Took a big detour from the area I was camping in order to visit Eagle Eye Rapids, named so because they are within Eagle Eye State Natural Area. This one is far off the normal routes but it’s always interesting driving through remote areas of southwestern Wisconsin. This one is a bit hard to find – basically look for the signs and park off the road.
This is definitely a low traffic area as you can tell by the overgrown path. I’ve seen game trails that are easier to follow, these are hard to see in spots. Luckily the walk to the North Fork Bad Axe River isn’t very far, maybe 100 yards or so.
Right off the path there is one more pronounced rapids / small “waterfall” but it only drops less than a foot. I already knew they are small rapids and it doesn’t matter – it’s part of the quest to see all the falls in the WaterfallsWisconsin guide book. The river is classified as a Class II trout stream and much of the land is being restored from former ag back to natural habitat.
Past the small “falls” looking upstream you can see a series of small rapids. None of them have a very defined drop so I didn’t venture too far. Additionally the habitat here is home to several endangered/threatened species so I don’t want to inadvertently harm the wildlife. Conservation is much more important than my silly photo hobby.
Downstream is much of the same but that’s not to say it’s not worth seeing…
Here’s another view just a bit further downstream. To me this shot is highly representative of the more remote & less visited sites in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area.
Video
Here’s a short video of how to get there and the rapids. Enjoy!
Lat = 43.5900612 , Long = -91.031868 -- Show at Google Maps