The entire 89-mile length of the Pine River and the 62 miles of its major tributary, the Popple River, were designated by the Wisconsin Legislature as State Wild Rivers in 1965 to be protected from development and kept in a natural, free-flowing condition.
About 80% of the Pine upstream of Snake Tail Rapids is owned by the federal government (Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest). Downstream of Snake Tail Rapids, most of the land is owned by the state of Wisconsin. Camping is allowed nearly everywhere on national forest land. However, camping is limited to only a couple designated sites on state owned lands along the river.
I have paddled thousands of miles across North America and I must say that the Pine is one of my favorite rivers anywhere. I have paddled the Pine ~ 3 dozen times, for a total of over 100 days. Above Hwy 101, water levels tend to be best in the spring or after periods of heavy rain. Most of my trips have been in April or May. The trip documented in this video was in September 2020. This was a rare treat (for me) as I was able to experience the river during fall colors rather than during the spring when the vegetation has net yet leafed-out.
Information Sources:
MilesPaddled.com has route descriptions for the sections from Hwy 139 to Chipmunk Rapids (www.milespaddled.com/pine-riv...) and from Chipmunk Rapids to Goodman Grade (www.milespaddled.com/pine-riv.... I actually started my trip ~15.5 miles further upstream at Hwy 55, but I am not aware of any copyright free materials on this upper stretch that I can link to here.
Mike Svob's book "Paddling Northern Wisconsin" (www.amazon.com/Paddling-North...) has description of the Pine from Hwy 55 to Hwy 101.
TOC for this video:
0:00 Hwy 55 to Stevens Lake Road
3:37 Stevens Lake Road to Chipmunk Rapids Campground
5:58 Chipmunk Rapids Campground to Goodman Grade
12 июл 2024
