North Fork, Nine Mile Creek to Highway W - 22 miles, 12 hours

Some easy paddling, but with a taste of whitewater - great for the beginner

This section of the journey is the start of the portion of the Flambeau that flows through the Flambeau River State Forest. Miles of forest land stretch out on either side of the river, and there is a feeling of being deep in the wilderness. The only major whitewater of this stretch is Barnaby Rapids, but it is not a particularly difficult piece of whitewater. Every few miles, you will find a campsite along the river. In all, the 90,000 acre Flambeau River State Forest has 14 canoe camp areas on the river which are available to river travelers only. There are 2 to 3 campsites at each area complete with a table, fire ring and pit toilet. As the river begins to widen out and curve, you are in the area known as the Oxbo. Downstream from the Oxbo, you will find that the river becomes swifter, but there are no difficult rapids for the rest of this leg of the journey. Take out at County Highway W. There are 2 campgrounds a short drive east of the take out: Lake of the Pines off Highway W and Connors Lake off Highway M.

Click to download an Adobe PDF copy of the map below