Last year we enjoyed a half day rafting in Browns canyon on the Arkansas River in Colorado. Looking for something similar in Wisconsin. Basically a medium challenge trip: Some white water and some calm. We would only raft a half day or so at a time. No overnight trips.

For what it is worth, our youngest would be 10-11 years old.

Preferably something close to an enjoyable town and/or other things to do. (We stayed in Salida CO last year and it wasn't particularly interesting.)

Thanks for your advice!

Curious. Where do you expect to find mountains in WS?

Not sure what you are asking.

Found this article about whitewater rafting in Wisconsin. Wolf river sounds possible. Wish there was something farther south as we will be driving up from Iowa or Illinois.

http://specialsections.suntimes.com/...555/story.html

"For adrenaline junkies looking for the most exciting whitewater rapid drops in the region, Guarniere recommends the Menominee River, which forms the border between Wisconsin and the U.P.

"On the Menominee, we start out with the Class III Sam's Portage rapid and then slide into the three-quarter-mile long Piers Gorge, which is Class IV and then ends with Terminal Surfer, another Class III drop.""

That's a quote from the article. I did that section two years ago (it was my first time whitewater rafting) and it was not super thrilling. I have no other whitewater to compare it to but it wasn't something that I would think would satisfy an andrenaline junkie (as the author seems to indicate). You may be disappointed if you're looking for something similar to Colorado rafting.

On the above trip we were in flat water for the first hour I'd say, then went through the whitewater, landed on a beach and hiked back to the point where we could do the whitewater again. All the companies take two rafts per group - they leave one on a beach above the whitewater while you go down the first time, then hike back and run the rapids again with the 2nd raft. That's nice but it's an indication of how short the whitewater portion is.

Quite a few years back ( in my younger years) we white water rafted on the St Louis river at Jay Cooke state park just south of Duluth MN. Try minnesotawhitewater.com

I only went rafting on the Wolf River once and while it was a memorable trip it was a million years ago. It is my understanding that the water is much faster in the spring due to the snow melt impacting the rivers. This is a link you might find useful.
http://www.travelwisconsin.com/artic...ewater-rafting

Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance.

Thank you all! That's kind of funny about the two rafts.

Still unclear about the mountain question.

The Wolf river has wonderful rafting. The lower Wisconsin river also has some fantastic conoeing but it is a different experience. The river is fairly slow moving but it is very wide, surrounded by high bluffs and full of sand bars for camping or picnicking.
It is less about the adreneline rush and more about the scenery and peacefulness.

http://thebestcanoecompanyever.com/

Bitter,
You are in the minority to come back and thank people for their responses. I tend to not respond as often or in detail anymore because you never know if the poster even came back to read the response. Just sorry I couldn't be of more help for your question. Enjoy your time in Wisconsin.
And thank you!

I should have read the OP request better the first time. Ah well, while the Wisconsin River trip doesn't really fit your original request, it's worth a look for the next person maybe.