Kayaking on the Wolf between Shiocton and Hortonville.
The lower Wolf River between Shiocton and New London has steady current and a mostly wild appearance. This is a great river for flat water paddlers enjoying a day in nature or out for some exercise. The lower Wolf is slow enough to paddle upstream if you want a bit more exercise and want to avoid shuttling or float downstream and enjoy a relaxing trip on the river.
Fishing is popular with the Spring Walleye run and these sections of the Wolf River can be very busy in early Spring. There is usually more motor boat traffic around New London year round. The sections North of Hortonville are generally less busy for paddlers. The nature area North of Koepke’s Landing is usually good for bird watching. The river is generally heavily tree lined. In some sections accessible by road numerous fishing shacks line the treed river banks.
River Overview:
The Wolf River starts up in Forest County at Pine Lake and flows South until it empties into Lake Poygan in Winnebago County. The northern sections of the river above Shawano are popular for whitewater paddling and rafting. The Lower Wolf South of Shawano is flat water with light to moderate current and good for canoes and flat water kayakers.
Wolf River Shiocton to New London Area Paddling
- Hwy F to Koepke’s Landing – 11 miles (approx.) - Longer stretch between public landings. Wildlife areas good for nature viewing.
- Koepke’s Landing to Hwy 54 in Shiocton – 5.5 miles (approx.)
- Hwy 54 to Cty Park – 1 mile (approx.) – cross under old railroad bridge
- Barker County Park to Hwy S – 5.7 miles (approx.)
- Hwy S to Hwy M – 5 miles (approx.)
- Hwy M to New London fishing area – 10 miles (approx.) – The fishing area is unimproved launching from the shoreline.
- NL fishing area to Riverside Park – 3 miles (approx.) – launch fee at Riverside Park
- Riverside Park to Shaw’s Landing – 6.2 miles (approx.) – launch fee at Riverside and Shaw’s
Rental and shuttle service is available in Shiocton at Wolf River Adventures
Locations for launching, landing and section info. is available in the Google map below.
Wolf River North of Shiocton Slideshow
Here’s some photos from a Fall Colors paddle between Hwy M and the New London fishing area with the Fox Valley Yakkers.
Have you paddled any of these sections of the Wolf River? Share your tips and paddling memories in the comments!
Wolf River Paddle Map
Additional Map for the Tri Rivers Nature Area including the Embarrass River.
Lots of great flat water river paddling through these sections of the Wolf.
Mark thanks for the great mapping! Will have to try some new sections of the Wolf we haven’t tried yet.
Thanks Cheryl. I’m working on guides for a lot more of the waterways in the area. I hope to make this site a good guide for people looking for places to go paddling.
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I’d like to paddle this route, as my great great grandfather, Daniel Morris, lived in the area from 1840s – 1890s. He lived in or near what became Shioctin, trading with the Menominee and later had a 65 foot dugout canoe which he used to deliver goods to the settlers in the Shioctin area. He also made shingles and transported them to New London. The canoe would hold 30,000 shingles. The canoe was known as the Lily Dale and required four oarsman and a helmsmen.
Shiocton to New London would be a great route to paddle. I’d love to see what a 65′ canoe looked like.
Has anyone paddled from Shawano down to Lake Poygan? I realize it would be a multi-day trek, but I am curious if it could be done.
Yes, it can be done. I did the whole thing last year in separate trips. There are plenty of landings all the way. The longest stretch between landings is probably the section between Cty F to Koepke’s Landing north of Shiocton. With the water being low right now there will be a lot of shallow areas on the north sections but there should be enough water for paddling.