Beaver Dam

I paddled this section April 13&15, 2023 at ~230 CFS, and on 10Oct2024 at 210 CFS. (The history of the Beaver Dam River gauge shows that they open and close the dam gates abruptly, so check it shortly before paddling.)

The wave below Mill Street was big enough to douse my life vest. I'm glad I was wearing a spray skirt. My friend took water over the bow of his 14.5 ft. canoe and bailed out a couple of gallons of water downstream from the wave.

At Pearl St., a large retention pond is under construction as of Oct. 2024. How will the pond affect the river for paddlers, I wonder?

As noted in the main description, ' there are trees to duck, dodge, or maneuver through!' On Oct. 10, 2024 there was a log across the entire river downstream from Davis St. and upstream from Cooper St. We portaged river left. Here's a link to 8 photos of the river, including 2 photos of the log: https://photos.app.goo.gl/UsP7yyj1w3v9MLDg7

As of Oct. 10, 2024 a large tree limb blocked the middle channel of the arched railroad bridge, except for a narrow passage near the right wall. We slowly sneaked between the limb and the bridge wall.

The launch at Cotton Mill Park and the landing at Hwy J have been improved within the last few years.

Here's a trip report and video via wisconsinrivertrips.com from April, 2017.  The author was caught in an unexpected 420 CFS dam release: https://www.wisconsinrivertrips.com/segments/beaver-dam-river

Be safe out there!