Red, Wisconsin, US

A) River Road to Morgan Rd. 8.5 miles) ** ACCESS ISSUES ** (Upper Red)

Suzy's Falls

Suzy's Falls
Photo of Tom O'Keefe by Steve taken 2147483647 @ 525 cfs

Gauge Information

River Description

NOTICE!!!

The majority of this reach lies within the tribal lands of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians. The current status of Tribal Law disallows access to this reach from any tribal lands. This largely means this reach should be considered OFF LIMITS until or unless arrangements and agreements are otherwise worked out. Just as with the Menomonee Tribe, punishment (if you are caught) can include not only a fine and/or imprisonment, but also confiscation of all material items used in commission of the trespass. This could include not only your boat and gear, but the vehicles you used for the shuttle! In the past there had been the recommendation that (before paddling this reach) paddlers should secure permission from one of the tribal conservation officers, Joseph Miller or James Davids. (They can be reached during business hours at (715) 793-4809.) However, reports are that all such requests are currently being denied.

The Upper Red is perhaps one of the favorite central Wisconsin spring time runs. The reach is very "pool/drop", with drops coming where the river cuts over splines of bedrock. The majority of the drops are short and fairly steep, with plenty of recovery room in the pools below.

The small shoals at the River Rd bridge (Besau's Bridge) put-in are a fair onsite indicator of the level in the river. If these look scrapy, chances are the rest of the run will be. Initially, the river is a meandering float through the forest interspersed with occasional class I-II rapids. A section of greater gradient follows starting with a narrow drop between boulders. At times in the past, trees have lodged against the boulders, raising the height of the drop to about 4', and may sometimes obstruct the channel. At high flows, there is a hole which may backender boats here. Below, there is recovery room and then an "S" drop (left then right) which can have a very low footbridge in the outflow. The footbridge is not anchored well so at times, higher flows will push this aside to allow passage. Use eddies and exercise caution here. A flatwater section follows.

Chances are you will hear Suzie's Falls before you see them. When the river takes a hard turn to the right and narrows considerably, you will want to get out on the right to scout or portage. There is a cabin on river left here whose owners have always been friendly to boaters. Please respect their privacy and confine your on land activity to river right. Just beyond a footbridge, the falls starts with a ledge of about 3'. The river boils about in a small pocket and makes a hard turn to the left before dropping 15' or so over a wide dome of bedrock with a sweeping turn to the right, finishing with a potentially aggressive hole at the bottom. It is rare to find this kind of acceleration in central Wisconsin. The crux move is running the top ledge and hole in control. as a flip will likely mean lost skin at the very least. There is a pool below to pick up the pieces, if necessary.

There is one more small rapid, then flat water down to, and a little beyond, the River Road landing. This site may be used for a shorter run (about 4.25 miles), especially for those folks that know they do not wish to run Suzy's. This landing is the first obvious roadside (as in maybe 10' away) put-in on River Road. Parking space is limited here, so please leave as few vehicles as possible and pull off the pavement if you can. It has been the practice to access the river just above Suzy's in the past but keep in mind that this involves crossing private property. There have been confrontations in the past so please secure permission from the landholder before using an access point between the River Road landing and River Road bridge.

Shortly downstream from the River Road landing is a small rapid which can be seen from the road and used to judge water levels should you only wish to paddle this shorter section. After a short paddle, a split in the river signals First Island. Normal line is to the right of the island where the river enters some light rapids, then turns to the left and drops about 4' down a moderately steep flume. Thee may be some play here, and you'll find some easy rapids in the run-out to the end of the island. The alternate route in the left channel also begins with light rapids but the final drop of 4'-5' is a boulder jumble which you will definitely want to look at before running. Usual line is a boof off a rock right of center. Be aware that this channel is prone to catching deadwood so a strainer may be present here.

Another flat stretch, perhaps a half mile, leads to Second Island or Bridge Drop. There are several channels here but the smaller center ones are almost always totally log choked. At lower flows, turn hard to the right above the island with the cabin to enter the furthest right channel. This turns hard back to the left and drops down a fun slide of perhaps 8' ending in a great play spot for surfing or blasting (somewhat flow dependent). The far left channel (actually straight ahead as you come downriver) passes under the bridge and drops down a wide slide, also of about 8'. Because of the width, this can be scrapy at lower flows. The most water is usually found on the right side of the slide. If you do run this left channel, be sure and paddle back up the right channel to catch it's playspot.

Heading downstream, a silo straight ahead, by a turn to the right, comes just above Farm Dam. The dam is no longer here but some remnants can be seen on the left at the top of the drop. This is a fairly straight-forward boulder bed drop with several surf waves, the nicest being on the right at the top. There is a hole which can get aggressive at higher flows perhaps 20 yards into the drop but this is usually not a problem if you have any kind of speed.

Next up is Surprise, so named because it begins with easy bobbling rapids leading into a turn. Beyond the turn the water picks up speed considerably in a fast, wavy chute which finishes with a broken ledge of about 3'. Generally you want to run the ledge either far right or left with angle back towards center. The large eddy on the right at the bottom is squirrely and feeds back upstream with some force.

The final rapid, S-Turn, comes shortly after Surprise. Again there is an easy lead-in to a constriction that turns hard right, then back left in quick sequence. Expect a hole on the outside of the first bend up against the rock and watch for trees here as they tend to collect between the turns. As with all the drops on this reach, if you do not have the skills or confidence to boat scout this from eddy to eddy, and cannot see clear to the bottom, get out and take a look.

There is about a mile and a half of flatwater (it seems like more) from here to the take-out. Paddle under the bridge and around the bend to a bedrock "landing" on the right. Note that roadside parking is not allowed close to the bridge so leave your vehicles in the "island" at the intersection of Cty A and Morgan Rd.