto road on fathers day 2023, everything is trimmed nicely for kayaks, canoe will have to portage around a couple trees that were a tight fit under with kayak. all in all it was a great trip

I did this section and then continued down to Cobbtown Rd, for a 9.4 mile trip. It took us just under 3 hours. We did a car shuttle but it would be about a 7 mile bike shuttle, with about 1 mile of that on Hwy 10, not the best nicest place to ride a bike but there is a wide paved shoulder. The trip was fantastic, the glacial erratics are truly massive, and the section after Otto Rd is spectacular. The drop at DD/Steadman park was totally runable at these levels. The take out at Cobbtown Rd is also a trail head for a section of the Ice Age trail and there is a beautiful short hike up to one of the free cabins, well worth it if you have the time. Here is a link to pics and a video/map of my trip. https://www.relive.cc/view/vDqgewzdBGO

Thanks for the tip! I definitely want to do that specific trip...

The river is open from Q all the way to the wolf. I did Hwy Q to Hwy 22/54 by fleet farm yesterday. 8/19/2022. Saw a bunch of deer and other critters. Watch out for Waupaca Falls! There are a lot of nice places to get out before just no sign to say you're there. Use Caution. Bit of a portage to get down to the park but a great, easy paddle from there to Hwy 22/54. Waupaca Falls to Weyauwega would make a great day trip. Pack a lunch and take your time.

8/7/2022 We just did a 5 day run from the chain of lakes, Waupaca to North Asylum Bay in Oshkosh. The Waupaca River leg was clear from the end of the crystal river to the wolf river. The last leg of the Crystal River is a nightmare from Churchhill St to the Waupaca River. There is a really nice put-in at the hwy 22/54 bridge just north of Waupaca eco park, south of fox valley tech. 2-3 hour easy paddle from there to Weyauwega. Weyauwega portage is a bit of a walk but they have a real nice launch dock at reentry. The last bit from Weyauwega to gills landing on the wolf river was a beautiful evening paddle.

Has anyone done this stretch of the river this year? Wondering whether it's still blockage-free.

We did this section of the river today, 9/26/2020. Water level was probably on lower side but we did not have to get out at all. Impressed with the path that someone clearly made through the deadfall with a chainsaw - it was not an issue, no portaging necessary. The last stretch of this (last mile?) was the best - the boulder gardens and white pine and fall colors were beautiful. No issues with takeout at Otto Road.

We did from Amherst to Otto Road today and it was absolutely awesome. No other paddlers, not a single Portage was necessary, as someone had cleared a path through all of the snags. Not a paddle for novices, but we are far from expert, and still had a blast navigating through and around all the cut areas and the boulder Gardens. I couldn't get the grin off my face.

I did this trip on 6/25/20 with a bike shuttle. Since the USGS is no longer operating a gauge on this river I don't know the exact level, but I think it is safe to say it was high as there had been a decent amount of rain in the last week, the river looked high, and the few fisherman we saw all agreed it was relatively high. We had a fantastic trip, the water was surprisingly clear, rootbeer colored, but clear. The current was fash, bordering on pushy, but as there were no complete blockages, it was just challenging in a fun way. There were several tight duck unders, and a lot of maneuvering around and through branches, trees, and other obstacles,in a pretty decent current, so we needed to stay on out toes and have good boat control, but we never had to get out of out of our boats. A great trip, but probably not for beginners or longer boats. The trip took us about 2 hrs and 15 mins, and the bike shuttle was about 25 mins with the only big hill being right at the take out. The next section down looks intriguing including a class II-III drop at the DD Bridge/Steadman Wayside park that looked runnable at this level

I did a slightly different section of this trip (Rolling Hills Rd to Cate County Park) on 5/21/20 and would highly recommend it to anyone. The river is pretty enough to keep experienced paddlers happy and easy enough that beginners should have little problem. There is an easy put-in on river left on the downstream side of the bridge, there is shoulder parking for several cars as seems to be a popular place for fishing and kayaking/canoeing. There were no blockages thanks to the obvious work of other working to keep the river clean. There is one really low farm bridge that required an easy portage. Lots of wildlife with the highlight being eagles on and near a nest just before the take out. The take out at Cate park is easy to miss so be sure to check it out during the shuttle, or as someone had done when I was there to a piece of flagging/marking tape on a tree. Taking out at Cate park saves a boring paddle on the flowage, and since it is right on the bike trail makes for an easy bike shuttle. The trip took about 2.5 hours and the bike shuttle took about 25 mins with a stop for ice cream. Here is a link to some of my photos from the trip and the shuttle https://1drv.ms/a/s!AjC8S6n5i35Vggdp5IuMqYModZxY

My wife and I ran the section of the Waupaca from Keener Road to Otto Road on July 29, 2019. The storms from a bit more than a week ago really changed this section. Many, many downed trees that you have to portage around. It was still fun, but a lot of work. I would avoid this section of river for now.

Paddled this stretch on 23Sept2018, 320 CFS at about 2ft. Good level, only minor scraping. Minor dodging of trees and rocks, but didn't need to exit our boats. Aside from blue herons and kingfishers, we didn't see much wildlife. Nice paddle, but next time will likely combine it with Little Wolf and/or Crystal River for a two day trip.

I don't know myself. I think it would be doable, but likely taking out at the lake would be a better bet.

Can you take out at the bike trail?

Hi Aaron, The Upper Rock (both branches) have some whitewater which I've reviewed before. For more classic whitewater, you'll want to migrate to central Wisconsin. Most rivers there have at least some whitewater. The lower Eau Claire would be a great starter prospect. When you get more experience you could take on the upper segments. For serious whitewater, checkout: https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/state-summary/state/WI/ . Another fun option is the whitewater park in Wausau during a release which can be a great learning experience.

My wife and I are looking for a few good spots to kayak with rapids... We just got whitewater kayaks and have been training to use them. Do you have any recommendations near puchayan that would be worth checking out? Thanks!

Thanks for the reply Tim. Glad you enjoyed the trip as yeah it was cold this last weekend. I will respectfully disagree in regards to taxing paddlers. In my opinion a nice natural area (lake, river, forest) is a public good. What makes it special is not proportionate to the amount of user fees it generates (be they hunting fees or otherwise). Devil's Lake for example was cool before any human experienced it or "improved it". Hunting also differs from low-impact sports in that it creates a void when a fish or animal is caught, and thus in my opinion needs to be treated, regulated and rationed quite differently than an activity that leaves no impact on a state natural area (like kayaking). Iowa and Minnesota require paddlers register their boats over a certain length, but to me that seems overbearing and discourages a sport that more should be encouraged to partake in.

Thanks for the review of the Tomorrow River. We enjoyed kayaking from the Mill to the State trail this past weekend despite temperature in the 50s and windy but we also were able to stay out of the icy cold water. You do have to know how to steer your boat around obstacles though. We were able to kayak under the cow bridge! I would make a comment about the "rant" of the above reviewer regarding fishing potentially taking prioroity over kayaking. As both a kayaker/hiker and a hunter/fisherman, I do know for a fact that 98% of the money and efforts put in to the conservation of wild areas in WI come from hunters and fishermen, not we kayakers and hikers. I am a freeloader, even when I am on public land where hunters and fishermen are not allowed yet they exist because of the dollars and efforts of these sportsmen. Perhaps it is time for we kayakers and hikers to also buy an annual license and pay taxes on our kayaks/gear to help fund the conservation efforts of hunters and fishermen in our state?