Another of my guiding principles in sharing the trips featured here has been a sense of balance: Do the pros outweigh the cons? Some trips in this book require putting up with an impediment or two. Ducking underneath low-hanging branches or bridges and riding over the occasional log is par for the course. It is my belief that portaging, while seldom welcome, is part of the paddling experience. When deadfall and logjams are a likely albeit infrequent occurrence on a trip, I will point them out. But I have opted not to include trips whose nuisances and obstructions are so prominent as to undermine the whole reason for being outdoors in the first place. Mill Creek in Iowa County and Honey Creek in Sauk County, for example, are both rich in potential but poor in reward due to their many frustrations.
Just as I sought a departure from the conventional wisdom of most paddling guidebooks by featuring lesser-touted trips, I have also distinguished this guide by including lakes. (Of the five lake trips in the book, four are on lakes that prohibit all but electric boat motors; Red Cedar Lake is in a designated state natural area where all motors are prohibited.) I prefer moving rivers to staid lakes, but there’s a lot to like in a lake. A lake is a great place to get one’s feet wet in a canoe or kayak. Plus, there are no shuttling logistics to work out when paddling lakes, there are typically no obstacles, and there is something downright majestic about letting yourself drift on a calm lake at sunrise or sunset. But moving water is a dynamic all its own, so it’s wise to learn some basics of boat control, even on still water.
While lakes are pretty lazy, on a windy day they are suddenly awoken from their slumber and aroused, heaving waves one after another. Here in the Upper Midwest, the closest proxy to sea kayaking is the Great Lakes; alas, neither Lake Michigan nor Lake Superior falls within a 60-mile range of Madison. But when the wind is whipping at 20 miles per hour and up, splashy whitecaps as high as 2 feet can form on Lakes Koshkonong and Mendota, the largest two lakes in south central Wisconsin. Bobbing up and down and riding these modest waves make for a fun rodeo-type outing, provided that you have the right gear and know how to roll a kayak or perform a wet entry.
As for the streams featured in this book, they are purposefully varied. They range from 15 feet to more than 500 feet wide; some are only a few inches deep, others seemingly infinite. There are streams with gradients of 10 feet per mile (fpm) or more, with the effect of frisky riffles and fun rapids, and those that give tortoises a run for their money. There are streams that meander and those so straight you can set a rudder on automatic pilot. Some streams can be run all year long, and some are more fickle, requiring a delicate balance between just enough rain to run without scraping and so much rain that the stream becomes pushy and unsafe. Some of these trips are entirely urban (but still highly desirable), such as Turtle Creek in Beloit, while others are a true getaway, such as the White River in Neshkoro. Regardless, most of the trips here begin and/or end near a town for ease of access and practicality.
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