Milwaukee Urban Water Trail

Milwaukee Urban Water Trail

People increasingly recognize that they don’t need to travel long distances to go canoeing or kayaking, but can enjoy the rivers right in their own backyards!  The Milwaukee Urban Water Trail is a cooperative effort to help the citizens of Milwaukee gain safe and legal access to the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic Rivers.

The Milwaukee Urban Water Trail is a trail and map for canoes, kayaks, and other small non-motorized boats on the “urban” portions of our three rivers. The Milwaukee Urban Water Trail map includes access points, portages, hazards, and resting sites (e.g. sites accessed only from the water), and also includes information on historic, cultural, ecological, or scenic points of interest along the way.

The map now connects a large stretch of the Milwaukee River and its tributaries in Ozaukee County to the more urban stretches of our rivers in Milwaukee County.  It also connects our three rivers to access points along Lake Michigan, which includes launches that are part of the Lake Michigan Water Trail as well as some newly acquired lakefront parks in Ozaukee County.

What is a water trail?

Water trails are liquid “pathways” that are being developed in communities across the country.  They enable non-motorized boaters to find legal and safe access points, resting sites and nearby attractions.  Water trails connect people with places, both natural and human-made, connect past to present and give boaters a unique perspective on rivers, lakes and the surrounding land.  These connections provide “a sense of place” within our watersheds and bring us together as a community.

Water trails:

• Are managed with public-private partnerships, with volunteers as the key supporters and advocates of the trail.
• Promote stewardship/conservation of natural resources, and abide by “Leave No Trace” code of outdoor ethics.
• Encourage wellness and well being, and accessibility for all.
• Connect people with places, both natural and human-made and past to present.
• Help provide a “sense of place” for boaters within our watersheds
• Have signage clearly marking put-in and take-out locations, portages, and safety concerns will also be an integral part of this project.

Milwaukee Urban Water Trail is a project of Milwaukee Riverkeeper.  The project is funded by the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office for Coastal Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act, Grant #NA16NOS4190108.  Thank you to Midwest River Expeditions and our Milwaukee Riverkeeper members and volunteers.

Project Supporters: