Safe-ish
While it's very unlikely you'll die, there's always the off chance you flip your canoe, ride your bike into a cow, or get attacked by an eagle. We won't hold your hand. We will do our best to keep you out of the hospital.
Aug 12–15, 2027 · Driftless Wisconsin
Three days. 110 miles. Two wheels and a boat.
You bike it, you paddle it, you camp on a sandbar, and you finish at a brewery. We provide the boat, and we move your bike while you're on the water. It's not a race, and every registration supports Adaptive Adventures.
From $375 · Canoe/kayak included · Genuinely not a race
Thursday kick-off + 3 days110 Miles35 Bike / 20 Paddle / 55 BikeCanoe/kayak includedNot a raceBenefits Adaptive Adventures
Start here
So what is this, exactly?
Fair question. Here's the whole thing in one breath.
Thursday night
You show up at Token Creek Campground, where we've rented the whole place for the night: food truck, DJ, beer and non-alcoholic drinks on us, a bike mechanic, and a hundred people who also aren't totally sure what they've signed up for. Pitch your tent and sleep badly out of excitement.
Friday
You ride 35 miles to Sauk Prairie, hand us your bike, and get in a boat. You paddle 20 miles down the Wisconsin River and camp on a sandbar.
Saturday
Off the water at the Wisconsin Riverside Resort somewhere between 9am and 4pm, onto its own sandbars. Showers, changing rooms, a full restaurant and bar, a mechanic, and your bike waiting. Eat properly, then pick a way toward Madison and stop for the night wherever you like the look of. Blue Mounds is the popular pick.
Sunday
Finish the ride into Madison and roll into Working Draft Brewery for DriftyFest at 12pm: a band, food and cold beer from the brewery itself, and an awards ceremony that takes itself even less seriously than we do.
That's it. That's the event.
The rough plan
The plan, and we're using that word loosely.
Scroll the map sideways to see the whole loop.
StartToken CreekDeForest. Camp, party, mechanicRig here
Bike 35 mi
Transition 1Sauk PrairieDrop your bike, pick up a boatRig here
Paddle 20 mi
Transition 2 · Sat 9am–4pmWI RiversideShowers, food, bar, bike backRig here
Bike 55 miSplit over Sat & Sun, camp partway
FinishWorking DraftDriftyFest, MadisonRig here
Those four points are fixed and the mileages are about right, but the line between them is one of hundreds. You pick your own way, which is the next thing on this page.
No set route
The only fixed points are the ones we're standing at.
We'll tell you where the transitions are and when the rig will be there. Everything in between is yours.
Take the flat way. Take every hill in the county, if you're that sort of person. Detour eleven miles because somebody mentioned a supper club. Camp, or find a hotel with a bath in it. Two groups leaving the same launch will have completely different Saturdays, and that's the design, not a gap in it.
Chase the hillsAvoid every hillDetour for a supper clubSleep in a tentSleep in a hotelArrive last on purpose
Ninety seconds
Or just watch it
Everything above in moving pictures, which is faster than reading about it.
No surprises
What you get / what you bring
Every registration covers three days, four staffed support points, two parties and a boat. Here is the whole of it, and the whole of what is left to you.
What you get
- A kayak or canoeYou do not need to own a boat. This surprises people.
- The logistics, all of themBoats waiting at the launch. Your bike handed over at Sauk Prairie and waiting at the Riverside Resort while you're on the water. You worry about pedaling, paddling, and whether to stop at one more dive bar.
- A proper bike tune-up, three timesNot air in your tires. A mechanic goes through the whole bike at the start line and at both transitions. A shop would charge $50 to $100 for one of them.
- Thursday night's campsiteWe rent all of Token Creek Campground. Turn up, pitch your tent, nothing to book.
- Thursday's welcome partyFood truck, a DJ, local beer on tap, plenty that is not beer, a tarot reading, and some terrible advice.
- Breakfast on the start morningCoffee, donuts, and something to eat standing next to a bike.
- Sandbar camping on FridayPlus recommendations for Saturday night.
- A rider shirtEverybody gets one.
- Somebody to callOur team is on the route all weekend. Actual people.
- Swag from our sponsorsLMNT drink mix most years, plus whatever else our partners send. It genuinely varies, so we won't pretend to know what's in the bag.
- DriftyFest, the finish partyYour ticket in: a band, food and drinks from Working Draft, and awards nobody should be proud of.
- Gear hauling, if you want itWe haul it either way. We just ask you throw a few bucks at the cause. Bikepack it all if you'd rather.
What you bring
- A bike you likeOr rent one. We've got partners.
- Camping setupTent, bag, pad. Carry it, or hand it to the rig.
- Saturday night's bedCampground, hotel or Airbnb. Your call. We'll suggest some.
- Food on the routeThe parties and the first breakfast are covered. The rest is yours. There are bars along the way, so use them.
- A costumeGenuinely optional. Some people go all in anyway.
- Whatever elseYou'd want on a river for three days.
seriously, that's the whole list
Why people come back
What makes it great
Unconventional
No set route, no podium, nobody timing you. People have detoured for a dive bar, a dairy farm, and once a hippie commune. Nobody has ever been turned back for arriving in a boa.
Camaraderie
You'll show up knowing nobody and leave in a group text you can't get out of. Plenty of people come solo, plenty roll in with a whole crew. Both work, and by Saturday you can't tell which was which.
"They, and all the other participants, definitely make new people feel welcomed." Bryan, first-timer
DriftyFest
A finish line with a band, food, cold beer, and awards for things that aren't athletic achievements.
The Support Rig
Carry it all. Or hand it to the rig.
Want to strap three days of gear to your bike and ride off into the Driftless like a self-sufficient legend? Do it. That's the purest way to do this and we love the people who do it.
Don't fancy carrying your tent for 110 miles? Also fine. The rig meets you at all four points on the route, and if it fits in the truck it goes in the truck: camping setup, cooler, an inflatable kayak, a regular kayak, that paddle you made in your garage out of a two-by-four and misplaced confidence, a unicorn floatie the size of a loveseat.
We'll haul it either way. All we ask is that you throw a few extra bucks at Adaptive Adventures while you're handing it over, because that is the entire reason any of this exists. Nobody is checking receipts at the truck.
Start · Token CreekTP1 · Sauk PrairieTP2 · WI RiversideFinish · Working Draft
"Knowing there were people around (and that they would schlep stuff I didn't need) was a big comfort."Karen, 2026
- A bike mechanic at the start line and both transitions
- Your bike, moved for you while you're on the water
- Real people on the route all weekend, not a hotline
Thursday night
You'll be handed a deck of bad ideas.
At the kick-off everyone gets a tarot reading. The cards are real tarot cards. The fortunes are things like "commandeer another vessel". They're optional, and nobody has ever treated them as optional.
Convince a stranger to finish the trip with youDelegate every decision to somebody elseCommandeer another vesselDrink a Wisconsin old fashionedTake a selfie with a cow
Why we do this
Every registration supports Adaptive Adventures
The Lil' Drifty exists to support Adaptive Adventures, a national nonprofit that expands access to outdoor recreation for people with physical disabilities.
They run cycling, paddling, climbing and skiing programs in communities across the country. They develop adaptive equipment alongside engineers and universities. They train instructors in inclusive program design, and they support the families and caregivers around every participant. Many of their staff and instructors have disabilities themselves.
We get to spend a weekend on a river because we can. That's the whole reason this event has a beneficiary.
The finish line
It ends at a brewery. Obviously.
Sunday at 12pm, Working Draft Brewery, Madison. You roll in filthy and slightly feral, and there's live music, food, cold beer, and everybody else who just did the same ridiculous thing by a completely different route.
Then we hand out awards. Not for being fastest. Nobody here is fastest. For the best costume, the worst decision, the most creative watercraft, and a couple of categories we invent on the spot.
Bring your friends. They didn't earn it, but we'll allow it.
Don't take our word for it
What people say afterwards
2026 · age 72Karen
I found out the night before that the dedicated bike mechanic would fix my brake, but had no idea he would overhaul the whole bike AND give me a prize for best bike back story. I've done similar trips without support but, at age 72, am losing my companions. Knowing there were people around (and that they would schlep stuff I didn't need) was a big comfort.
"I was a Lil Drifty first-timer in 2026… The organizers, and all the other participants, definitely make new people feel welcomed. If you're looking for a way to step into more adventurous travel, you can't go wrong."
"Drifty is what I imagine going through the laundry is like… at the end you have this really warm and fuzzy feeling."
"Too many crazy stories to count. We spent one night on a hippie commune and partied til 3:00 am with them. Another day we biked up to a dairy farm to try fresh cow milk and got a private tour, A LOT of fresh milk & ended the night at the farmer's cousin's bar. It was utterly ridiculous."
"An incredible trip where you'll learn more about yourself than you anticipate. You're never technically far from civilization but it feels like you're in your own private nature preserve. The perfect combination of relaxation and exertion."
No hidden anything
What it costs
In every registration
- Kayak or canoe
- Thursday campsite
- Welcome party + DJ
- Friday breakfast
- 3 bike tune-ups
- Bike shuttled
- Friday sandbar camp
- Rider shirt
- DriftyFest ticket
- Gear hauled
Three of those tune-ups alone would run you $150 to $300 at a shop. See exactly what is and isn't covered, or read about the cause every registration supports.
Price goes up as we get closer. Registration is non-refundable, but with enough notice we'll transfer your spot to a friend or to another Lost Travel trip.
The stuff everyone asks
Questions, answered
Do I need to be super fit?
No. If you can ride a bike and paddle a boat for a few hours a day without crying, you're qualified. Nobody is timing you.
Do I need to bring a kayak or canoe?
Nope. We provide it. Bring your bike and camping setup and we'll handle the floating.
What happens to my bike while I'm paddling?
We move it for you. It gets to the Riverside Resort faster than you do.
Where do we camp?
Sandbars and riverside campgrounds along the route. The sandbar night is the part people won't shut up about afterward.
Can I sign up alone?
Yes, and loads of people do. You will not stay solo. That's sort of the whole thing.
Is it safe?
Safe-ish. Beginner-friendly route, supported transitions, a mechanic on site. We won't hold your hand, but we'll do our best to keep you out of the hospital.
