Category: Fox River (Wisconsin)

Fox River, Princeton to Lock Rd

Setting: Sunny weekday afternoon temp in the 70’s. We had never paddled the whole section, and we wanted to get out there before the expected motorboat madness of July 4 weekend.

Water level at Berlin: 1180 cfs. Median for July 2 is ~850. There is also a gage at Princeton, which does seem to pretty much follow the Berlin gage. Paddling Southern Wisconsin books suggests the Berlin gage.

Put in: 3:45 pm at the excellent concrete boat ramp in Princeton at the park at the end of Jefferson St. There is adequate parking and a porta-potty.

Shuttle: 5 mi, 15 min. East on Jefferson St, south(right) on Mechanic St, east(left) on Main St/Hwy 23/73, north (left) at the Piggly Wiggly onto Hwy 3, which is or becomes County Rd J.  Continue straight north on Huckleberry Rd at the somewhat scary intersection where J turns east. After about 2.5 mi on Huckleberry Rd, Lock Rd is a left turn at the brown DNR sign for the White River/Fox River Fishery Area.  The large parking lot is at the end of Lock Rd.

The Paddle:  Gentle current and mostly isolated wooded surroundings. We passed the St Marie Rd put-in/take-out on the left which we had used for a no-shuttle paddle last year. We paddled a short distance into a creek (Black Creek?) which entered from the left about 3 mi from the put in . Some day, with water levels no lower, it might be fun to see how far we could paddle upstream into the creek.

Take out: 5:50 pm at the excellent concrete ramp at the old White River lock and dam site.

Wildlife: heron, swallows, many kingfishers and flycatchers.

Length: 6 miles

Fox River – Princeton to Lock Rd

This trip is a segment of Fox River 2 in Paddling Southern Wisconsin
D,M & P with shuttle.
Flow at Berlin gauge 04073500: 1180 cfs (median for this day 850 cfs)

Put in Princeton city park at 3:45. Concrete ramp, plenty of parking, porta-john.
Take out Lock Road at White River Lock and Dam site. There is no dam to portage here-Paddling Southern Wisconsin is apparently wrong about this. The take out has a concrete ramp and a dock. Plenty of parking, no bathrooms.

The trip: 6-miles, about 2 hours, easy paddle, mostly wild quiet surroundings, no grounding or blockages or riffles/rapids.

Wildlife: kingfishers, flycatchers, swallows, heron.

Fox River in/out County Highway O Bridge

Flow at Berlin gauge 04073500: 1610 cfs (median approx 960 cfs)

Put in/take out: County Highway O bridge. OK landing. Room to park several cars. No bathrooms.

The trip: We stopped at a nearby nursery on the way and put in at approx 5 pm. Paddled downstream for approximately 3.5 miles. Turned around at house on downstream left bank. Took out approximately 8 PM. Pleasant day, not too warm or windy. Water level OK.

Wildlife: a few cranes.

Fox River – Short Paddle from O Bridge

This area is a section of Fox River 1 in Paddling Southern Wisconsin

Flow at Berlin gauge 04073500: 1760 cfs (median 850 cfs)

Put in/take out at County Highway O bridge. There is room to park, no bathrooms. High water. Windy start. Turned into perfect day. Many paddlers.

Afterwards we went to look at Mecan River (probably not for us) and Princeton, WI launches.