Wisconsin River
The Wisconsin River is the state's longest river. It starts at Lac Vieux Desert on the Michigan border and runs south through a chain of flowages and dams to the Mississippi.
Where the Wisconsin River flows
The river runs through or along these 16 counties: Adams County; Columbia County; Crawford County; Dane County; Grant County; Iowa County; Juneau County; Lincoln County; Marathon County; Oneida County; Portage County; Richland County; Sauk County; Vilas County; Wood County; Gogebic County, MI.
Towns and cities within about 2 miles of the river, by county:
- Adams County Wisconsin Dells
- Columbia County Portage
- Dane County Sauk City
- Grant County Boscobel, Woodman
- Lincoln County Merrill, Tomahawk
- Marathon County Brokaw, Mosinee, Rothschild, Schofield, Wausau
- Oneida County Lake Tomahawk, Mc Naughton, Rhinelander
- Portage County Plover, Stevens Point
- Richland County Gotham, Muscoda
- Sauk County Lake Delton, Merrimac, Prairie Du Sac, Spring Green
- Vilas County Conover, Eagle River
- Wood County Nekoosa, Port Edwards, Wisconsin Rapids
Counties from U.S. Census boundaries, places from a public U.S. cities list. Small communities may be missing.
River facts
| Length | About 430 miles |
|---|---|
| Source | Lac Vieux Desert, on the Wisconsin-Michigan border |
| Mouth | Mississippi River, about 3 miles south of Prairie du Chien |
| Main tributaries | Kickapoo, Pine, Baraboo, Lemonweir, Yellow, Eau Claire, Big Rib, Tomahawk and Pelican rivers |
| Fish | Walleye, sauger, saugeye, northern pike, muskellunge, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, channel and flathead catfish, lake sturgeon, panfish |
The river is dammed 25 times for hydropower, which turns much of its length into a string of flowages. Those impoundments, not the free-flowing stretches, hold most of the lakes in our guide.
Listed fish are the species named for the river on its Wikipedia page. Check the Wisconsin DNR for river-specific regulations before you fish.
Lakes and flowages on the Wisconsin River
Lakes in our guide on or connected to this river:
Source: Wisconsin River (Wikipedia)