Park-to-Park paddlers must portage

NEENAH, Wis. — A strong showing is expected for the Park-to-Park Paddle, launching at 9:20 a.m. July 23 from Neenah’s Shattuck Park and organized by North East Wisconsin Paddlers.

Paddlers received plenty of help when the P2P participants had
to portage around the Menasha Lock in 2014.

Kayakers, canoeists and stand-up paddlers will travel 8.5 miles along the Fox River, out onto Lake Winnebago, through downtown Menasha and on to Lutz Park in Appleton by way of Little Lake Butte des Morts and the Fox River. For the second time in three years, paddlers will have to portage around a closed Menasha Lock.

“In 2014, the lock was closed for mechanical repairs,” Jeff Mazanec, president of NEWP said. “This year the lock has been ordered closed by the DNR in an attempt to prevent the round goby from getting into the Lake Winnebago system.”

The small, highly invasive fish was discovered in Little Lake Butte des Morts by two Neenah High School fishing team members late last summer.

Paddlers will get out at the Valley Marina landing and carry their boats over Broad Street and down to the channel on the other side — a distance of about 500 feet.

“The portage in 2014 went very smoothly because people were very willing to help each other,” Mazanec said. “We found portaging actually was faster than locking through for our large group.”

Paddlers will benefit from accessible launches both in Shattuck and Lutz, thanks to the two cities and the work of the nonprofit Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway. The launches are designed to help paddlers with disabilities, but also make for a dry launch and landing for able-bodied paddlers.

Pre-registration is available at www.wisconsinpaddlers.org. Participants will find event registration and waiver documents there, which they can fill out and bring along to save time at the launch. A fee of $10 per adult covers expenses. Children under 16 are free with an adult.

Paddlers can drop off their boats and gear at Shattuck Park starting at 7 a.m. Drivers only then take their vehicles to Lutz Park, where shuttle buses will take them back to Shattuck for the launch.