Mineral Springs Creek
S.Ravine St. to S.Milwaukee St. (0.5 mile)
| Difficulty | II+ |
| Length | 0.51 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 80 fpm |
| Gauge | Menomonee River at Menomonee Falls, Wi |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 24 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 18, 2026 |
River Description
Quick Facts:
Location: SE Wisconsin, just south of downtown Port Washington.
Shuttle Length/DriveTIme: 0.6 miles/3 minutes
Put-in elevation is approximately 640'.
Take-out elevation is approximately 600'.
Thus total elevation change is approximately 40', in just under a half-mile (for an equivalent gradient near 80 FPM!)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Gradient values should always be used for general comparative purposes only! Differences (even up to 15-20% and more) mean very little in the grand scheme of all things whitewater! Far more important (than either gradient or class/rating) are other less-quantifiable 'character factors' such as: (1) continuous versus pool/drop, (2) wide-channel with multiple routes versus narrow channel with essentially one route, (3) straight-shot routes versus complex technical maneuvering-required routes, (4) gradual river banks versus rocky shores or steep-walled gorges, et cetera. Never rely solely on class/rating to decide if you should run a river/rapids!
Drainage area at put-in: 2.75 square miles (Yes, tiny!)
Character: Tiny, intimate, super-micro-creek; twisting, turning, brush dodging, rock slamming, steep banks, ... and virtually guaranteed deadfall and strainer issues.
General Overview
A tiny, intimate 'stupid boater tricks' run, with likely snags, 'clothes-lining' deadfall, and tight maneuvering. With a drainage area of 2-3 square miles, this will require significant rain and will have a very short window of opportunity. That said, high-water debris on numerous occasions suggests that happens at least a few times a year.
Scroll down to the 'River Features' for details why anyone might even look at this stream. In truth, it is little more than a 'fantasy run'.
...River Features
Sunset Road (CTH.CC)
To add some length to this really short run, the creek could be theoretically boatable between Sunset Road (CTH.CC) and S.Ravine Street ... were it not for the fact that the banks are significantly wooded and are subject to erosion. There is so much deadfall blocking numerous locations that only a glutton for punishment would ever try!
Put In: S.Ravine Street
Park curbside where this little creek crosses S.Ravine St. (near Western Avenue).
There had been a short cement/corrugated iron ledge-drop at this location (as shown in the accompanying photo), with rocks filling the pool, but all of that has been removed, leaving this area flat and calm, eliminating any reason to put-in upstream of this bridge.
The easiest put-in will be on the downstream river-left side of the bridge.
Opening stretch
A 5' dam at this location was removed in 2017. Stream banks were sloped back and denuded to facilitate that work. To reduce erosion, large boulders line the bed and banks through the twists and turns. Another project from November 2025 through March 2026, described goals of 'addressing severe erosion, habitat degradation, and infrastructure vulnerability', 're-grading the stream channel, stabilizing eroding banks, and implementing native vegetation plantings', 'outcomes include reduced sedimentation, improved stormwater management, enhanced fish passage, and increased habitat quality for native fish, birds, and wildlife'.
Numerous areas of woody debris were removed. Rocks and logs (secured in place) now break up the flow and armor the bed and banks. Much of the upshore area has sisal matting staked in place to stabilize earth until plants are more established.
All of this results in having this tiny creek the most potentially runnable I've seen it in 25+ years!
Take Out: Milwaukee Avenue
As soon as you see powerlines overhead (and the power-plant dead ahead) look for a place to exit to river-left. (Exit from the creek may be quite awkward.) Walk through a little bit of woods to the stub end of Milwaukee Avenue.
No Good Choices!
Downstream of our recommended take-out, the creek approaches the WE Energies Port Washington Powerplant. At times of higher flows, the creek splits here. The historic channel heads left, and is quite narrow and filled with cattails and shrubs, making passage difficult-to-impossible. As the creek passes under the roadway to Coal Dock Park, very low-slung horizontal pipes span the creek at a height which precludes any safe passage.
The second alternative from the split would be to the right. Peak flows will spill over a cement wall into a channel which passes south of the WE Energies powerplant. Railings on that wall preclude dropping into the channel below. Rocky rubble lines the whole channel down to the lake. Having enough water to make this channel anything close to boatable is likely to be far too much water to make the bash-and-crash (down the narrow, strainer-and-sweeper filled main portion of the run) anything close to sane or do-able!
For the above reasons, it is virtually mandatory to exit the creek before this point!
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportThe 5' dam which had been on this micro-creek has been removed (as of winter, 2016/2017). The (likely to be covered at 'boatable' flows) lower stream banks have been lined with large boulders, with burlap pegged into dirt higher up (to minimize erosion while awaiting vegetation becoming established).
The 5' dam which had been on this micro-creek has been removed (as of winter, 2016/2017). The (likely to be covered at 'boatable' flows) lower stream banks have been lined with large boulders, with burlap pegged into dirt higher up (to minimize erosion while awaiting vegetation becoming established).
Removal of a 4-5' dam at this location of this tiny stream involved lining the banks with boulders (in attempt to stabilize the steep banks).
The 5' dam which had been on this micro-creek has been removed (as of winter, 2016/2017). The (likely to be covered at 'boatable' flows) lower stream banks have been lined with large boulders, with burlap pegged into dirt higher up (to minimize erosion while awaiting vegetation becoming established).
Large rocks (which had been intended as 'shoreline stabilization') lie rather randomly in the streambed. At some high flow, this could be navigable, but at most times these will provide major piton opportunities!
Just downstream of S.Ravine Street there is a MAJOR BLOCKAGE, consisting of large trees which have slid into the stream as the banks have collapsed.
There is a cement and iron 'ledge' immediately before entering the culvert for S.Ravine Street. Unfortunately, there is a heap of quarried rock in the landing area. Perhaps with enough flow these may be covered, but more likely they will be barely under (or not even covered by) the water, waiting to rake the bottom of your boat.
Upstream of S.Ravine Street the creek is an absolute nightmare of fallen trees blocking passage on the stream.
Downstream of the former dam site (and 'shoreline stabilization' rocks), more deadfall awaits.