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| RIVER: | Neshota River/West Twin River |
| LOCATION: | Manitowoc County, near Cooperstown, N. of Kellnersville. From I43 exit on CTH.Z/Hwy.147, east to river |
| AMENITIES: | Click for area amenities (food, lodging, etc.) |
| PUT-IN: | Zander Road |
| TAKE-OUT: | Hwy.147 |
| SHUTTLE: | CTH.Z west to CTH.R, north to Zander Road, right (east) 2/3 mile to bridge,
-or- to Nachtwey Road (before bridge), right to river |
| DIST: | 3.5 miles |
| TIME: | 1.5-2.0 hours |
| CLASS: | I-II(III) |
| CHARACTER: | short ledges, a dells, and shallow rocky rapids |
| GRADIENT: | 15 FPM average; 29 FPM maximum |
| GAUGE: | At Nachtwey Road, look at "falls" above and dells below. If they look good to you, go for it! (It is hard to gauge the river at any other bridge (eg., the listed take-out or put-in.) |
| SEASON: | Generally runnable only in early spring or after heavy rain. |
A bit of swiftwater at the listed put-in quickly subsides and you'll paddle a virtual 'lake', passing a fairly new subdivision, until you hear a bit of rapids. |
The ledge is followed by a ½ mile scenic dells section which would have some pleasant class I-II action.
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Following the dells are some shoals type rapids, and a scattering of short (0.5'-1.5') ledges (probably covered and creating near no trace at boatable flows), until you come to ("Hunter's Ledge". This could offer some play at moderate-to-high flows. Indeed, there could be areas across the width of the river which could become 'sticky' holes. Just downstream, as the river bends left (to head south), lie "Devil's Meet Ledges"). which precede the confluence with the Devil's River. At low water, these will be a bump-and-scrape. With moderate (or high) water levels, these ledges could present the boater with some decent surf and play possibilities. In fact, there will be a couple holes which become quite 'sticky', and should be avoided by most boaters! (Scout from river left.)
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After passing these ledges and the confluence with the Devil's River (the combined flow now renamed as the West Twin River) the action subsides to swift water and some good waves leading past a cement drive-thru and suspension bridge, some narrows and 'dead end' turns, a little cascading waterfall on the right, some more good waves, then flat flowing water. You will paddle past great stands of Cedar trees, rocky shores and outcroppings (on river-right) in Maribel Caves Park.
Note: Maps show a "falls" on this lower stretch of the river. At 'runnable' levels, the only thing you'll encounter is a few sets of riffles, like those shown at the right. About the time you wish the flatwater would be over, the river picks up a little more gradient, giving you some easy 'splisy-splash' rapids before reaching the take-out. |
P.S.- Stop into the park and enjoy a hike on the trails, bluffs, and small caves. Don't miss the ruins of the 'Maribel Caves Hotel' built in 1900.
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| For what it's worth, Black Creek (upstream of the listed put-in for this reach) has decent gradient and sufficient drainage that it seems like it could contain some decent action, if you can catch it at high enough (spring) levels. Unfortunately, it fails to encounter any bedrock, thus fails to live up to its potential gradient. It can be a pretty float trip, with riffles and a few rocky rips, but no real 'rapids'. With a creek this small, be prepared to contend with the likelihood of snags. All in all, we cannot recommend bothering with Black Creek as a 'whitewater' run. |
