Tag Archives: Embarrass River

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.

Embarrass River Paddling – New London, WI

The Embarrass River empties into the Wolf River in New London.  Pfeifer Park in New London makes a good access point for kayaks and canoes.  The large gravel along the banks of the river in the park make for a fairly easy place to launch.  The banks are mowed and there is plenty of parking at the park. The Embarrass River is nice quiet water river.  The river is tree lined near New London and can be blocked by fallen trees in the narrower sections.  The river is very lightly traveled by boats.  The Embarrass empties into the Wolf River about a 1/2 mile downstream from the park.  The currently is usually light on the Embarrass.  It’s fairly easy to paddle upstream and back to your launch spot making shuttling from launch to landing completely optional.

Photo Tour of the Embarrass River near New London

The Tri Rivers Area Map shows additional launch locations on the Embarrass River

Here’s some additional information on the Embarrass River from Wikipedia.

 

The Embarrass River has 3 branches, the south branch originates near Eland and passes by Tigerton, the middle branch originates in southern Langlade and the northern branch passes by Bowler, Tilleda and Leopolis. The middle and south branch converge in Caroline the river collects its north branch then flows through Pella where a dam is located. Below Pella, the Embarrass River passes by Embarrass the Embarrass River eventually converges into the Wolf River in the city of New London. “French voyageurs named this river the Embarrass, French for obstruction, because, while canoeing down the stream, they frequently found their passage blocked by fallen logs.”

 

Have you paddled the Embarrass River?