Vermilion, IL

Surfing Wildcat

Surfing Wildcat
Photo of Brian Aho by Erik Johnson taken Winter 2004 @ 4 feet

Gauge Information

River Description

The Vermilion River in LaSalle County (there are two Vermilion's in Illinois) is a nice class II-III whitewater river in Northern Illinois. The early going on river runs through Matthiessen State Park. Downstream, quite a bit of the other property is owned by a private cement company.

Large bluffs, and a canyon (by Illinois standards) surrounds quite a bit of this run.

The Vermilion is a wide river, and when running at better levels (over 1000 cfs) becomes quite pushy in places. However, due to the fact that you have at least a half mile between rapids, it is an excellent place to take beginners.

There are two places to be really cautious with beginners. The first is Wildcat: keep to the right side at normal flows, and be aware that it has a tendency to collect whole trees. The second area to be cautious is at the cement factory where there is a low head dam with a 'fish ladder' on the right side. Scouting and possibly portaging the low head dam is highly recommended for novice paddlers at low-to-moderate flows (under 1500 or so).

There is a hand painted sign at the Lowell put-in that most folks use to describe the level. For a conversion chart of sorts from USGS flow information see this website http://www.wpr.pair.com/vermilion/

Other Vermilion Websites
http://www.rivers-end.org/vermilion/
http://www.wpr.pair.com/vermilion/

Notes:

1) An I-Beam that was in the Narrows has been removed according to Bob Hearst of Vermilion River Rafting.

2) There are some ongoing issues with parking at the takeout. While the parking ban has been delayed indefinitely, that doesn't mean that it won't happen in the future. A permanent solution is being worked on. In the mean time, be sure to be courteous when in the area, and be careful at the takeout so as not to cause any problems.