Riding the Wisconsin River through the spectacular Dells

                                    The start of the Upper Wisconsin Dells

20,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, a continental glacier rumbled down from the arctic to the middle of Wisconsin. As it melted, it formed a lake as large as the Great Salt Lake is today, 150 feet deep, backed up behind an ice dam. Under the stress of continued warming the ice dam burst, sending a mighty torrent raging through sandstone deposits. Like hydraulic mining, the flood cut a deep 5 mile long gorge and carved grotesque rock formations in the sandstone, channeling what is today the Wisconsin River, just at the confluence of the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic Rivers.

Known as The Wisconsin Dells, riding the river though the spectacular canyon has been a tourist attraction for more than 150 years. The first river tours through the canyon were begun in 1856 by Leroy Gates using wooden rowboats. Today a fleet of large and small tour boats carry more than 5 million visitors a year through the canyon, most of them from the end of the school year to the fall. The river freezes over in the winter. 

The SF Boating Examiner found himself in Wisconsin on June 7, and was invited to take a private tour through The Dells on a bright sunny day in a 16 foot center console skiff, skippered by Frank Durham, of Medart Marine, a legend in the Wisconsin boating industry. The tour began at the dam that separates the Dells into an Upper and Lower part, at 42-37’36”N, 89-48”53’ W.

There were spots in the canyon and its tributaries deep in shade where one could almost touch both sides as the boat glided through. Other spots were wide, and edged with sand beaches where in summer hosts of families with kids pull up for a picnic, and even camp for a night or two. Camping on the sand is mildly dangerous, as occasional water releases from the dam can raise the water level enough to douse campers.

  Above, right, the SF Boating Examiner and his wife, Judy. Left, skipper Frank Durham who guided the SF Examiner through the Dells.

 For more about boating in Wisconsin, go to this article about Door County chartering.