Illinois Fox River
The Illinios Fox is a slow marshy river that starts west of Milwaukee and flows south past Chicago and eventually to the Mississsippi. It’s not an elite river for kayaking, but there are some pleasant stretches.
Trip Reports
Wray Park in Brookfield to Grede Park in Waukesha
Date Paddled: September 26th, 2015
Distance: 6.51 Miles
Time: 4 hours 31 minutes (3 hours might be more typical)
Outside of a boring flowage section, this is a fun trip with nice segments of wetgrass, woods and finally rapids through downtown Waukesha.
Read More...River Road to River Road
Date Paddled: June 24th, 2023
Distance: 5.3 miles
Time: Figure 2-3 hours
Located just south of Waukesha, this is a lazy stretch of the Illinois Fox. It lacks major highlights (other than good water clarity) and isn't an elite water trail but locals may still enjoy it.
Read More...Hwy ES to Big Bend Park
Date Paddled: August 7th, 2022
Distance: 7.8 miles
Time: 3 hours
A guest review for the Illinois Fox River below Waukesha.
Read More...Fox River Park to Wilmot Access
Date Paddled: August 8th, 2016
Distance: 2.5 Miles
Time: Under an hour
A guest review for the Illinois Fox close to the Illinois border.
Read More...Lone Point Shelter to Lone Point Shelter
Date Paddled: September 8th, 2018
Distance: 4.4 miles
Time: 2 hours 41 minutes
A first-time paddle on the Illinois River which featured spectacular wildlife and tall sandstone cliffs. The trip itself was overshadowed by nearby Starved Rock, which is one of of Illinois' best parks.
Read More...Overview Map
Detailed Overview
Thanks to Mike Svob, author of “Paddling Southern Wisconsin,” for the info about the lower sections.
- Upstream of Mitchell Park: The river actually seems big enough to run up here and there doesn’t seem to be too many logjams. However, I am not familiar with the area and am unsure of possible public access points.
- Mitchell Park to Wray Park: 4.5 miles that is mostly an open wetgrass paddle. Not exotic, but should be pleasant.
- Wray Park to Grede Park:
- Sub Trip – Wray Park to Wonderland Tap: 3.8 miles and nice, with wetgrass and some woods.
- Sub Trip – Wonderland Tap to the Waukesha Dam: 1.9 miles on a boring, noisy flowage. While there is a park by the dam, I’m not sure where you can leave your car.
- Sub Trip – Waukesha Dam to Grede Park: .7 miles on a really narrow, fast section with lots of light rapids. Very urban, but great fun!
- Grede Park to Sunset Drive: 2.5 miles. River slows and widens. Might be nice spots.
- Sunset Drive to Hwy 59: 1.0 miles. Slow and weedy section of the river.
- Hwy 59 to Hwy H: 1.8 miles.
- Hwy H to CR I: 5.2 Miles. This is a lazy stretch that lacks major highlights (other than good water clarity) and isn't an elite water trail, but locals may still enjoy it.
- Cty I to Cty ES/National Ave: 7.0 miles. Part of the Vernon Marsh State Wildlife Area. Much of this is marshy.
- Cty ES to Big Bend: 7.6 miles (reviewed by Mark Rhodes)
- Cty ES to Center Dr: 5.2 miles
- Center Dr to Big Bend (Village Park Boat Landing): 2.4 miles (also reviewed by Morrall Films)
- Big Bend to Conservation Drive/Tichigan Lake Public Landing: 7.4 miles (reviewed by Morrall Films)
- Tichigan Landing to Waterford Dam: 5.0. I presume mostly a boring, over-developed flowage.
- Waterford Dam to Sailer Woods/Hwy 36: 3.5 miles. From here on we lose most of our swamp and get higher banks and more woods. There is one other dam to portage in this section. There are numerous other access options on this route.
- Sailer Woods to Burlington (Congress Street): 4.8 miles
- Burlington to Hwy JB Bridge Access: 6.6 miles
- Hwy JB Bridge Access to Hwy W: 3.0 miles
- Hwy W to Silver Lake (Fox River Park): 6.0 miles.
- Silver Lake to Wilmont: 2.5 miles.
- Wilmont to Hwy 173 Landing: 2.8 miles (you are in Illinois now)
- Hwy 173 Landing to Chain O’ Lakes State Park: 3.9 miles
Nearby Guages
Videos
Comments
Warning to readers...as of 2023-08-06, there are several significant logjams upstream from the mouth of the Pewaukee River.
It's interesting that the rapids wash out at high levels...this means they are likely never too dangerous. It's too bad about our bad weather...normally this would be a perfect time for a fall color paddle. Thanks as always for the information.
I did this trip on Sun 9/13( approx 450 cfs , 4.75 ft) it was cold and windy, but I was in the area so I decided to give this trip a try. the water was high and fast, but there were no major obstructions that required me to get out of my boat (other than the dam) but there were a few spots that may have been more difficult if the levels were closer to "normal" Even with the high levels the water clarity was decent, not much wildlife, but as I said it was kind of a blustery fall day. The first part of the trip was surprisingly wooded for being an urban paddle, and the last part after the dam was fast and fun, but the high water washed out the rapids so it was just a fun roller coaster ride. I did a bike shuttle back to Wray Park and it wasn't bad at all. I used the Fox River Bike Trail to the north side of Frame Park, then less then a mile on E Moreland (fairly busy) and then a few small neighborhood streets and a really short stretch on Springfield Rd. A good trip for anyone who lives in the area
Thanks for the feedback!
A:
I have a little experience with the Illinois Fox North of River Road (Mitchel Park). I've paddled the length of Mitchel and also a bit further north.
This afternoon the water was high but slow as my 8yr old and I paddled our canoe about 1.5 miles upstream from Capitol Ave. before drifting back to Mitchel. There are several submerged snags but no strainers, log jams, rapids or other dicey obstacles. Didn't drop ft as far as the River Road bridge, but suspect it may not be passable at high water.
There is a tall flat hill with pvc venting north of Capitol to the east of the river. Looks like an old landfill. The water clarity was mediocre, and there were lots of vegetation debris on the banks. This entire wetland is a giant storm water managment structure for local municipalities.
Plenty of wildlife. Many water fowl. 2-3 nests of ducklings and geese. 2 pair of Herons. Large muskrat lodge north of Capitol bridge.
I'll explore more carefully when time permits and try to contribute a trip summary.
Dave
How did your trip turn out? Questions or comments? Feel free to leave your feedback.
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