Waubonsie Creek, Illinois, US

Oswego: Stone Gate Park to Fox River (1.15-2.15 miles)

Waubonsie Creek

Waubonsie Creek

Gauge Information

Name	Range	Difficulty	Updated	Level
MILL CREEK NEAR BATAVIA, IL
usgs-05551330	80 - 400 cfs	I(II)	00h35m	~ 12 cfs (rc= -0.9 )
	Likely too low. Reference is Mill Creek, 14 miles NW, drainage 27.6 sq.mi. at gauge, compared to 29.6 sq.mi. for Waubonsie. Correlation should be good, but is never assured.

River Description

Quick Facts:

Location: Oswego, IL (just south of Aurora, IL).
Shuttle Length: 1.2 miles. (See details in "Directions" Tab.)
Character: A few fine ledges in a small stream in an urban setting.

Put-in is approximately 631' elevation.
Take-out is approximately 617' elevation.
Thus total elevation change is approximately 14'.

General Overview

The Waubonsie is a small creek in Oswego which (with adequate water) comes up to a class II-III run. Above Hwy.25 there are several distinct drops or rapids. Below Hwy.25, especially at moderate-to-high flows, the gradient picks up and the final quarter-mile or so is almost continuous action.

We have conflicting information about the access points and length of the run.

Some info has suggested the run starts in Stone Gate Park (on Hwy.25, just east of Hwy.34) and runs out to the Fox River, but that would only be a quarter-mile, and (from 'aerial reconnaissance' via Google) would seem to miss what appear to be the best drops (upstream of Hwy.25).

Our listed put-in coordinates give a length of 1.25 miles, and appear to include the best of the apparent drops. However, we are unaware of the parking and put-in options at or near that location.

Anyone familiar with this run is encouraged to assist your fellow boaters by providing more information.

Craig Carlson provides (2006-10-22):

The third of the 4 drops in Stone gate, when the water is up, develops a nice little hole with good eddies on ether side. The fourth drop should be scouted before running. Depending on the water level, there may be several large rocks just under the surface and the chance of logs or large branches that tend to gather throughout the drop. Below the last drop, the creek makes a slight right turn with some riffles and a couple small holes, then leads under the Hwy. 25 bridge where for a couple years was a large strainer before the park service cleaned it out, but still should be checked out.

After Hwy. 25 the creek makes a slight left turn and into a small canyon with small ledge drops and waves. In the middle of the canyon, when the creek makes a slight right turn, there are a couple of ledges that stick out of the left wall at head height. Just past the railroad bridge is a low bridge and when the water is up you‘ll only have about 3 feet clearance.

For what it's worth, there are a few areas of potential interest further upstream. Notably, a spillway/dam may offer some 'park-and-play' potential at moderate flows. (See map and 'Rapids' tab for location and description.)

Additional information about the watershed may be found at the IL USDA website.