Black Earth Creek
CTH.KP at Olson Road to Hudson Road (4.75 miles)
| Difficulty | I-II |
| Length | 4.5 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 10 fpm |
| Gauge | Black Earth Creek at Black Earth, Wi |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 66 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | February 23, 2019 |
River Description
A fun easy run for beginner whitewater kayakers, with a couple of spots which may offer some decent wave/surfing potential at good flows.
There are some options for shorter or longer trips, but the section as we have listed is likely to be the best bang for the whitewater buck.
River Features
Put In
Wave(s)?
Satellite view shows what appears to be a feature (or quick pair of features) at this location. Within 0.2 miles downstream ('just around the bend') there is possibly one more as you head into a series of S-turns.
State Street (aka CTH.Y)
This may be a very reasonable alternative exit/access.
Lions Park Pedestrian Bridge
It would certainly be possible (as some folks do) to use Lions Park as your take-out (cutting out about a mile of paddling which is mostly uninteresting from a whitewater perspective). However, the take-out area is much less convenient, and you will have a longer carry (though not all that long) to your vehicle, than if you use our listed take-out.
We would also note that (on all maps we can find) river-left is 'Lions Park' (with swimming pool, ball diamonds, etc), while river-right is 'Walking Iron County Park'. A handful of other write-ups (from various paddling blogs and websites) mention taking out at Walking Iron County Park. This seems unfortunately misleading, as the parking for that park is far away from the creek. Anyone plugging that park name into a mapping app will be routed far away from where they really want to be!
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportbring bug spray!! as of 5/26/19 there are three places you will be blocked by fallen trees. 2 of the places - easily portage. the third there is an electric fence on one side of the stream and the other side is a steep drop off. i went to the left and lifted my kayak over the fallen tree.
This is the biggest drop on the stretch by far. There's a wave but don't flip because its basically a rock.
The rest of the rapid below Liquid Rock.