Another notch on the Sugar River belt. Here's a look at the County Road X to County EE paddle from back in August. Adjust the quality to 1080p for the best picture.

Sugar River IV
County Road X to County Road EE
August 11, 2013

Darlington to Red Rock
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

A very pleasant stretch of river that gets little to no attention but is quite worth paddling, the second half of this trip in particular. With small rapids at the very beginning, some hills midway through, lots of bald eagles at the end, very good landings and a dedicated bike path for the shuttle, it's a great trip all around.


Easy Class I rapids in downtown Darlington.

By Timothy Corcoran Bauer
A Miles Paddled contributor

Date:
November 15, 2013

Class Difficulty:
Class I

Gauge:
Darlington: ht/ft: 2.30 | cfs: n/a

Put-In:
Black Bridge Park, Highway 23, Darlington, WI
Take-Out:
Wells Landing, Walnut Road, Red Rock, WI

Time: Put in at 11:40a. Out at 3:15p.
Total Time: 3h 35m
Miles Paddled: 11.75

Wildlife: Bald eagles galore, a couple hawks, some fish, a blue jay and a muskrat.
Time worth driving to: 1.5 hours.

Confession: for years I had been holding a grudge against the Pecatonica and I’m not entirely sure why. It could be that Mike Svob lists only one 8-mile trip worth paddling on this 90-mile-long river. It could be that the Pecatonica (or “Pec,” as the locals call it) is very muddy and who wants to paddle in muck? Or maybe it’s that the Pec, while in the southwest, flows southeast and drains into the Rock River in Illinois, as opposed to many other area waterways that feed the Mississippi.

Whatever the reason, I’d more or less written off the Pec (at least the main branch, I’ve done the east branch several times), which is silly and irrational. The popular trip on the Pec has already been covered, so this trip covers the next sequential section of the river, about which I've not been able to find any specific information about anywhere on the net or in paddle guides.

There’s good, bad, ugly and beautiful on this trip (actually, there really isn’t anything ugly and the “bad” ain’t all that bad either!). The good and the beautiful though, definitely make this trip worth checking out.

What I liked:
To begin with, the put-in at Black Bridge Park offers a ton of parking and a thoughtful, if muddied, launch area. Only a hundred yards or so later, a delightful Class I rapids of about 50 yards long is found at a tight leftward curve before a large hill (There used to be a dam there long ago). It's for this reason I strongly recommend putting in at Black Bridge Park and not Pecatonica River Trails Park landing or at the Piggly Wiggly parking lot (both offering developed landings).

There'll be riffles here and there for the next 11 miles, particularly at the mouth of Otter Creek (about 5 miles into the trip) but nothing more than that. With a modest gradient of 1.2’ per mile, I was pleasantly surprised by how decent the current actually was. Another thing that surprised me was how clear of obstructions this segment is. I never had to portage and hardly had to duck or maneuver around trees. Thank you volunteers!

While the first half of this trip is fairly nondescript, the second half is excellent. Hills begin and while they aren’t as dramatic as the Platte River (a short way’s away to the west) they’re still quite pretty and provide ample opportunities to spot wildlife.

To wit, the last mile of this trip hugs a pretty hill, in which area I saw more bald eagles in one concentrated spot than anywhere at any point in my life. I lost count after 15, many of them still immature, brown with mottled spots of white. Eagle feather tufts floated on the water as commonly as dandelions. It was truly spectacular. Turns out this is a nesting area where eagles roost each year, or so a local fishing at the takeout told me.

Other than two cool views of unidentifiable fish flickering at the surface in downtown Darlington, one belly-flopping muskrat, a hawk and a blue jay later on, there was no other wildlife sightings (but the gazillion eagles more than made up for this. And yes, the band Department of Eagles was on my mind all the drive home).

Before the eagles, however, one comes upon a nice tight rightward turn in the river where exposed slits of rock in a hillside shine in the sun. Just after this, out of nowhere, the only rock formations on this trip are found and they are spectacular! Moss-strewn and tree-topped, the rocks are gorgeous sandstone, about 20’ high, calling to mind the Kickapoo or Dells on the Wisconsin River. I never would have guessed that such gems would be hidden on the Pecatonica, it was a great find!

One last note: the takeout off Walnut Road, an official landing named “Wells Landing,” was a most unexpected surprise, offering generous parking as well as concrete ramp. This was most fortuitous because originally my paddling plan was to begin at one bridge upstream of Walnut Road and then paddle down to Riverside Road north of the town Gratiot. But as I drove down Highway 23 and noticed Black Bridge Park and then the rapids, (plus I'm a sucker for small towns with a quaint Main Street, which Darlington has in abundance, together with a stately county courthouse) I knew that this is where I should begin my trip.

My intended put-in was Rollercoaster Road, not only because it sounds cool (and one would infer hilly) but because I read about it somewhere once in a Lafayette County River Landings pamphlet many moons ago. I don’t know who would suggest or recommend this but let me tell you, unless you want to be knees-deep in mud while ducking under a 4’-high underside of a bridge, this is not a feasible put-in option for anyone other than masochists.

Oh, and then there’s the Cheese Country Trail, a 47-mile-long multi-use (read: mainly ATV/snowmobile) trail from Monroe to Mineral Point. Either a state trail pass or tri-county trail pass is required. A regular road bike is adequate but not preferred for this trail, as it gets pretty “rutted” and irregular by ATV traffic. It’s a very pleasant option though, particularly on a weekday. I didn’t see or hear a single ATV the whole time, which is very rare.

What I didn't like:
There’s definitely the mud factor, which normally isn’t much of an ado but in cold weather paddling I’d just as soon not have be tracking around sticky globs of mud over everything. Before I even paddled a single stroke, after settling in at the put-in, I noticed that the cockpit was filthy already. This will remain an issue anytime you have/want to get out of your boat while paddling the Pec.

A lot of this river is flanked by steep 10’-high banks, which is nice in terms of privacy and shielding from the wind but it doesn’t make for easy access. The other complaint about this trip is that the first half coincides with continuous truck/car noise from the road. Not until after Otter Creek enters does the river finally swerve away from Highway 81 and the paddling experience begin to feel intimate and remote. Alas, there’s really nothing to be done about that because there are no intermittent bridges downstream of Darlington. There’s the misbegotten Rollercoaster Road bridge (the first bridge after downtown) which if you’re willing to put up with it, means you must forfeit the fun little rapids in Darlington. So you must choose or be willing to put up with roadside noise.

Also, unless the day I did this trip was unique somehow and the exception, not the rule, the smell of livestock was everywhere. Not manure, mind you, just “animal.” Like walking into a barn. It wasn’t offensive whatsoever but it was unmistakably distinct and nearly ubiquitous.

If I did this trip again:
I could be talked into doing this again. Ordinarily, for a paddle that requires a 1.5-hour drive just to get there, I would opt first for another stream I have yet to explore. But the fun rapids in the beginning plus the Rollercoaster Road bridge to Walnut Road bridge section make this a really pleasant paddle.

I’d be interested in checking out other segments of the Pecatonica downstream of this one, too. For instance, Gratiot to South Wayne looks promising. Additionally, Otter Creek also looks like it has real paddling potential. I went up it a tiny bit, out of curiosity and it was bigger than I would have guessed.

In fact, that might make a great trip unto its own, putting in upstream somewhere on Otter Creek (there are plenty of bridge opportunities in between Darlington and Mineral Point) and paddling into the Pec, taking out at Walnut Road.

***************
Related Information
Pecatonica River I: Calamine to Darlington
Pecatonica River East Branch: Blanchardville to Argyle
Camp: Pecatonica River Trails Park
General: Lafayette Development Corp
General: Rock River Sweep
Good People: Friends of the Pecatonica River
Guide: Paddling Southern Wisconsin
Map: Pecatonica River
Overview: Wisconsin Guides
Video: Canoeing the Pecatonica River in Darlington, Wisconsin
Wikipedia: Pecatonica River


Map:


View Pecatonica River II in a larger map


Shuttle Information:
Only 6.8 miles and virtually all of it on the Cheese Country Trail.


Photo Gallery:


Parking area and put-in at Black Bridge Park in Darlington.


Posing with majesty, also downtown.


Pretty but hugging the roadside for the first half of this trip.


Much of this trip is in between tall banks like this.


One of several Cheese Country Trail bridges.


With the occasional bluff/hill as the exception, the basic "rule" of this trip is stretches like this one.


Finally, some cool geology!


Approaching what is probably the prettiest part of the trip.


Like a dress rehearsal of the Dells.


Who knew such cool stuff like this was on the Pecatonica?!


In the final mile of this trip you paddle under several dozen eagles nests.


The last bluff before the take-out bridge.


Called "Wells Landing," this thoughtful gem is at the Walnut Road bridge.


Along the Cheese Country Trail.


Pretty as a picture...

Here's a look at the Root River in Racine, Wisconsin. Adjust the quality to 1080p for the best picture.

Root River
5 Mile Road to Horlick Dam
August 2, 2013

Big Platte Road to Indian Creek Road
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The final stretch of a wonderful river, this segment of the Platte has only a few of the riffles that the upstream sections are full of but the bluffs are no less spectacular or scenic. Plus, being so close to the confluence of the Mississippi, there’s a kind of energy to this trip that is unique and not felt in the upper stretches.


Calm, pretty stretches like this characterize the lower Platte.

By Timothy Corcoran Bauer
A Miles Paddled contributor

Date:
October 28, 2013

Class Difficulty:
Riffles

Gauge:
Rockville: ht/ft: 3.4 | cfs: n/a

Put-In:
Big Platte Road, Tennyson, WI
Take-Out:
Banfield Bridge Recreation Area, Indian Creek Road

Time: Put in at 1:15p. Out at 3:45p.
Total Time: 2h 30m
Miles Paddled: 8.5

Wildlife: Bald eagles, blue heron, a beaver, muskrats, an alpaca, a handful of hawks, bulls and swans.
Time worth driving to: 1.5 hours.

It was finally time to give the downstream portion of the Platte its due, a segment I had been giving short shrift simply because the upper section gets more attention and if I am going to drive 1.5+ hours to paddle, I want to make sure it’s worthwhile. But there's a website to maintain and information to share! So let it be known that this trip is indeed good, better than good, really. Again, not as dramatic or spectacular as Platte River III but a wonderful paddle in its own right. Actually, this would be perfect for beginners, with just a couple easy riffles, one small ledge but lots of pretty scenery to fall in love with paddling in the first place.

What I liked:
While all of the Platte River is intimate, this segment may well be the most private, as there are only two bridges to pass under. This is a calm part of the river, with fairly slow flow but the surrounding scenery is wonderful bluffs, woods and pastureland.

I don’t think I have ever come upon so many bald eagles either on a single paddle. One woodsy stretch in particular, featured no fewer than eight nests, with as many flying around as I inadvertently spooked them from their roosts. Another first during this trip was coming upon an alpaca in a herd of bulls. From a distance I saw something tall and actually assumed it was a human on horseback but the closer I came I realized that I was wrong. I don’t know how territorial or protective they are but this fellow was very interested in me. As soon as he spotted me he charged right up to the bank and stared me down. It was hard not to make direct eye contact, especially as I wanted to take a couple pictures of it but I knew I shouldn’t give off the impression that I was threatening or challenging it. I did deliberately look away and after a couple rather precarious moments it did too and then capered off somewhere else. "How far can they spit?", I kept wondering…

The other thing worth mentioning is the part of this trip I thought I would like the least, the takeout. But just below the Highway 35 bridge the river swells to about 100’ wide, sprawling towards the mouth of the Mississippi, it ended up being terrifically pretty. There are hills everywhere, even though the foreground is pretty flat, reminding me more of New England than the Midwest. And despite the wideness of the river, the current was quite good, probably on account of the Little Platte River emptying into the main Platte about 75 yards upstream the Highway 35 bridge.

It was here too that I saw the swans, which was a real thrill. I did not, alas, have enough time to paddle the 3-mile roundtrip to the Mississippi and back, especially as the wind was whipping around at that point and it was a cloudy day in the mid-40s as it was. But this is totally doable and should be done! If nothing else, drive or bike down the road opposite the turnoff for Banfield Bridge park, it’s called Kress Lane and it goes as far as the end of land allows, giving you great views of the Mississippi River.

As previously mentioned, the color of the water had shades of emerald green to it, just one more element adding to the pretty of this trip. Lastly, the takeout at Banfield Bridge Recreation Area is a dream come true with an easy launch, tons of parking and a porta potty. What more can you ask for?

What I didn't like:
Really, there isn’t anything. I can’t fault a segment of a river for not having some of the superlative features found on other segments of it.

If I did this trip again:
I would but definitely allow time to paddle into the Mississippi River.

***************
Related Information
Platte River I: Ellenboro to County Highway B
Platte River II: Ellenboro to Platte Road
Platte River III: Platte Road to Big Platte Road
Miles Paddled Video: Ellenboro to County Highway B
Good People: Friends of the Platte River
Guide: Paddling Southern Wisconsin
Overview: Hunt Fish Camp
Overview: Wisconsin Guides
Wikipedia: Platte River


Map:


View Platte River IV in a larger map


Additional Information:
These are the brief facts you need to know for the Platte based on my experience.

Ellenboro (Airport Road) to Indian Creek Road: 21 miles
Paddleable in one long summer day but pretty crazy and strongly discouraged.

Ellenboro (Airport Road) to Platte Road: 4 miles
Great for a short day trip, perfect for an afterwork cocktail hour paddle.

Pros: Many riffles, some nice rock formations and lots of bluffs. The water is a noticeably jade-green color and very pretty. Very good put-in and pretty good take-out.

Cons: There are more barbed wires (and wires that aren’t barbed but still not desirable) and the likelihood of happening upon cows/bulls in the river is very good.

Ellenboro (Airport Road) to County Road B: 8.5 miles
A very good trip in its own right but I personally would put-in and take-out differently.

Pros: Same as above, plus the prettiest rock formations, big boulders and some of the best riffles (even small rapids) are to be found on this stretch.

Cons: Same about the barbed wire and bulls, plus the takeout at County Road B is less than ideal. Taking-out there also forfeits more great rock outcroppings and riffles/rapids further downstream.

Ellenboro (Airport Road) to Big Platte Road: 12.5 miles
Go for it all in this full-day paddle!

Pros: All the highlights on the Platte are found on this segment.

Cons: Barbed wire and bulls. Plus, it’s a long day’s paddle (not really a bad thing!) as the Platte is very sinuous and can tire you out. Some snags and strainers toward Big Platte Road. The takeout at Big Platte Road bridge is totally negotiable but not ideal. There is a stamped-down path leading down to the river but the gradient is steep and a little tricky for the less than surefooted.

Platte Road to Big Platte Road: 8.5 miles
Probably my favorite segment on the Platte. It's a trip I’ll do time and again and I strongly recommend!

Pros: This trip begins with a huge beautiful bluff towering right in front of you, together with some fun riffles. Furthermore, bluffs and riffles are pretty much constant the entire stretch. This trip gives you the best of the best, with only one barbed wire and less probability of running into any bulls (no guarantees though!).

Cons: If you’re driving from afar, an 8.5-mile paddle might seem too short. There is one barbed wire to watch out for and it’s annoyingly placed right above one of the pushier riffles/rapids in a bend in the river, though it can be easily portaged. The put-in and take-out are manageable but require a tiny bit of caution, as each has a steep gradient to the water. Again, there are some snags and strainers in the couple miles upstream of Big Platte Road, requiring caution and attention.

Big Platte Road to Indian Creek Road: 8.5 miles
A different segment altogether with its own feel and sets of pros and cons, as the river wends back and forth before straightening up (some) and widening towards its mouth at the Mississippi River.

Pros: As with the previous segment, this trip begins with a beautiful bluff smack-dab in front of you, as well as riffles, up to and including a small half-foot ledge just downstream of the County Road O bridge. The wildlife on this section is spectacular (bald eagles in particular). This final segment of the Platte may well be the most intimate, as there are fewer bridges here than on any of the upstream sections and there is an unmistakable thrill knowing that with each stroke you are paddling closer and closer to the end of the Platte where it meets the Mississippi. In spring and fall the last three miles of the river, below the Highway 35 bridge, give you opportunities of observing migrating birds, swans in particular. The takeout at Banfield Bridge boat landing is excellent, with plenty of parking, picnic tables, porta potties and a great ease-in to/from the river. Slack current allows for a there-and-back paddle to the Mississippi itself for an additional 3 miles roundtrip. And most importantly, there is no more barbed wire!

Cons: There are fewer riffles here than upstream. In fact, much of this trip is on flatwater. The dramatic rock outcroppings are not found here either. Lastly, the wind could kick your butt toward the end if it’s strong and coming out from the south or west (which is usually the case).

The Upshot on the Platte:
If you don’t have all day or don’t want to paddle your butt off (and your skills are above beginner) then I can all but guarantee you’ll have an excellent experience on the Platte Road to Big Platte Road section. For me, it has just about everything you’d want: riffles, small rapids, wildlife, big rocks, bigger bluffs, obstacles and solitude. By luck of the draw, I’ve only done the Platte in autumn. I can hardly wait to return in spring, during higher water, to see if the river takes on more whitewater characteristics.

If you are a beginner paddler, however, I would discourage this section, as there are many tights twists and nimble maneuvering around deadfall, boulders and strainers, especially where there are riffles and pushy current. Instead, I would recommend the final segment of the Platte, towards (and even into) the Mississippi River.


Photo Gallery:


Put-in at Big Platte Road. Steep incline down to water. Not much room to park off the side of the road.


Beautiful slope on first bluff immediately downstream from put-in.


"Shy" rock formations on the hillside.


Skittish beaver.


Nice little half-foot ledge, the only "whitewater" on this segment of the Platte.


This is the Platte River in a nutshell: bluffs and farm fields side by side.


The first of a gazillion bald eagles.


Cute muskrat. Moments after I took this shot, another muskrat swam right towards me and underneath the kayak!


No trip on any segment of the Platte is complete with bulls.


My first ever paddling Alpaca! Just how far can those things spit, anyhow?


Not a trick picture; this is where the Little Platte empties into the regular Platte River, just above the Highway 35 bridge.


I think these are migrating tundra swan, not uncommon during spring or autumn.


And they're off...


This is about a mile upstream from the takeout, now below the Highway 35 bridge. The river begins to widen as it crawls closer to its mouth at the Mississippi but the surrounding scenery is very pretty, despite the "lake-like" paddling.


Great takeout at Banfield Bridge Recreation Area.


You get the point...


The one-and-only Dickyville Grotto along Highway 35. Too bizarre to talk about here. It's well worth checking out!

Koshkonong Creek was one of the most pleasant day paddles this season. CamRock Trail makes the bike shuttle all the more appealing and convenient. Adjust the quality to 1080p for the best picture.

Koshkonong Creek III
Cambridge to Hoopen Road
July 15, 2013