Wisconsin Boating - Wolf River – upstream from Partridge Lake to Nipple Beach
I’m going to review some highlights however the entire area is simply beautiful.
Just about every turn has something new to discover, a sandy cove, a small tavern or campground, a fishing hotspot, a deer swimming across the river. You become immersed in nature and that is exactly why many chose to risk lower unit and propeller damage to venture into this gorgeous area of the upper Wolf River. Don’t expect to find any of these local slang terms on any official nautical map.
To help you get a clear understanding of this area I made a crude map.
Starting from Partridge Lake in Fremont you head north upriver.Red Banks:The first notable landmark you will pass on your right or starboard side is called Red Banks
http://www.redbanks.net/ (920) 446-2933. They have docks, cabin rentals, a campground, restaurant and bar.
This is in a no wake zone. I did talk to one boater that lost a propeller right in the middle of the river in front of Red Banks. This is the only bend I’m going to say avoid the middle. Hug he outer or inner part of the river keeping your lower unit up and go slow. We went around the outside going upriver and inside coming back and did not hit on either side.
During the late 1940's to early 1950's they dredged the river and deposited in the rivers center.
As you pass Red Banks when the river gets wide stick to the inside of the bend. A short run upriver past Red Banks you will come to a T in the river. Looking at the letter T you are coming from the bottom up. This area is another no wake zone. There is a sign on the north shore that says Pine Grove and an arrow to the right.
Pine Grove:We went to the right or starboard towards Pine Grove with our lower unit up as far as we could. Just past the first no wake buoy into the channel I felt that unmistakable stern raise and drop as the skeg of the lower unit went over a submerged log. I turned around and went back out so I am unable to tell you any additional information on this channel to Pine Grove.
Continuing upstream:At this T in the river on the south west shore is a small sand beach area if you are ready for a rest. It’s not very deep and Little Nipple Beach is not much further. Because of its small size if you do pull up with a friend’s boat you would likely have the area to yourselves.
Little Nipple Beach:Heading back upstream you will not get up to plane long and you will come to another no wake zone. On your right or starboard side just as you start to round the bend is a small sandy beach area. I’ve talked to a few local boaters that call this Little Nipple Beach. I’ve not come across that name before at this site so I don’t know how well that name is known.
This beach is nice but rather small. It’s wide enough for about 4 to 6 boats to pull ashore. The sandy area from water to vegetation is about 6 to 8 feet deep. That’s enough for the kids to have some fun or adults to lay out and soak up some rays.
Little Nipple Beach is not too far past Partridge Lake so this spot is less of a
risk to get to with larger boats or during periods of low rainfall.
Gills Landing/JW Stringers:Continuing upriver in a few more minutes and a few more no wake zones you will come to a public boat landing and small park called Gills Landing on your left, or port side. The river widens at this point. The building on the north side of Gills Landing is JW Stringers bar.
JW Stringers has a bar, sandwich menu, boat rental and now added overnight lodging. Call 920-867-2844 for reservations.
Just upriver and north of Gils Landing is where the Waupaca River enters the
Wolf River.
Railroad Bridge:Photo of Railroad Bridge by Gills Landing – taken going downstream:
Just north of where the rivers merge and a bit more up the Wolf River you will see a railroad bridge. Towards the right half of the bridge is an area with a bit more clearance. Someone took some white spray paint and sprayed by hand “House boats here” and that is where we cruisers should go. Clearance was about 11 feet from the water to the bridge on the day we went through. Not too bad unless you have a boat way too big for this area.
Continuing north you pass some beautiful country. Lots of fallen trees making passage feel constricted but acceptable. I recommend you stick to the middle of the river as best you can and take the many curves closer to the outside edge where the water tends to be deeper. I saw depths of 2 feet (from my transducer mounted at the bottom of the stern of our boat) to 30 feet or more as the river went around bends.
A few more no wake zones and you will come to a Y in the river. Again you are coming from the bottom of the Y up. There is a sign marked New London and an arrow to the right. This is the way you should go if you want to get to Nipple Beach.
Photo of the Wolf River past Gills landing – taken going downstream:
At points you can see no man-made objects at all. Cruising along at planing speed through this rural geography gives a feeling I simply can’t describe, you will have to experience it for yourself.
Nipple Beach:Photo of Nipple Beach:
Nipple Beach gets is name due to a local reputation similar to that New Orleans Mardi Gras tradition. Bring a string of beads, offer them up to a willing lady and, well, I’ll let you fill in the rest.
Nipple Beach is about 8 miles upriver from Partridge Lake and going upriver it will be on your right or starboard side. It’s on the inside bend of an large U in the river. With the no wake zones and the winding of the river the run from Partridge Lake takes the better part of an hour. It is one of the most enjoyable hours you will ever have with your boat.
Nipple Beach is not a public park or campground but a small nice sandy beach area on the inside riverbank. Its about 100 feet wide, 140 feet if you count the sandy areas on the side with only a couple of feet of sand before vegetation.
The depth of the beach area varies like a crescent moon but I’d say in the center its about 50 feet from shore to vegetation.
There is enough room for about a dozen boats plus some nice sandy beach for small kids to play. The water is shallow enough on the more upriver half of the bend to toss a ball or other water games.
The river bank changes quite a lot as the beach wraps around the bend. Going upriver the beginning part of the beach is steep. It’s a fast drop-off to more then 20 feet of water depth. As you get to the furthest upriver part the river is very shallow due to a sand bar.
In the picture above you can see our boat a good distance away from shore yet we are beached on the rivers bottom. On the opposite side of Nipple beach the stern of the boats are floating and the bows are touching dry sand. Again this is due to the fast drop off on the downriver side of this curve in the river.
Boaters pull ashore and have fun in the sun during the day, kids making sand castles, etc. At night its campfires and spirits.
Photo of kids playing on Nipple Beach:
Onshore there is a sign posting “No Camping” displayed on a tree in the middle of the beach. I did call the Waupaca Sheriffs department for clarification on the no camping rule. The person on the phone discussed this with a few others then came back and said they are not sure if the land is public or private. They were all clear that you could not set up a tent and spend the night but think its OK to anchor and sleep on a boat pulled up to the bank.
Photo of camp fire on Nipple Beach:
Due to the sandbar if you are going beyond Nipple Beach follow close to the outside part as you round this U in the river.
Well, that’s about it. We got a little further then talked to some fishermen in a small flat bottom boat that told us it gets much shallower from this point on.
Someday I’d still like to get up to Partridge Crop Lake and visit Guths Resort (Bar and campground, call 920-867-2877) and beyond to New London. When I do I’ll be sure to provide an update.
Disclaimers – please readRiver Depth:This area is the upper portion of the Wolf River. Being a river the depth varies greatly. As you go through this area you will see the piers along the way are built very different then downriver. Most are built to float. A hinged plank provides a walkway to the shore allowing the pier to move up and down with a changing river height. Recent rains or lack of rain will greatly affect the rivers level and the depth between that submerged stump and your propeller.
No Wake zones:All the no wake zones past Partridge Lake are in effect 24/7. I mention this because the ones downstream to Fremont are weekend / holiday only. Also, with sharp blind turns there are a lot of no wake zones.
Drowning:Many of the rivers edges look very inviting to pull your boat ashore and enjoy. The grade of the rive bottoms vary and many have sharp drop-offs. I recommend keeping kids in Life Jackets even when onshore along this area. My apology if I’m sounding like a worry wart.
Littering:Much of the land along this portion of the river is private property. This is no different then the area further downstream except this area has many alluring sandy banks that are great for pulling ashore. After talking to some locals, it’s the littering left behind that bothers the land owners the most. What we do is we bring along some empty plastic grocery bags. Before we leave we pick up everything we brought plus any other trash we find in the general area.
