Willow River

County: St. Croix County

DeLorme Page: 70 D-3

Wisconsin Trout Regulations Page: 12

Another West Central stream with a mighty reputation, again it is close to the Twin Cities and much of the fishing in the Willow River State Park so it can be quite crowded. The river has about 25 miles of trout water; it is also know by three different names. The Willow River starts at is head waters and run in to the Willow River State Park. There it splits into the Willow Race and the Willow Branch, below Hudson it again become the Willow River.
It’s interesting river especially downstream from Little Falls Lake. The Willow Race is a shallow run, averaging about a foot in depth. Many improvements have been place on the Willow, especially in the Race where there are many half log structures. There is little natural reproduction so it is essentially a stocked fishery. The Willow is another river that has benefited from dam removal. In 1991 the Willow Falls Dam was removed; see the DNR web site on Dam removal.