Canoeing the Sugar River,
Wisconsin
Rural is the best overall word to
describe the Sugar River.In its southeastern
course through Dane, Green, and Rock
counties it goes through only three
small towns, where dams impound its
waters. Elsewhere it travels peacefully
past sparsely populated farmland,
wooded hills, marshes, and hardwood
swamps. Fairly steep in its headwaters
area between Madison and Mt. Horeb,
it begins leveling out as it passes
through lower, less hilly country.
In many places, trees and limbs in
the water can be a challenge for paddlers,
especially in the upper and lower
regions, above Dayton and below Avon.
There is never anything particularly
dramatic about the Sugar, no rock
outcroppings, rapids, or big sandbars,
but it’s a great place for a
quiet paddle through unspoiled, mostly
wooded surroundings
