Little Wolf, Wisconsin, US |
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| Usual Difficulty | II(IV) (varies with level) |
|---|---|
| Length | 7.4 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 12 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 38 fpm |
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Wolf at put-in | ||||
| virtual-50251 | 200 - 1000 cfs | I(II) | 01h40m | ~ 0 cfs (rc= -1.0 ) |
Generally too low for good whitewater trip. Virtual gauge APPROXIMATES flow likely at put-in based upon 0.3388 * Royalton gauge. EXPECT that virtual gauge will not always reflect actual conditions. |
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| LITTLE WOLF RIVER AT ROYALTON, WI | ||||
| usgs-04080000 | 2.30 - 5.00 ft | II(IV) | 01h38m | ~ 1.53 ft (rc= -0.4 ) |
|
Likely too low for good whitewater experience. Gauge is well (30+ miles) downstream, with a fairly significant trib (S.Br.L.Wolf) coming in, thus gauge may not accurately reflect actual conditions for this |
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The reach as shown is the "traditional" Little Wolf run. While this is certainly
pretty, it does include a fair amount of flat/moving water paddling.
The reach begins with two miles of moving water interspersed with occasional class I-II drops.
This is followed by nearly a mile and a half of continuous class II whitewater, which makes the
scenic access paddle a fair price to pay for the fun.
Those interested primarily in whitewater may wish to abbreviate the run (to just 3.45 miles) by
taking out at Cty J.
Below Cty J, the remaining four miles of this reach contains one drop, the Little Wolf Dells
(class II). Rather impressive (relative to the scenery of the rest of the run), the Dells may
seem a bit intimidating, with the expectation of challenging rapids. In reality, it is really not
very challenging. It has a split channel entrance (either side works but left seems to carry more
water) of perhaps 50-60 yards followed by a constriction between rock walls that can form some
sizable waves, relative to flow. This is located just above the back waters of the impoundment of
Big Falls dam. Take-out is by paddling across the impoundment (about a half mile) to the public
boat ramp just above the dam.
The class IV (in the rating for this reach) refers to a "bonus" rapid, Big Falls, which
is located just downstream of the dam. Most boaters will fantasize lines, but be content
to secure their boats for another run elsewhere, as this river is often combined with other area
runs (various runs on the Embarass or Red).
USGS has added the gauge for this run. This gauge is 29 miles downriver, so may not completely accurately reflect levels in this reach. Drainage area at the gauge is 507 square miles. We have created a 'virtual gauge' to approximate flow in this reach based upon approximate drainage area ratio (put-in vs. gauge location) of 0.3388. It should be expected that this virtual gauge will lag actual flow in this reach. That is, when the headwaters are hit with rain, this section may be runnable when the water hasn't yet reached the gauge. Similarly, as the water runs out, this section may fall too low to boat while there is still somewhat elevated flow at the gauge. Also, there will be times when not all tribs contribute proportionally, the virtual gauge may fail to reflect true conditions in this section.
We will continue to embed the gauge from NOAA, in case the USGS gauge goes back offline.
Click here for tabular data.
About 2.3' (about 760 cfs) on that gauge is minimum, and 3.0' (1300 cfs) or better may be optimum.
An anonymous contributor provides (2009-03-31):
There is an unofficial gauge in the river by the CTH J. I would suggest a minimum around 23", below that you will scrape at most of the rapids and may even have to get out. There is no real maximum, for running the upper portion from Mud Lake Road to J. The river will rarely reach heights when the dells section is too high, but could.
| Approximate correlations (at USGS gauge) | |
| Feet | CFS |
| 4.0 | 2,280 |
| 3.5 | 1,770 |
| 3.0 | 1,310 |
| 2.5 | 900 |
| 2.0 | 580 |
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Wolf at put-in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| virtual-50251 | 200 - 1000 cfs | I(II) | 01h40m | ~ 0 cfs (rc= -1.0 ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Generally too low for good whitewater trip. |
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Virtual gauge APPROXIMATES flow likely at put-in based upon 0.3388 * Royalton gauge. EXPECT that virtual gauge will not always reflect actual conditions. |
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| LITTLE WOLF RIVER AT ROYALTON, WI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| usgs-04080000 | 2.30 - 5.00 ft | II(IV) | 01h38m | ~ 1.53 ft (rc= -0.4 ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Likely too low for good whitewater experience. |
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Gauge is well (30+ miles) downstream, with a fairly significant trib (S.Br.L.Wolf) coming in, thus gauge may not accurately reflect actual conditions for this |
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| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2y258d06h44m | Big Falls - Little Wolf [WI] |
Big Falls
|
n/a | bryan foster |
| 2y258d07h05m | Little Wolf - Big Falls [WI] | Big Falls | n/a | bryan foster |
| 2y258d07h29m | Big Falls - Little Wolf [WI] | Big Falls | n/a | bryan foster |
reach
state
reachlink
Wolf River Road to CTH.C (Big Falls) (7.4 miles), Little Wolf Wisconsin, US (mobile)
User Comments
Merkes, a real paddle friendly guy. He said feel free to call about the level and if the falls are
runnable. (715) 754-2031