Urban kayaking - the Milwaukee River and other associated waterways
So I finally got up to Milwaukee this past Sunday to take my folding kayak out for a spin on the waterways of brew-city. I took megabus
from Chicago up there for only 12 bucks roundtrip, how freaking cool is that?! I put-in around 10:00am at the st. paul avenue launch dock and proceeded to paddle for ~22 miles on the waters of Milwaukee over the course of 6 ½ hours. The map below shows my route, the numbers at each end of my web-like journey mark the order in which I paddled the various rivers and waterways to give you an idea of the flow of the pictures. The pictures are pretty much presented in the order that I took them so you can follow along with me on my day of urban waterway exploration. Milwaukee is a wonderful city with some fantastic rivers and an amazing lakefront. If I should ever be forced to move from my beloved Chicago, I know exactly where I’ll be headed. The weather was certainly less than ideal for photography, and the morning sun gave me fits as I was paddling south at the start. That soon gave way to a heavy hazy overcast and eventually drizzle and rain at times. Later In the afternoon the sun started poking through the clouds again. So these pics aren’t exactly top quality, but they work very well for showing the Milwaukee River system as it is. I’m most disappointed with the shots from the lake, the haze was heaviest when I was out there and the waves were choppier than I was expecting due to the high winds, which made it difficult to steady the camera. Oh well, 95% of the reason I do this is because I simply LOVE urban kayaking, the photography is just a nice tag along hobby. anyway, if you dig this sort of urban kayaking photography thing, be sure to check out my other photo tours from the Chicago River that I did last fall: Chicago River: north branch Chicago River: south branch And now, without further ado, enjoy the tour: My route: http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/6365/000map.jpg 1. putting my boat together at the dock. http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/2048/001boat.jpg 2. the put-in dock, everything is ready to go! http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1027/002launch.jpg 3. beautiful classics of the 3rd ward, since converted to residential lofts, lining the riverwalk. http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/2357/0033rdward.jpg 4. newish condo development on the opposite side of the river in walker’s point. I really like this one. http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/6412/004walkers.jpg 5. a cool old rail bridge across the opening to the Menomonee river. We’ll be back to explore that later. http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/4919/005railbridge.jpg 6. looking back at the 3rd ward, with downtown in the background. http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/2449/0063rdward.jpg 7. this part of the river, like a lot of parts of the Milwaukee river, has gone condo crazy over the past decade or so. http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9288/007condos.jpg 8. a swing bridge that is left in the open position because it’s so low to the water. http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/353...wingbridge.jpg 9. staring up at a huge grain elevator. I wish that damn sailboat mast wasn’t in the way. http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/837...inelevator.jpg 10. the mighty hoan bridge stretches across the mouth of the Milwaukee river estuary. Lake Michigan beckons beyond, we’ll be back later. http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2783/010hoanbridge.jpg 11. looking back over my shoulder, a glimpse of the skyline appears. http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/3420/011skyline.jpg 12. looking down a side slip off of the kinnickinnic river. That’s one huge clock tower down there. http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/2978/012slip.jpg 13. Milwaukee might not have any 1,000 foot skyscrapers, but her port can accommodate 1,000 ft. ore boats. This is the stewart j. cort, the first thousand footer to ply the waters of the great lakes. Built in 1972, she’s a bulk carrier that primarily carries taconite from the mesabi range up in Minnesota down to the steel mills in the lower lakes and she also happens to be my favorite great lakes freighter. What luck that she was in port when I happened to be paddling through, though she was riding extremely high and almost looked to be in temporary lay-up. http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/8695/013cort.jpg 14. a panorama of milwaukee’s port facilities. SCROLL----------------------------------> http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/9126/014panorama3.jpg 15. another large grain elevator. Yeah they’re very utilitarian and industrial, but I think they’re really cool. http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/2207/...inelevator.jpg 16. leaving the port estuary, now we enter the kinnickinnic river proper. There’s another low railroad swing bridge left in the open position. http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5020/016swingbridge.jpg 17. yet another large grain elevator. http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/7585/017elevator.jpg 18. the kinnickinnic avenue bridge across the kinnickinnic river. http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5292/0181stbridge.jpg 19. shortly followed by another cool rail bridge. Steel trusses rule! http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/5823/019railbridge.jpg 20. here’s a shot of a fantastically gigantic and ornate church somewhere on milwaukee’s southside. http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/7505/020basillica.jpg 21. going south of the becher street bridge, we leave the industry behind and the kinnickinnic river takes on a much more natural feel. http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/5049/021nature.jpg 22. isn’t it cool that this scene is only about a half mile up river from all that industry? http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/1088/022trees.jpg 23. a family of geese hanging out on a small island in the river. http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/6370/023geese.jpg 24. just shy of the I-94 bridge, the kinnickinnic gets really, really shallow. I started scraping bottom on some rocks, so I decided to turn around here. http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/3762/024turnaround.jpg 25. now heading down river, another nice church on the horizon. http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/4349/025church.jpg 26. a general kinnickinnic river scene http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/7811/026bridge.jpg 27. a boat storage marina along the river. http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/7924/027marina.jpg 28. now back at the estuary, the skyline comes into view again. http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/5...linecondos.jpg 29. cool urban texture looking back up the Milwaukee river. http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/305...bantexture.jpg 30. now it’s time to head under the hoan bridge and out onto the lake. http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/6168/030hoan.jpg 31. but one last glimpse of the skyline. http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/9320/031skyline.jpg 32. underneath the hoan bridge. http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/7173/032hoan.jpg 33. milwaukee’s harbor lighthouse. Sorry for the pixelization, I had to use some digital zoom here as the lighthouse is way the hell out there. http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/4900/033lighthouse.jpg 34. now out on the lake, let’s start with a skyline panorama. SCROLL----------------------------------> http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/9819/034panorama.jpg 35. US bank tower, milwaukee’s tallest. Great building; awful signage. http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/4493/035usbank.jpg 36. pier Wisconsin. http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/313...rwisconsin.jpg 37. with all those flags flying, Milwaukee is clearly a “genuine American city”. http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/5931/037flags.jpg 38. the residential east side skyline looms above veterans park and the lakefront. http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/69/038eastside.jpg 39. the art museum and skyline. http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7050/039skyline.jpg 40. art museum close up. http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/8408/040museum.jpg 41. the downtown skyline. http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/347...eumskyline.jpg 42. university club and kilbourn towers. http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/3852/042university.jpg 43. back into the river estuary, there’s that massive building with the huge clock tower again. It’s gotta be one of the largest buildings in Milwaukee. http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/4382/043clock.jpg 44. condos! condos! condos! http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1737/044condos.jpg 45. a better view of the swing bridge we saw earlier. http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/963...wingbridge.jpg 46. heading back up the Milwaukee river. http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/3149/046condos.jpg 47. more condos. http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/738/047condos.jpg 48. and here we are back near where we started. http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/7130/0483rdward.jpg 49. the sleekly modern chase bank building. http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/3719/049chase.jpg 50. this used to be a grand old department store, but is now part of grand avenue mall. http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/2358/050grandave.jpg 51. Milwaukee sure loves its pointy top buildings. http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/7237/051pointy.jpg 52. 100 east Wisconsin, the city’s second tallest. http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/825...ewisconson.jpg 53. I love the glass jewel-box entrance for the chase building. Very elegant. http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/8386/053chase.jpg 54. a general downtown river scene. http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/9434/...ukeecenter.jpg 55. rock bottom brewery has a lively riverside dining patio. http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/6...rockbottom.jpg 56. the lovely Germania building. http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/8986/056germania.jpg 57. Milwaukee center, milwaukee’s 3rd tallest. http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/377...ukeecenter.jpg 58. The kilbourn avenue bridge. http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/6069/058kilbourn.jpg 59. looking back over my shoulder. http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/3826/059moneyshot.jpg 60. a shot from underneath one of the downtown bridges. http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/872...nderbridge.jpg 61. Marquette park along the west bank of the river. http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/2843/061marquette.jpg 62. sausage mecca of the western hemisphere, USINGERS! Just imagine the sheer amount of deliciousness contained within this building! http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/6299/062usingers.jpg 63. a pedestrian bridge across the river. http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/4549/063pedestrian.jpg 64. the venerable sydney hih building awaits either demolition of rehabilitation. Let’s hope for the latter. http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/5342/064sydneyhih.jpg 65. new construction on the river. http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/949...nstruction.jpg 66. manpower’s newish riverfront headquarters. http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/9366/066manpower.jpg 67. a funk-tacular glass block deco bridge tower of the cherry street bridge. http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/590...errybridge.jpg 68. I think this was some kind of medical building, but I’m not sure. http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/1977/068office.jpg 69. here’s a a building that looks primed for some rehab. http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2263/069rehab.jpg 70. new riverfront condos http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/9396/070condos.jpg 71. the Houlton avenue bridge with lakefront brewery off to the left (seems to me it should be called “riverfront brewery”, but whatever). http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/964...ltonbridge.jpg 72. the new riverfront condo mania just doesn’t stop. http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/1535/072condos.jpg 73. and on. and on. and on…….. http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/4166/073condos.jpg 74. a neat circular plan tower rising high on the east bank. http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/3035/074tower.jpg 75. north avenue dam. Or at least what’s left of it. The damn has been busted through to restore the river to a more natural flow. http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/5702/075northdam.jpg 76. the rapids just south of the north avenue bridge. The river was running really fast here, and knowing I couldn’t paddle through the rapids ahead, I turned around here. http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/166/076rapids.jpg 77. the Humboldt avenue bridge reconstruction. http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/710...oltrebuild.jpg 78. heading downriver again, a skyline view. http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/742/078skyline.jpg 79. some buildings on the MSOE campus. http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/2290/079msoe.jpg 80. you gotta love milwuakee’s pointy skyline. http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/1995/080points.jpg 81. riverfront townhomes with a tower rising above. http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/5011/081townhomes.jpg 82. the tower of milwaukee’s magnificent city hall. http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/9172/082cityhall.jpg 83. the cliché Milwaukee river “money shot”. Well, with a view this fantastic, no wonder it’s become a cliché. http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/7895/083moneyshot.jpg 84. there’s city hall again. http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/6430/084cityhall.jpg 85. a view down one of downtown’s urban corridors from the river. http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/9705/085corridor.jpg 86. a view underneath the river walk. http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2788/086below.jpg 87. a peek of some super-ornate second empire architecture downtown. http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/1271/087ornate.jpg 88. this poor old structure south of I-794 could use some TLC. http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/557/088rehab.jpg 89. the Milwaukee public market and nice terra clad beauty in the 3rd ward. http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/6816/089market.jpg 90. here we are back at the 3rd ward for the 3rd time. It’s ok though, because these buildings are just gorgeous. http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/6276/0903rdward.jpg 91. just stunning. http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/7590/091texture.jpg 92. the 3rd ward does urban corridors as well. what a great neighborhood! http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/5379/092texture.jpg 93. a quick turn around and a skyline view before heading into the Menomonee river valley. http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7205/093skyline.jpg 94. an old cold storage warehouse right by the mouth of the Menomonee river. http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/6954/094storage.jpg 95. milwaukee’s giant central post office spans over the train yard of its Amtrak station. http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/6964/095postoffice.jpg 96. we’re gonna take a quick detour down the burnham slip before continuing on down the Menomonee river. http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4818/096teweles.jpg 97. here’s a bridge of the 6th street viaduct crossing the burnham slip. http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/4576/0976tfstreet.jpg 98. some neat old loft buildings. http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3056/098lofts.jpg 99. a cable stayed span of the 6th street viaduct. We clearly have some echoes of the calatrava art museum going on here. http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/5092/0996thstreet.jpg 100. the Menomonee slip branches off from the brunham slip. That’s I-94 flying high above. http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/8075/100menslip.jpg 101. some cool buildings near the end of the burnham slip. This is about where I turned around and headed back. http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/136...urnhamslip.jpg 102. I-94 crossing the slip with a cool railroad swing bridge beneath. http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/9933/102i94.jpg 103. paddling back down the slip, 100 east Wisconsin comes into view. http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/470...ewisconsin.jpg 104. 6th street bridge. http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/2374/104skyline.jpg 105. the new Harley Davidson museum. http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/7908/105harley.jpg 106. now we’re back on the Menomonee river proper and crossing underneath I-94 once again. http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/2038/106i94.jpg 107. a general Menomonee river scene. http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/4510/107menomonee.jpg 108. the potowatomie casino. http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/295...otowatomie.jpg 109. a nice old warehouse structure. http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/491/109warehouse.jpg 110. this cool 8 sided tower structure was next to the warehouse. I could not discern its function. http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/5096/110octotower.jpg 111. the 27th street viaduct parallels the Menomonee river for a bit. http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/725...7thviaduct.jpg 112. the tops of the Mitchell park botanical domes were just barely visible from the river. http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/763...chelldomes.jpg 113. and just like on the kinnickinnic, the Menomonee river very suddenly became very shallow, so I turned around here to head back. http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/6363/113turnaround.jpg 114. urban waterfall. aww, check out those sweet pipes! (obscure sealab 2021 reference) http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8198/114sweetpipes.jpg 115. the pilings underneath a railroad crossing. http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3065/...dgepilings.jpg 116. heading back towards downtown. http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/4387/116skyline.jpg 117. the complex beauty of the Marquette interchange. http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/7097/117i94.jpg 118. the skyline of the west side of downtown. http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/6936/118westside.jpg 119. getting closer. http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/683/119skyline.jpg 120. almost there. The bridge was up, but I couldn’t get over there quick enough to check it out. http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/3876/120bridgeup.jpg 121. and let’s finish things off with a massive 3rd ward/walker’s point panorama. SCROLL---------------------> http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/5016/121panorama.jpg Well, that’s it. I pulled my kayak out of the water, packed it up and headed over to the Milwaukee Ale House along the river walk in the third ward for some cold beer and a well-deserved cheeseburger. Then i was off to the megabus pick-up location and back to Chicago. I hope you enjoyed the tour. Next up: the lakes of Madison, hopefully sometime in September. |
That was an awesome thread Dan. . . best Milwaukee thread I've seen in the 10 years we've been on these boards!!!
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Really fun. Great photos, thanks!
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You should try the Ohio River. Oh wait, you'll die.
But these shots...you won't die. |
Great tour! Milwaukee always pleases. It's great too see it from a new angle.
- Two skyscaper thoughts on Milwaukee: This is one of my favorite modern skyscrapers (~1989). I just looks like it belongs in Milwuakee. http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/470...ewisconsin.jpg ...and this is one of my least favorite skyscrapers anywhere. It's too ugly for the suburbs, but it's downtown. http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/5011/081townhomes.jpg |
Wow, what a treat! The way you were talking about the day and how your pics turned out I was not expecting much, and to begin the tour I was saying to myself that you were right but little by little the pics got better and better to the point that I have to rave about them! That pano for the last shot has got to be the best damn pano of Mil-town that I have ever seen! Pic #117 under the Marquette interchange is superb! Alot of the condo pics, whether they were shot in the 3rd ward or Brewers Point were top rate!
I'm telling you Steely Dan, thank you, you made my day. I've seen alot of excellent photo threads on Mil-town and this ranks up with the best of them! Just one thing, aren't kayaks made for rapids? Being from Wausau I know that they are. Come on man, when in Wisconsin do the state motto "Forward". |
Damn, Milwaukee is hot! :cheers:
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Can't wait to go to school there!!!!!!
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As good as it gets. Thanks for the tour, Steely...
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Wow, that was a really cool thread. Thanks for sharing. I like how Milwaukee has a mini canyon of buildings up the river regardless if it is Cliché ... it's like a smaller version of Chicago.
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I like these tours.
You should also concider the Cuyahoga River someday. |
What a great thread! Looks like a damn good time. Milwaukee looking so good!
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Totally unique and the best Milwaukee thread I've ever seen. Such a cool way to explore a city.
Are you risking a DSLR when you do this or using a point and shoot? Just curious. BTW, nothing cliche about a shot taken from the water. |
wow, really makes me want to go to milwaukee!
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thanks for the compliments everyone!
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Wow, great tour! I really like the perspective from the river.
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just fantastic. thank you.
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Very nice. I love Milwaukee. I wish Buffalo could replicate their success.
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Dan, that was seriously awesome!
How did your Kayak handle on the lake? That gigantic industrial building with the clock in your KK River is the Alan Bradley Company. They manufacture buttons and control panels for industrial machinery and amusement parks. |
A fantastic and rare tour. Excellent shots and commentary. Which river will Dan take on next?
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