Category Archives: Paddle Trips

Nature Current BIG Canoe Participating on Fox – Wisconsin Heritage Parkway Paddles

The Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway and the North East Wisconsin Paddlers are proud to bring you the 2013 Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Paddles. This annual paddling series is designed to celebrate and explore the Parkway region.

This year our Nature Current Voyageur canoe will be joining the paddlers starting on June 22nd in Princeton and all the rest of the paddles in the series through the Sept. 28th Appleton Locks Paddle.  If you would like a ride with us on one of the these Heritage Paddles please get in touch with Mark at Nature Current. 

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Upper Fox River

June 22-23: Upper Fox Paddles
22 – Princeton to Berlin
Camp at Berlin’s Riverside Park
23 – Winneconne to Terrell Island to Rainbow Park in Oshkosh
Meet & shuttle: 9:30-10:30 AM; Launch 11 AM

Lower Fox River

July 20: Park-to-Park Paddle
Shattuck Park (Neenah) to Lutz Park (Appleton)
Meet & shuttle: 7:30-9 AM; Launch 9:30 AM

August 17: Tall Ships Paddle
De Pere to Green Bay
Paddle among replicas of historic sailing ships
Meet & shuttle: 8-9 AM; Launch 9:30 AM

September 28: Appleton Locks Paddle
Lutz Park (Appleton) to Sunset Point Park (Kimberly)
Paddle through Appleton’s four hand-operated locks
Meet & shuttle: 8-9 AM; Launch 9:30 AM

Heritage Paddle Activities

Paddlers are encouraged to seek additional heritage opportunities at each paddle event.

June 22-23: Upper Fox Paddles
Two voyageur canoes and two DNR canoes will be available. On June 23, Pierre Le Blanc will interpret fur trader times as a passenger from one of the canoes during the paddle.

July 20: Park-to-Park Paddle
Two voyageur canoes and two DNR canoes will be available. Please join us after the paddle at the Appleton Yacht Club for a special guest speaker. Paul Robbins, director of the UW Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies, will be speanking Wisconsin water bodies and the implications of climate Change.

August 17: Tall Ships Paddle
One voyageur canoe will be available, as well as historic voyageur, Pierre Le Blanc. The Tall Ships Festival will take place downtown Green Bay, August 16-18.

September 28: Appleton Locks Paddle
Two voyageur canoes and two DNR canoes will be available, as well as historic voyageur, Pierre Le Blanc.

Heritage Paddle Helpful Links

Reserve your spot in our Voyageur Canoe

Contact Mark at Nature Current to reserve your spot.  Email:  info@naturecurrent.com

 

Crystal River – Long Lake to Smith Rd

The Crystal River starts at the south end of Long Lake on the Waupaca Chain O’ Lakes. Clear, cool and mostly shallow the Crystal is a fun little river to paddle. Rocks and small rapids are frequent as is beautiful scenery all along the river. I recommend using a shorter boat that is easy to maneuver and you won’t mind if it gets scratched up.

Enjoy this video which starts at the headwaters of the Crystal River at Long Lake on this first leg of the river to Smith Road.

Watch the next video on the Crystal River, going through the small village of Rural on the Crystal River.

Wisconsin Segment – Lake Michigan Water Trail

Milwaukee skyline from Lakeshore State Park by Todd Montgomery

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has put together a planning site for the Lake Michigan Water Trail.

Paddlers will have a resource to follow the Wisconsin coast of Lake Michigan from Marinette to Kenosha.

More information from the site:

Water trails are paths along rivers and coastlines that provide recreational users (such as kayakers, sailors, boaters, and anglers) with information on access points, safety considerations, activities, and points of interest. The Lake Michigan Water Trail network will:

  • Develop a new 450 mile water trail along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. This would become the second longest trail in Wisconsin, behind the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.
  • Identify gaps or zones where further public access is needed to complete this trail. These zones would be targeted to increase public land holdings along the shoreline.
  • Develop a branding strategy that local communities and private affiliates can embrace as a Lake Michigan Water Trail Network.
  • Provide for educational opportunities that will encourage the understanding of the Lake Michigan ecosystem

Check out the site at: http://dnr.wi.gov/master_planning/lakemichigan/

Fox River Appleton Locks Paddle Video Part 5

Voyager Canoe leaving lock #4

The final video from the Appleton Locks group paddle on September 24th. 119 canoes and kayaks enjoyed a fun outing on the Fox River in Appleton. Paddlers started at Lutz Park in Appleton and traveled to Sunset Park in Kimberly, traveling through the 4 Appleton locks over the 6 mile paddle. Check out the previous 4 videos to see the entire trip in video.

Thanks for watching this final segment of the Appleton Locks paddle.

Enjoy videos from part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4 of our paddle journey through the Appleton locks.

Fox River Appleton Locks Paddle Video part 4

Fox River Appleton Locks Oneida St. bridge

Appleton Locks Paddle 4th segment video from our group paddle on September 24th. This video is of the group paddling through the locks from Appleton Lock #3 to Lock #4 with 119 other paddlers. Thanks to Northeast Wisconsin Paddlers for organizing this group paddle outing.

Check out videos from part 1, part 2 and part 3 of the Appleton Locks group paddle.

Fox River Appleton Locks Paddle Video #1

Northeast Wisconsin Paddlers had a great paddle event on the Fox River in September. 119 kayaks and canoes started at Lutz Park in Appleton, went through the 4 Appleton locks and on to Sunset Park in Kimberly.

Here is a video with highlights from the beginning of the trip.

Stay tuned for additional videos from the Appleton Locks Paddle.

Appleton Locks Paddle in Photos

morning mist at the Lutz Park boat landing

The Fox River at Lutz Park in Appleton was covered in mist as we prepared to launch 119 canoes and kayaks into the river on September 24th for the 2nd Annual Appleton Locks Paddle.

The weather cooperated for our 6 miles on the river to Sunset Park in Kimberly. Highlights of the trip were traveling through the 4 Appleton Locks, a bit of history from the lock tenders family reunion that was also a part of the paddle and the eagles we saw on the river right in the heart of the city.

Enjoy the slideshow from the trip.

Video from the paddles will be available soon.

Sunrise Paddle on the Embarrass River

Embarrass River starting at hwy 76

Paddling at sunrise is a beautiful was to start the day. Sunday morning, September 11, 2011 Debra and I decided to start our day with a joyous float and paddle on the Embarrass River northeast of New London. It was a great day and we were on the water for 5 hours taking in a beautiful little river that few people paddle.

We had three tricky spots getting around fallen trees on the journey.

The slideshow captures some of the moments on our trip from the hwy 76 bridge to Pfeifer Park in New London. Photos and slideshow by Debra Gehrke.

 

The length of this paddle was a good 12 miles. Give yourself at least 4 hours to complete this trip. We did it in 5 hours of light paddling. There are no great alternate takeouts between hwy 76 and Pfeifer Park. Spur Road does cross the river about 9 miles into the trip but the takeout would be challenging. Three log jams we had to figure out how to cross also slowed us down. With the river being narrow and lightly used, expect a few log jams and places you may have to portage. The Embarrass is named for it’s frequent obstructions that French voyagers frequently encountered.

The water level was low on this day and the river banks were mostly muddy. There are many shallow areas where the river bottom is solid and sandy giving you a few options for taking breaks right in the river when it’s low.

We are happy to report that the bugs were a non-issue for us in September. I recommend paddling the Embarrass in the Spring or Fall to avoid the mosquitos and deer flies. I paddled a section of the river upstream from hwy 76 to Cty F in July. During the middle of the Summer the Embarrass was the most buggy river I’ve experienced this year.

The Tri-Rivers Nature area map shows some additional put it spots on the Embarrass.

Also, here are some additional Embarrass River Paddling photos from earlier from June when the water was at least 2 feet higher. These photos from June are from the last third of the trip we did on September 11th.

Wolf River Yakker Meetup – CCC to 156

Fox Valley Yakkers meetup paddle from CCC to 156 on the Wolf River on a beautiful Saturday in September.

The Wolf River between the bridge at CCC and the bridge at 156 is definitely one of the prettiest parts of the lower Wolf River. The Navarino Nature Area run borders the river in part of this section.   The entire area is left in it’s natural state.  There are very few signs of  civilization when you are on the river.

CCC to 156 is about 12 miles.

This video time lapse includes a few miles in the middle of the trip. The entire trip was 12 miles downstream on the Wolf.

Check out Fox Valley Yakkers for future meetups.

Paddling through Rural on the Crystal River Video

Crystal River Main St. bridge and portage

The Crystal River is one of the prettiest little rivers to paddle in Wisconsin.  Starting at the South end of Long Lake on the Waupaca Chain of Lakes the Crystal River is popular with paddlers.  Ding Dock canoe trips run a commercial paddling operation on the river.  Weekends and warm Summer days can be busy with rental canoes on this part of the Crystal River.

Start this trip at one of the landings on the Chain of Lakes. The Knight Ln. landing is a good choice for a starting spot.  This launch is free for paddlers and usually has enough parking.  You can enjoy the quiet waters of the Upper Chain and then follow Beasley Creek to access Long Lake and the beginning of the Crystal.

This video highlights the section from Main St. in Rural and pretty bridges and a waterfall in Rural.


If you go paddling here start in the Chain of Lakes and go to the South end of Long Lake where you will find the start of the Crystal River.  At the Main St. Bridge in Rural a couple of miles downstream from the start you have to go through the left side tunnel and make a short portage to re-enter the river.  The portage is on the right side of the photo above.  The portage is a good excuse to stop at Wellers in Rural (directly across the road from the portage) for a 25 cent ice cream cone.  Is this the best deal for ice cream in Wisconsin?

Take out for this trip is at a small park on Rural Rd. where Smith Road connects to the North.  This park is just West of Cty K.  Alternatively you can keep going through the mill pond and take out at Cty Rd. K near the Red Mill.