Kayaking the North Fork Maquoketa River - Cascade, IA - Cascade Riverfront Park to Cty Rd D61

Kayaking the North Fork Maquoketa River in Cascade, Iowa. We paddled about 6.75 miles of the North Fork Maquoketa River then padded upstream for 0.5 miles Whitewater Creek and took-out at County Road D61.
Put-in at Cascade, Iowa at Cascade Riverfront Park. There is a dedicated launch location downstream of the bridge on Pierce Street SW; however, we launched from the park for the brave one among us (not me) to run the rapid(s).
Take-out in Bernard, Iowa at the Whitewater Creek bridge on County Road D61. The bridge is about ½ mile upstream on Whitewater Creek so you must paddle up stream against the current. This was doable but it was exercise. The take-out is downstream of the bridge, river right. There is a gravel bar under the bridge for solid exit and a decent path from the road to the access point. It’s a bit of a schlep but definitely doable and seems like it is used often.
We chose to take out on Whitewater Creek instead of continuing down the North Fork Maquoketa River since the distance to the next bridge was a bigger commitment than we were willing to make.
Put-in: maps.app.goo.g...
Take-out: maps.app.goo.g...
The water level for this trip was HIGH and not usual. The river was at 6.25’ or 1400 CFS at the North Fork Maquoketa River gauge at Fulton. This was a very nice water level with little to no scraping. Of course, that also meant that the water clarity was poor, but it was a good trade off IMO.
Gauge level for the North Fork Maquoketa River at Fulton, Iowa:
waterdata.usgs...