Baird Creek, Wisconsin, US |
|
| Usual Difficulty | II+ (varies with level) |
|---|---|
| Length | 0.6 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 60 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 60 fpm |
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAIRD CREEK AT SUPERIOR ROAD AT GREEN BAY, WI | ||||
| usgs-040851325 | 75 - 400 cfs | I | 02h41m | 2.8 cfs (rc= -1.0 ) |
Low, scrapey, no fun. Gauge (drainage=15.7 sq.mi) is just upstream of put-in, thus very accurate for flow in reach, tho update times and flashiness reduce its utility. |
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Quick Facts:
Location: within Green Bay city limits, east from downtown.
Character: Small creek, in a park, with short bedrock ledges.
Shuttle Length: 0.6 miles (carry up).
Put-in is approximately 662' elevation.
Take-out is approximately 610' elevation.
Thus total elevation change is approximately 52'.
General Overview
This short reach lies wholly within a city park, through which there is an excellent
system of trails for hiking and for off-road biking, plus a brand new (summer, 2010) paved path.
Put-in at the Moon Valley Drive bridge, just off of Baird Creek Road, within I43 passing
overhead. A series of short ledges in this little creek will provide busy entertainment for
whitewater boaters -- great fun if you have the skills and proper equipment, significant danger
if you do not have the skills and healthy respect for the technical nature of this run at
moderate-to-high flows! Caution is urged, as deadfalls and
snags are common, especially later in this reach. Get out as soon as the gradient peters-out and
deadfall becomes plentiful. This will maximize the fun, minimize the frustration and
danger, and minimize the hike back to your vehicle. Carry up and do it again!
It is highly recommended (virtually mandatory!) to walk the
whole reach before putting on, to be aware of the overhanging trees and snags and
deadfall in the river, and carefully assess your ability to navigate the twists and turns. At
virtually any boatable flow, there will be very few (and small) eddies. If you can't
catch a 'one boat eddy' (or if you don't even know what that means), you should not be in a boat
on this tiny creek! Any downed tree or substantial overhanging branch is potentially
deadly if you are swept into it! And there WILL BE downed trees and overhanging
branches!
Technically, the actual rapids almost never rate above a class III.
However, at anything above bare minimum flows, you need a proper whitewater boat, and
skills more in the class III-IV range! Contrary to logic or expectation, smaller
creeks like this can be more dangerous than some larger rivers, precisely because they
will have so much UNAVOIDABLE overhanging shrubbery and deadfall, and essentially need to be in
flood to run, meaning there won't be many eddies. You will be swept into things, and the strength
of the current can make it impossible to get you or your boat out of the flow. If you are not a
strong, experienced whitewater paddler, expect to lose your paddle and possibly your boat
if you flip or swim.
This is a fine 'companion piece' to other runs in the area. (Devil's River, Bower Creek, Neshota/West Twin) It is quite likely
that these will all be 'up' at the same time. All are short runs, allowing for a 'daily double',
or triple, or quad even!
For what it's worth, while topo maps show additional gradient upstream, (1) there is little
convenient access (other than hiking up), (2) the stream is generally narrow and very brushy, and
(3) it lacks the bedrock foundation which creates the rapids in the listed reach.
Special Note: The real HUC for this reach should be 04030204. It has been
'faked' below to allow this reach to 'sort' (when listing is pulled up 'by drainage') into the
"Southwestern Lake Michigan" rivers, rather than the already bloated list of
"Northwestern Lake Michigan" rivers. If this somehow causes problems for anyone using
this listing, please send a message to the Regional StreamTeam Leader (which can be done via the
"Add a Comment" button which should appear under the "Comments" tab).
There is a USGS gauge on Baird Creek, just above the recommended put-in.
Being such a small watershed, this creek will flash up and down quite rapidly, often defying the lag in time for the gauges to be updated online. As a result, the better 'gauge' is to watch weather reports and rainfall patterns, and be ready to jump when there is water.
It will be necessary to walk the whole reach before putting on, to carefully assess water level and to be aware of any overhanging shrubs, branches, deadfall, and strainers, and to carefully assess your ability to navigate the twists and turns and to get out before any impassible wood.
| Gauge/flow analysis (based on data 2003.09.25 - 2008.10.28) | |
| Drainage area at gauge | 15.74 sq.mi. |
| Minimum daily mean flow during cited period (2003-09-25) | 0.21 cfs |
| 90% of time mean daily flow exceeds | 0.37 cfs |
| 10% of time mean daily flow exceeds | 28 cfs |
| Maximum daily mean flow during cited period (2010-03-14) | 315 cfs |
| 10/90 ratio ('flashy-ness') (under 3 is fairly steady, over 10 is quite 'flashy') |
75.6 |
| Based on USGS data, 2004.01.01-2011.06.19 | ||||||
| Year | Days >300 cfs | Days >250 cfs | Days >200 cfs | Days >150 cfs | Days >100 cfs | Days >75 cfs |
| 2004 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 17 | 24 | 33 |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 13 |
| 2007 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| 2010 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 17 |
| 2011 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 30 | 38 |
| Average: | 0.4 | 1.5 | 3.8 | 8.6 | 17.4 | 23.7 |
Note: All above is based upon "mean daily flow". With such a 'flashy' creek, certainly there may be times when the creek was boatable (exceeded minimums for some shorter duration), but the mean daily flow did not come up to minimums.
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAIRD CREEK AT SUPERIOR ROAD AT GREEN BAY, WI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| usgs-040851325 | 75 - 400 cfs | I | 02h41m | 2.8 cfs (rc= -1.0 ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Low, scrapey, no fun. |
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|
Gauge (drainage=15.7 sq.mi) is just upstream of put-in, thus very accurate for flow in reach, tho update times and flashiness reduce its utility. |
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| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 327d10h55m | /Baird Creek-Moon Valley Drive to (end of gradient) [WI] |
Typical Ledge/drop on Baird
|
240 cfs | Rob Smage |
| 327d10h55m | /Baird Creek-Moon Valley Drive to (end of gradient) [WI] |
The Rock Wall
|
240 cfs | Rob Smage |
| 3y308d03h55m | Baird Creek [WI] |
42922.mov
|
II | David Konshak |
| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | First Ledge | II+ | |
| 0.1 | Second Ledge | II | |
| 0.1 | Railroad Ledge | II |  |
| 0.2 | OVERHANGING TREE!!! | N/A |  |
| 0.3 | Parking Lot Ledge | II |   |
From Moon Valley Drive bridge, you will have a short series of waves through a couple of S-bends, and you'll quickly see a bit of a horizon line. This first ledge is the biggest ledge on the run, and can develop a surprisingly sticky hole at some flows. Be prepared to punch this drop -- as soon as you land in the hole, reach forward, dig a paddle deep and pull yourself through the hole to keep from being pulled back into it and surfed or back-endered. (Of course, if you are an accomplished play-boater, you may want to try for a surf here! It will mostly be catch-on-the-fly, since the pool below is short.)
Far less consequential than the first, another ledge occurs here. At some flows, it may be possible for skilled boaters to turn bow-upstream above this, stall their speed, and drop in for a surf-on-the-fly. There is generally not much of an eddy, so repeat play is unlikely.
Another small ledge exists just before the creek passes under a railroad trestle. It may be possible to either catch a surf on-the-fly, or to catch the eddy (you'll have to be very aggressive to do so -- it's a small, short eddy).
Just past the Railroad trestle, the creek encounters a high wall of rock and is diverted sharply to the left. After a very short distance along this wall, there's a tree on river-right (as the creek sweeps to the left) which arches over and dips low into the center of the creek. Boaters will have to paddle aggressively to river-left to avoid being swept into this overhanging tree! (It may be neccesary to back-paddle, or turn bow upstream to do an 'upstream ferry' to slow yourself and give yourself time to avoid this potentially serious hazard!)
This is one of the reasons this run is strongly NOT recommeneded for casual recreational kayaks, rafts or touring canoes (canoes not specifically designed for whitewater boating). All such craft will lack the maneuverability to avoid this hazard!
42921.jpegThe last good ledge occurs where the new paved path nears the creek from the 'lower' parking lot (there is a small pull-through parking area just a bit upstream). There is a decent (not great, but decent) eddy here at good river levels, and experienced boaters may wish to do some surfs in the wave/hole. The feature is shallow, so don't expect more than surfs and flatspins.
You might just get out here as you have run the best of the gradient. However, there is still a good amount of 'bobble water' downstream. Sooner or later, however, you will encounter an impassible snag or deadfall. Since the creek is so narrow, swift, and twisty, you need to be very vigilant as you proceed. It is very easy to find yourself in a spot with no eddy and no good, easy way to get out of the creek before being swept into a serious hazard. You do not want to get flushed into or under such a snag. Loss of equipment (paddles, boats, etc) is very likely, and injury or even loss of life is certainly possible! Again, this is why this creek should never be done by inexperienced boaters, or anyone in a raft, recreational kayak, or 'touring' canoe.
reach
state
reachlink
Moon Valley Drive to end of gradient (0.6 mile), Baird Creek Wisconsin, US (mobile)
User Comments
short but very fast and non-stop Class II+ run. We ran it twice. Very fun. Deadfall is definitely a
hazard and eddies are few.