There are a number of excellent resources available to Midwest paddlers looking for places to get their hulls wet. These include river guidebooks, such as the 'classic' Whitewater/Quietwater (Palzer), the more recent paddling series by Mike Svob (Paddling Northern Wisconsin, Paddling Southern Wisconsin, Paddling Illinois) and websites, such as the current reigning champion (IMO) for Midwest whitewater river info,
PaddleGuides.
While the cited resources are great, I feel there are a number of relatively unknown, unrecognized, and/or under-utilized boating opportunities in the Midwest which these sources have not covered. In general, the books concentrate on rivers which have longer paddling 'seasons', and the listed website concentrates on Northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There are places of potential interest in southern Wisconsin as well. Granted, they may not be "destination" spots, but if that's where you live, it's nice to know you don't have to travel hours away to have fun (at least during the short season and/or limited occasions that some of these rivers run).
While my emphasis here will be on places of interest to whitewater boaters, I have included descriptions of sections of rivers containing little to no rapids as well. Reasons are many. In some cases, it may save questions which may arise about what is upstream or downstream of other described sections. It may save others the 'trouble' of an 'exploratory' on (sections of) rivers which may have little 'merit' (from a whitewater perspective), or alert them to options they hadn't considered. It may also encourage the appreciation of 'paddle touring' in the region. After all, that was the genesis for my appreciation of all the "wild places" I have found while paddling. Finally, boaters have diverse interests, especially now with the boom in 'destination boating' (park-and-play boating). In the past, paddlers typically looked for rivers with longer stretches of whitewater to run. Now, a single, well-formed wave or hole on an otherwise flat piece of river may be of great interest to a segment of the paddling population. River books (in general) fail to highlight such possibilities, often just listing such places as an area of concern (for general 'recreational' boaters) or a "mandatory portage." It is nice to know which such places might be of interest to "play-boaters."
I have generally tried to avoid duplication with the aforementioned sources, unless I felt I could provide significant additions, corrections, or enhancements to the information they contain.
Obviously, no guide is likely to be THE complete, authoritative source about rivers of a given area, least of all this website. My goal is to provide "another good source" which will complement existing information readily available. Your input is welcome to assist in that effort. If you know of a run or a playspot (even if it has very limited season), please, use the 'link' below to contact me with whatever information you can supply.
Enjoy the website, enjoy the rivers and the great outdoors, and always paddle safely.
Your host, and self-proclaimed 'RiverMeister' for the MRI (Midwest River Inventory),
Rob Smage
(pronunciation guide: short 'a', long 'e', smah-jee)
For questions, constructive comments, additions, corrections, and concerns click
here. (Will open a new window . . . close it to return here.)