Upper Tamarack
Radigan dam to Markville (MN) (5.3, 10.3 or 13.3 miles)
| Difficulty | I-II(III) |
| Length | 14.3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 17 fpm |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 29, 2015 |
River Description
Shared reach: First (up to) 8 miles is in Wisconsin, final 5.3 miles is in Minnesota.
Put-in (with decent water) is at the base of Radigan Dam. (Elev.~1130')
Alternate put-in is on Swedish Hwy (Elev.~1073') if water is not sufficient to do upper.
Second alternate put-in is at State Line Road. (Elev.~1017')
Take-out is Markville Rd (CR25) near Markville, MN about one mile inside MN. (Elev.~903')
Radigan Dam to Swedish Highway - 3.0 miles - 19 FPM
Swedish Highway to Stateline Road - 5.0 miles - 11.2 FPM
(Stateline is also labeled Firelane or Fireline Road)
Stateline Road to Markville (CR25) - 5.3 miles - 21.5 FPM
The run is class II, with the first part possibly having some class III.
Note: This is not an upper section of a river named the Tamarack.
The river is the Upper Tamarack!
River Features
Put In: Radigan Dam
Alt.Put-in#1: Swedish Highway
If the listed put-in is not available, or if flow at that point appears insufficient for a run, it may be possible to put in at this location.
Immediately downstream of this bridge, the Spruce River contributes its ~42 square miles of drainage area, so flows from that point should more-than double.
Alt.Put-in#2: State Line Rd
Take Out: Markville Rd
Trip Reports
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We braved the cold water on the Minnesota/Wisconsin border to check out a river we knew very little about. The Upper Tamarack River near Marksville, MN. We lucked out with beautiful weather and plenty of water to make it through. We paddled from County Road T to County Road 25 (about 6 miles). It dropped a lot over this stretch, making this is a nice option for fun class 2 in the spring.