Kayaking the Whitewater Creek - Cascade, Iowa - Hempstead Road to Cty Rd D61 - June 2024

Kayaking Whitewater Creek in Cascade, Iowa. Put-in on Hempstead Road in Cascade, IA. There is plenty of roadside parking at the bridge. The launch is down a fairly steep grassy area downstream river right of the bridge; steep but doable (probably better in lower water levels). It is common courtesy to load/unload at the access point but park on the other side of the bridge (we found this out from some locals and that makes sense). Please be very respectful since this is private property and the owners mow and maintain the area nicely.
Take-out in Bernard, Iowa at the bridge on County Road D61. 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.
Put-in: maps.app.goo.gl/9iTtNgMvjZrWj...
Take-out: maps.app.goo.gl/yQgq1AN86x118...
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.gov/monitoring...
Lastly, check out the fabulous overview of Whitewater Creek on ‘Miles Paddled’: milespaddled.com/whitewater-c...