Eau Claire River – Big Falls Park to Cty QQQ

This week’s trip was on the Eau Claire River in Northwestern Wisconsin – a classic water trail enjoyed by locals.  In many ways the Eau Claire is similar to the Jump River (last week’s review).  Both feed the Chippewa River from the east, both are more noted for their two rugged upper forks (which have the best scenery), and they are just 49 minutes apart.  Coincidentally, each has a “Big Falls County Park” which features a waterfall and strong rapids.

I started along the north shore just below Big Falls.  It’s a nice park, but as an access it does require dragging your boat 800′ down a trail to reach the river and paying a six dollar parking fee (with a payment machine that didn’t like my card).  You could also launch from the south shore of Big Falls, but it would be a much more difficult shuttle (there really isn’t a local bridge).

I did not kayak Big Falls itself, but in theory I could have.  Really, it’s only suitable for advanced whitewater paddlers in ideal circumstances.  A large granite bedrock island actually splits the river, which then falls in two sections. The south channel contains the main waterfall (a Class 4 and 15′ ledge), while the north channel features a more “gentle” cascade down five cool ledges (still Class 3+).  

Despite not having a waterfall, I actually like the north channel better.  There is a cliff and large mound of exposed granite bedrock you can climb up on to get a great vista of the rapids.  From my boat I paddled a bit upstream on both channels for pictures but didn’t get too close to the main pitches.

The first half of the trip was my favorite.  Sand was everywhere (sandbars, sandy substrate, sandy banks, and exposed, large sand “cliffs”).  It’s a treat to paddle a river with so much sand (as opposed to mud).  While there weren’t really rapids, the current moved at a consistently brisk pace (perfect for paddling).  But it was a bit shallow in a few spots (not as bad as my previous four trips though).  Clarity was fantastic and the Eau Claire lived up to its namesake.

The second half of the trip was less interesting, with fewer sandbars and sand sweeps, but it was still pleasant with mostly undeveloped banks, occasional pine trees and a bit of fall color.  Paddlers can end their trip about a mile early by taking out at a public wayside off North Shore Drive.  I passed a father and son taking their canoe out here and, in hindsight, regretted not doing so as well, as the subsequent mile wasn’t that interesting.  The current also slowed significantly before finally dying (the Altoona Dam is located a few miles downstream).  I ended the trip at the QQQ boat ramp and called it a day.

In conclusion, this was a nice trip that I can recommend.  The only major disappointment was the put-in (a long portage from the parking lot) and the take-out (a bad access road that can send your vehicle to the shop).  This trip doesn’t have the elite scenery of the Upper Eau Claire legs and lacks rapids outside of Big Falls…but it’s still really cool.  For fall color there was some, but I don’t consider this an elite fall color paddle…just too many bottomland silver maples which never truly turn orange/red.  In contrast, last week’s trip on the Jump River had many more sugar maples and significantly better color.

Noteworthy Wildlife:

I didn’t see much…just a muskrat, a few minnows, some clams, and 3-4 eagles.

Camping:

The Eau Claire is a fantastic river for camping because of its many nice sandbars.  You can see where the best sandbars are by studying satellite maps.  Note, camping is somewhat restricted along the river.  If both sides of the river are privately owned, I believe you are not allowed to camp.  If one or both sides are owned by the county, you are permitted to camp but must purchase a permit.  The good news is the “County Forest Camping Permit” only costs $10.  Also, most land along the Eau Claire River (say 95%) is already owned by the county.  If you’re not sure whether the adjacent land is public or not, you can refer to the state access map (sections in tan are county forest and public).

Local Diversions:

Big Falls County Park:  This is a popular park with locals.  The main feature is a 15′ waterfall which is flanked by large mounds of exposed bedrock and a secondary series of ledges on the north side.  You can access the park from either the north or south shore…but the south shore will have a better view of the main waterfall.  There is a trail network that parallels the river that you can explore as well.

Put-in:

Big Falls Park – North Shore:  The park spans both the north shore and south shore.  Launching from either is possible, but both require a long (~700′) drag to reach the water.  I recommend the north shore as it will make shuttling easier.  Note, the park does require a $6 day pass, which you can pay at the onsite registration machine (which wasn’t working), or you can fill out a paper form with cash.

Alternate Put-ins: 

• Big Falls Park – South Shore:  You could certainly launch here as well, but you would still have to drag your boat a long way from the parking lot.  
• Cty K Landing (1.3 miles upstream from Haley Park):  This is a good public access and launch option, but you will have to portage Big Falls.  There is a portage trail on the south shore but it is 300′ long and somewhat steep.  Adventurous paddlers could portage on the granite island that separates the waterfall from the northern rapids and this might be a much quicker option.

Take-out:

Cty QQ Boat Ramp:  This is a nice public access that is somewhat secluded.  It actually appears to be a boat ramp, so in theory you could launch a larger boat.  A 2000′ access road connects the boat access to Cty QQ but is in poor shape with large sandy ruts.  I wouldn’t attempt to use this access after a heavy rain or if you have a low clearance vehicle.

Alternate Take-outs: 

• North Shore Drive Wayside (1.0 miles upstream from Cty QQ):  IMO this is the better access.  There is a public wayside here where you can park and easily access the water.  The subsequent leg after this landing isn’t that interesting.

Shuttle Information:

Bike Shuttle – Cty QQ Boat Ramp to Big Falls North Shore:  5.2 miles with 157′ of ascent.  The shuttle is a bit hilly, but not bad.  Olson Drive is a busy road, so I suggest sticking south to N Shore Drive, which is more secluded and scenic.

Hazards, Logjams and Current:

Wind:  This is a relatively open river, so you should be mindful of forecasted wind direction and speed. 

Logjams/Strainers:  None.

Rapids/Current:  For the most part there are no rapids…although at the put-in there is, of course, Big Falls where you can paddle the tail remnants.  If you’re really adventurous you could do Big Falls itself.  In general the current was consistent and moved at a good clip (perfect for paddling).

Big Falls:  Only for advanced whitewater paddlers.

• Big Falls – North Channel (Class 3+):  This is the safer of the two channels that wrap around a large island.  It consists of five ledges and is extremely dangerous.  This is easy to scout from the island.  This channel can be brutal in high water.  Most paddlers will want to take out or portage by the beach east of the island.
• Big Falls – South Channel (Class 4):  Here the river drops over a series of ledges totaling 15′.  Most of the descent is over one impressive ledge which looks very dangerous.  Kayaking this is not recommended unless you are very skilled.  Here’s a video of a run at 310 CFS (Neillsville gauge).  Most will take out upstream of the falls or portage around them (south shore).

River Depth and Navigability:

Gauge:  Black River @ Neillsville

Trip Depth: 135 CFS or 3.21′

• 0-80 CFS:  Very shallow depth.  Likely somewhat navigable, but you will have to get out and walk a number of sections.
• 81-160 CFS:  Shallow depth…I grounded out a few times at 135 CFS and had to get out and wade, but this was easy to do because of the sandy bottom.
• 161-250 CFS:  Likely a good target range.
• 251-400 CFS:  Above average depth.  Clarity likely will not be that good.
• 401-600 CFS:  Mostly navigable…a number of the sandbars may be submerged though.
• 601-1500 CFS:  Very high depth.  Likely quite navigable, but water quality will probably be dirty and unattractive.
• 1501+ CFS:  This might be a flood depth.  Perhaps still navigable but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Note: as an additional reference there is a downstream gauge on the Eau Claire River at Augusta, but as part of a larger dammed flowage it may not be representative of upstream flow rates.  For reference I did the trip at 3.26′ (a bit on the shallow side).

Detailed Overview

North Fork:

• Upstream of Township Memorial Park:  While probably navigable I just don’t know enough to speculate.
• Township Memorial Park to Hamilton Falls Road:  2.9 miles. 
• Hamilton Falls to North/South Fork Confluence:  7.8 miles.  Main stretch of North Fork.  Scenic and riffly but narrow and might need high water.  Roads are poor.  You can launch above or below Hamilton Falls.

South Fork:

• Upstream of Koehler Ford Lane: 
  • Dickerson Ave to Kohler Ford Lane (Main Branch):  7.3 miles.  Very sandy stretch and likely has a handful of logjams.  Probably nothing special about it.
  • Rock Dam County Park to Kohler Ford Lane:  4.5 miles.  Half this trip is on Hay Creek which has some neat dells.  Launch below the dam.  Maybe some logjams but should be easy to portage on adjacent sandbars.
• Koehler Ford Lane to Hwy H:  5.1 miles.  A pleasant stretch.
• Hwy H to North/South Confluence:  3.1 miles.  A sandy segment I don’t know much about.  Likely nice.

Main Channel:

• North/South Fork Confluence to Eisberner Memorial Park:  0.8 miles.
• Eisberner Memorial Park to Hwy G:  5.1 miles.  A good section with boulder gardens and Class 1-2 rapids.  Water levels can be fickle though.
• Hwy G to Lake Eau Claire Dam/Lake Eau Claire Park:  6.1 miles.  Probably uninteresting flowage paddling.  Alt access on the north shore by the county park.  Note, the portage past the dam to Hwy 27 would be very difficult.
• Lake Eau Claire Park to Hwy 27:  0.3 miles.  A scenic section with rapids and rock formations.
• Hwy 27 Landing to Harstad County Park:  1.7 miles.  Launch on a newish landing under Hwy 27.  Neat granite outcrops in the area.
• Harstad Park to Hwy D:  8.5 miles.  Great section with epic sandbanks.
• Hwy D to Big Falls Park:  6.7 miles
  • Hwy D to Hwy K Landing:  5.5 miles.  Good section with a number of sandbars and one set of fun Class 2 rapids.
  • Hwy K to Big Falls Park:  1.2 miles.  A short stretch with one nice beach by Hwy K.  Big Falls Park is very scenic but has some serious whitewater and falls.
• Big Falls Park to QQ Boat Ramp:  6.6 miles.
  • Big Falls Park to North Shore Drive Wayside:  5.2 miles.  A very sandy stretch with many sandbars and several significant sandbanks.  It's an attractive and pleasant paddle, but lacking in the rapids and elite scenery of other sections on the Eau Claire.
  • North Shore Drive Wayside to QQ Boat Ramp:  0.9 miles.  A generic leg that isn't that interesting.  Current really starts to slow down.
• QQ Boat Ramp to Altoona Lake Dam:  4.5 miles.  Half of this flows through a broad, sandy channel and half through a flowage lake.  There is an alternate take-out at Lake Altoona Park.
• Altoona Lake Dam to Mouth:  3.3 miles.  A neat section through downtown Eau Claire with some Class 2 rapids.
• Eau Claire Mouth to Hobbs Landing:  1.9 miles.  A short paddle on the Chippewa through the University of Eau Claire campus to reach your take-out.

Coon Fork Creek:

This is a wild card prospect referred to me by canoe author Mike Svob and EC Adventures.  The main route starts at Coon Fork County Park (by the dam).  I checked it out and it actually looked really cool.  The area is very rocky and it appears the creek flows partly through rocky dells and canyons before emptying into the Eau Claire (at which point you could take out at G).  While shallow looking (when I scouted it), I thought it might be runnable as is (can’t be certain though).  Reminds me of perhaps Robinson Creek or Spring Brook in the Dells.  RiverDarter.com has a nice video of the creek here.

Bridge Creek:

This is a really cool tributary to the Eau Claire with rocky dells and striking sandbanks.  Reviewed here.

Trip Map

Overview Map

Video

Photos

Size:

Starting the trip at Big Falls Park

Cool outcrop just upstream from my put-in

Big Falls is split into two channels...this is the northwest channel

Here the rapids descend down a series of ledges

Downstream view

Checking out the second/southeast channel

Which features the main waterfall (Big Falls)

Water levels were a bit low on this day

Terrific clarity

First large sandbank

Reverse view

Sandbars were terrific

Not many outcrops, but a few

Favorite sandbank of the trip

Over a 2000' long bank

Reverse view

More great clarity

Sandbanks starting to get smaller, but are still nice

Shallow spot where I had to get out and wade

Everything looks so red

That's one scrappy pine tree

This wasn't a rocky stretch, but there were some boulders

Nice pines

Taking a lunch break on another nice sandbar

Last great sandbank of the trip

Paddling on the Sahara

Last great sandbar of the trip

An obscure access option off North Shore Drive

Current starts to slow

Ending the trip at the Cty QQ boat ramp