6 keymilwaukee.com
Although Milwaukee and its
harbor began as a Great Lakes
port in 1835, many settlers, fur
traders, and immigrants were drawn to the
Milwaukee area because of the access that
Milwaukee's three rivers provided into the
interior wilderness by canoe.
Even though the wilderness is gone,
paddlers can still find connections to the
natural and human past along every stretch
and around every corner of the Milwaukee
Urban Water Trail, comprised of the
Milwaukee River, Lower Menomonee River
and Kinnickinnic River.
With a little imagination, the past is never
far away.
Boating by Jones Island, now the location
of a sewage treat ment plant and the Port
of Milwaukee, paddlers are reminded of a
marsh island settled by Kaszube and German
immigrants who made their living by fishing
Lake Michigan.
R I V E R S T E L L S T O R Y
O F M E T R O A R E A ' S
P A S T, P R E S E N T, F U T U R E
M I L W A U K E E R I V E R B A S I N F U N F A C T S
When on the Milwaukee River:
• A vibrant down town Milwaukee
• The Milwaukee River Walk
• The Bronze Fonz, celebrating TV's
"
Happy Days
"
• Milwaukee Repertory Theater
•
Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
• Urban Ecology Center
• The picturesque downtown of Mequon
and Thiensville
• The historic City of Cedarburg
and Village of Grafton
• Riveredge Nature Center
T O D AY, P A D D L E R S P A S S B Y T H E S E
C U LT U R A L A N D T O U R I S T AT T R A C T I O N S .
500 miles of perennial
107 endangered plants
54 different species
(
When on the Lower
Menomonee River:
• Harley-Davidson Muse um
• Potawatomi Bingo Casino
• Miller Park, home of the
Brewers
When on the Kinnickinnic River:
• Scenic Boat Marinas
• UW-Milwaukee's School of
Freshwater Sciences
• The Harbor District, a new
commercial development.
