Get Outside & Explore Spooner This Spring!

It is almost summer in the Northwoods and Spooner is full of life! Now is the perfect time to visit the area and take full advantage of its pristine waters and incredible wilderness.

Beaver Brook Wildlife Area is a 1,964-acre property less than one mile southeast of Spooner and offers visitors tons of recreational opportunities this time of year. Wildlife management and non-motorized recreation are the main goals and uses of the property, but perhaps the most unique feature is a popular artesian well site on the south end of the property that offers the best water around. Beaver Brook is fed by ten spring ponds and many bank seeps that help to make it a premier class I brook and brown trout stream. Along with the numerous wetlands associated with the Wildlife Area, red oak stands, aspen, mixed hardwoods, upland and lowland brush, conifer, tamarack, pine, and old fields and openings make up other natural habitats ideal for viewing wildlife.

At the North end of the Beaver Brook Wildlife Area the brook flows into the Yellow River that connects to the Yellow River Flowage. The Flowage is an 85-acre lake that is very popular amongst local anglers. Visitors have access to a public boat landing located just off Hwy. 63 in the heart of Spooner. Fish include Largemouth Bass, Musky, Northern Pike, Panfish and Walleye. The lower reaches of the River and Flowage are home to one of six naturally reproducing Lake Sturgeon populations in the nation that have over 1,000 Sturgeon. Spooner is proud to have such a unique resource right in its backyard!

The Lake Sturgeon aren't the only fish getting attention in the Spooner Area. Also located along the Yellow River in Spooner is the Governor Tommy G. Thompson State Fish Hatchery made up of 46 rearing ponds. This is the state's largest cool water facility and world's largest Musky (Muskellunge) hatchery. In fact, many years the Hatchery produces more than half of the Musky and Walleye stocked throughout Wisconsin.

So, whether you are heading out to view the diverse wildlife in their natural habitats, or looking for a fun filled weekend of fishing and fish education, one thing is for sure, Spooner is the place to be this summer!

-As published in the May/June 2022 issue of "On Wisconsin Outdoors" with the Dick Ellis Experts