We had beautiful weather and the water level was as good as it gets unless you're paddling in a pouring rain that's been going on for a day or so. We put in at Army Trail Road, where there's room to park several cars safely on the shoulder near the bridge. If you check Google Maps, you'll see 5 cars on the south shoulder, east of the bridge. This is common, most of the time. The put in (downstream left from the bridge) is not ideal, rather muddy by the water, but there's a large grassy area for boat assembly, the bank is low and the water is clear of rocks and other junk so it's not too bad.
We paddled all the way to Butterfield Road, around ten miles total, where there is a fair take out with a large area, yards off the road, with room to park several cars. The bank is low and not too muddy but the water is obstructed with rocks and broken concrete. Again, a little cleanup would improve things greatly.
We encountered few obstructions, but those were significant. Twice we had to "portage" (drag the yak) over/around downed trees that completely blocked the channel. Every large bridge (North Ave, Geneva Rd, Roosevelt Rd, etc.) was a problem because of rocks and broken concrete below the bridge. The smaller bridges (Garys Mill Rd, Mack Rd, etc.) were mostly clear. The smallest bridges could be a hazard at very high water levels, Williams Rd being a good example. We found a few short stretches where the river widened and was shallow enough to force a little walking. No big deal though. The bridges were the major pain. There are two places where there is a "rock dam" that requires passing in the correct spot or you'll hang up on the rocks. The first was somewhere on the northern half of the trip (my memory has failed me) where the "dam" was also overhung by a tree on the left so we could only pass on the far right. It wasn't a good pass-through. We hung up on a submerged tree branch. My guess is that this spot could be cleaned up and made passable with a couple hours work by two or three guys with saws. The other "dam", just north of Williams Rd., is in a wide area of the river and should be passed dead center. There is a nice low spot in the rocks that can be paddled through even going up stream.
Overall, this is a lovely paddle. Easily 80% of the 10 miles is through non-populated areas - forest preserves, parks, a couple of golf courses, wooded areas, etc. Much of the distance is near densely populated, residential areas, yet the banks are heavily wooded and the river is far enough from the houses that you can almost feel as if you're in the wilds . . . sort of. The river parallels some major roads at times, but the trees are dense enought to screen any sight and almost all sound of them. There was plenty of wildlife and nice scenery. It is truly a "country feeling" in the midst of one of the most densly populated counties in the state.
I'm looking for a group that could do the bits of work needed to clean up this streatch of the DuPage - a "Friends of the West Branch" so to speak.