BRUNSWEILER RIVER, (Ashland Co., WI, 7 miles west of Mellen)

LENGTH 7.5 mi., CLASS II-IV

SEASON: A week or two in early spring.

PUT-IN: Dam where the Brunsweiler River leaves Beaverdam Lake. to start with the Upper Brunsweiler, or Brook Rd. Bridge to just do the Lower Brunsweiler. To get to a put-in drive 2.2 miles north of Mellen on Hwy. 13. Turn west onto Co. Hwy. C and stay on it until you reach a T in the road after 3.2 miles. Turn to the south onto Silver Brook Rd. which you will take for 2.5 miles until you reach the intersection with North York Rd. The put-in for the lower section is another 2 miles west on Spring Brook Rd. To reach the upper put-in, take North York Rd. south for 2 miles and note where it makes a hard turn to the west and becomes Hanson Rd. An additional 0.8 miles after this turn a dirt road heads towards the north and in 0.6 miles ends near the outlet of Beaverdam Lake.

TAKEOUT: Eade Rd. Bridge. (?) or maybe Co. Hwy. C bridge depending on road conditions.

GAGE: Visual

FUN FACT: One of the better runs in the Mellen area.

FIRST DESCENT:

SHUTTLE: From the put-in, drive back to the intersection of Brook Rd. and North York Rd. From this intersection drive north 2.5 miles to Old County Rd. or 3 miles north to Hwy. 13. If you take Old County Rd. west it turns into Eade Rd. and you will be at the river within 3 miles. If you decide on the lower takeout another 2 miles downstream, take Hwy. 13 north 1.5 miles and turn west onto Co. Hwy. C. A bridge crosses the river in less than a mile.

Access to the Brunsweiler can be a problem in the spring especially for the more challenging Upper Brunsweiler section (class IV+) which runs from the dam below Beaverdam Lake to the Brook Rd. Bridge about 1.5 miles downstream. The lower section is mostly continuous class II broken by three major Class III-IV drops