For Labor Day weekend, my wife and I took a canoe 36 miles down the Fox river, from Yorkville to Ottawa, Illinois. It's a clear river trip, past silver springs state park, shuh shuh canoe launch, Sheridan, Fox River Dells and portage through the Dayton dam area.
This section is obviously very scenic. There are day trips you can take through the different areas, but the entire stretch is possible. Official campsites are non-existent, but there are a few islands and sandbars you can go on.
The water level was lower than I've seen personally in my handful of trips. Dayton's USGS gauge reading was at about 6.5 feet. Flow was at 1500, up from the average of 700 CFPS. Not sure I believe the averages, but the readings are what they are. There were plenty of rocks and boulders I've not quite seen on other trips, and I've gone in a dry October before.
This section is obviously very scenic. There are day trips you can take through the different areas, but the entire stretch is possible. Official campsites are non-existent, but there are a few islands and sandbars you can go on.
The water level was lower than I've seen personally in my handful of trips. Dayton's USGS gauge reading was at about 6.5 feet. Flow was at 1500, up from the average of 700 CFPS. Not sure I believe the averages, but the readings are what they are. There were plenty of rocks and boulders I've not quite seen on other trips, and I've gone in a dry October before.
Here are some shots of the portage. You get out at river left and drag along the shore bank. Then up a slight hill, and up over the dam. Then down a steep hill and back over some rocks to get back into the river. It takes about an hour, if you have 6 bags and a canoe like we did. There are signs clearly marking it, so it is easy to pass through.
Here is where we camped. Bit closer to jail than I'd prefer, but it worked. It was a nice sandbar with some tree coverage. Heavy on spiders, but not much in terms of mosquitoes.
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