Poplar Dam to Moonshine Road (5.4 miles; or 1 mile up to 14+ miles)

Running parallel to (and not far away from) Middle River, the Poplar River shows an area of gradient right in the small community of Poplar, Wisconsin. A dam (which formerly impounded a lake upstream (southeast) of the main intersection in town) was removed in 2012/2013. From aerial views it looks as though nothing of very much interest was revealed in the former impoundment area. Just downstream of that site the river passes under the 'Tri-County Corridor' and U.S.Hwy.2. Drainage area at this point is 22 square miles, enough to generate decent flows in spring and after heavy rains. The first mile drops about 60 feet, which should be enough to create some whitewater features (with adequate flows). Access for the indicated put-in should be fine. What may be more problematic is finding a convenient/legal take-out. It may be necessary to seek permission from some property owner. (See 'River Features' for info on possible take-outs.) After the first mile, the gradient generally falls in the 20-30 FPM range virtually the rest of the way to Lake Superior. While that gradient often means mild whitewater interest, aerial views show minimal evidence of any significant features. So, has anyone ever looked at any of this stretch? Or boated it? Help out your fellow boaters with a Trip Report! A fine, long report (edited) from 'MankatoDave' (April, 2012 ... before the dam was removed): _'I bushwhacked/hiked/scouted a LONG section of the Poplar river through town... following the river ... until it looked like most of the bigger gradient was petering out._ _There were just small riffles after the (former dam location), until an old railroad trestle just upstream from the Hwy 2 bridge._ _The rapids started abruptly, with a narrow 3'-4' ledge, located directly under the trestle, and bedrock rapids afterward. The first ledge looked runnable and had a nice tongue at that level, but the rapids afterward were shallow and rocky, and there was another riverwide ledge (about 2'-2.5' tall) about halfway between the trestle and the Hwy 2 bridge tunnel._ _The first ledge also looked as though the remnants of an old concrete dam had been placed on the downstream side of the ledge, and long since since washed out. There were a few pieces of rebar showing on both sides of this old concrete structure._ _It seemed like nice gradient all through town, and pretty constant class 1 and 2 rapids for a long ways...more water would speed things up considerably, and it is an intimate run, with very few houses nearby._ _The river is quite narrow overall, and there were a couple of tighter spots, but I didn't see anything that completely blocked the river. After the main gradient, the river still always moved along nicely, and looked deep enough to run, even at the level I saw it._ _It seemed like a nice run, especially if you like narrow, intimate streams._ _The first listed takeout (Deer Trail Road/Town Road 31/E.North Line Road) might be possible, but it is a long ways uphill through thick woods to the nearest road, and I was told the land owner is not very friendly, and would most likely not give permission to do so._ _The river still had good current and showed easy rapids at the Hwy 13 bridge, and even after the Hwy 13 bridge.'_