Description

I'm not sure what anyone else may call this stretch (or the names for many individual features or drops, other than the first, "Fin Falls"), but I like to call just call the whole stretch below Swinging bridge 'The Miracle Mile'. From the suspension bridge to where the gradient peters out (and you begin your arduous climb, carrying your boat to your vehicle at Oldenburg Point) there is a full mile of river dropping 180 feet (!!!) across jutting transverse splines of rock.

YES, that's 180 FPM, on a BIG WIDE river! Best runnable at 800-1000 cfs, perhaps "E.L.F" boatable (Extreme Low Flow, I.E., boat abuse) down to 500-600 cfs.

And it is nearly impossible to effectively scout any part of it, so I highly advise first-timers to go with someone who is well-experienced in running this part of the river so you can just follow them down. The best/usual routes are generally well to river-right. There are places you will probably have to go on blind faith, slipping out of a hanging pool to drop over a 5-8' slide into the next pool. When you finish I think you probably agree this is some of the most bizarre boating you will find in the entire upper Midwest.