F) Wisconsin Dells - Narrows (Blackhawk Island) (PnP)

'The Dells' is best known as a tourist mecca as people from far and wide book into area resorts to 'Ride the Ducks' (amphibious craft which ply the Lower Dells), cruise the Upper Dells, hit the water parks, walk the main drag with dozens and dozens of curio shops, and sample the multitude of other tourist traps. Outside of the summer season, much of the downtown is virtually a ghost town, as many of the shops close for the winter (not enough business to support being there, and I suspect many of the owners do the 'snowbird' thing, living in FL or AZ better than half the year). This is not generally a paddling-frienly destination because of all the summer traffic from large tour boats. Paddlers would need to keep wide clearance from them, and be prepared to deal with their wake/waves. That said, it can be a unique experience in spring or fall (or you could hazard a dawn or dusk outing in summer before or after the throngs of tourons and the powerboats ply the waters). A strictly flatwater paddle (at most flows) allows you to experience the dells 'up close and personal', being able to paddle in and out of some of the 'gulches' and explore little 'sea caves' where larger craft cannot go. At most times and places (save for the narrows), you can paddle upstream nearly as easily as down, since you are mostly in the backwaters behind the dam downstream. Be aware that while some lands immediately adjacent to the river are owned by the WIDNR, _much of the shoreline is private property_. _Going ashore at any of the boardwalks in the 'gulches' constitutes trespass_, as they are generally maintained by the tour boat concessions which operate those landings under a lease from the state. (You have the right to be on the water, but you most emphatically do not have the right to be on any of these boardwalks!) So . . . why is this entry in a database/list of _whitewater_ venues? It's probably a bit of a stretch (OK, a lot of a stretch). But . . . at high flows, the area flanking the east channel around Blackhawk Island, an area called 'The Narrows', can contain some most wicked swirls and boils I've ever seen in a normally non-whitewater stretch of river. Canoeing it one fall (long before I was a whitewater boater), the river was high and this area was filled with ephemeral whirlpools! They would form 'out of nowhere', build to a foot-or-two wide, looking like an oversized sink or tub drain, then just as mysteriously as they appeared they would fizzle out and disappear! I remember being very nervous, wondering what would happen if one would form too near our canoe. (We made it through without episode.) I can only imagine what an incredible 'ride' this would have been for an experienced squirt-boater! It should be noted that Blackhawk Island was designated a _State Natural Area_ in 1969, and is owned by the University of Wisconsin. For decades, innumerable school-aged youth and 4-H club members have flocked to Camp Upham Woods (on the shore of the west channel around the island). Access to the Camp and to Blackhawk Island is generally limited to 'scientific or educational groups only'. (You might try contacting the Camp Manager for access permission, 608-254-6461, but I'm not sure how likely it would be given.) Tom Lindblade (via YouTube) offers a fine (flatwater) documentary: _Paddling the (Upper) Wisconsin Dells, 12/05/04_