Customer Reviews

Canoeing Adventures in Northern Illinois: Apple River to Zuma Creek

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This is an amazing book, the result of many years of paddling places no one else does, as well as all of the better known paddles in Northern Illinois. It will become the Illinois Paddler's bible.
Not only does it give details on over eighty possible paddles, but there is a tremendous wealth of historical information. There will never be another book like this. Buy it!

I bought this book looking for a guide to canoeing in and around the Chicagoland/Rockford area. I'm an intermediate paddler who can enjoy a lazy creek but can handle a little bit of fast water. I expected this book to provide some sort of information about how to paddle the creeks, streams and rivers in the area. I expected some guidance on where to start a paddle, what I might see along the way and where to get out. This book has none of that.

This book provides no maps whatsoever. So without consulting an atlas or the internet I don't even get an idea of where these streams are. There aren't even general descriptions such as map coordinates or even a nearby town name. Heck, at this point I'd be glad to know what county the run is in.

Then there's the viability of taking any of the trips described. Granted I haven't read the whole thing yet, but of the first three trips described: one is described as "blah" by the author and not worth the effort, another isn't navigable even by an expert paddler and the third requires either trespassing on private property or violating posted state park regulations to run. On this last note, the author spends more than half of his introduction providing guidance on how to overcome fencing placed over non-public private streams to the point of giving instructions on how to move electrified cattle fencing without shocking yourself.

The book does point out some vaguely interesting historical nuggets here and there, but not much more than you might find in the tri-fold brochures you can pick up at the ranger's station at any state park. Frankly, this "guide" reads more like the diary of a hippy with a canoe and a healthy disregard for private property, boating regulations and his own general safety. If you're looking for a little help finding a few nice paddles within driving distance of Chicago to fill up a weekend here and there or for short trips, this book ain't it.