The surrounding landscape becomes increasingly hilly as the river flows southward past Greenwood, then Neillsville. The islands often create narrow, winding, high-speed channels which can be a blast to maneuver through, yet often present dangerous situations due to the large number of fallen trees and strainers. This long upper region features numerous riffles and class 1 rapids along with a large number of small islands and weedy gravel bars. Maple, beech, birch, and ash are dominant covering a varied understory, while pine and spruce canopy the banks where the soils become sandy. Trees often arch over the river creating a tunnel-like effect. Beginning at the Sawyer Ave Bridge, west of Medford and north of Highway 64, the final 100+ miles of the Black River are considered navigable for paddling, though the first 15 miles are barely so due to frequent deadfall.Ĭanoers and kayakers will find the upper Black to be narrow and intimate. The river bends southward west of Medford, and gradually begins to widen from additional, accumulative flows of numerous feeder streams. From its source, the river begins as a narrow stream, meandering westward through a dense northern hardwood-conifer forest. Begining at the outlet of Black Lake near the small village of Chelsea in Taylor County, the Black River flows for nearly 200 miles before emptying into the Mississippi River near Onalaska.
