asharedpalate.com

Move › Rivers

Rivers

Six rivers with a gauge, the stretches people run, and the flow when this page was built.

6 gauged rivers · flow read 2026-11-05 15:15

Arkansas River

The Numbers, Browns Canyon, Bighorn Sheep Canyon, the Royal Gorge

no reading (ice or offline)

Arkansas River At Parkdale, Co. · USGS 07094500read 2026-11-05 14:45This reading is more than a day old. Read the gauges below for the flow now.

DirectionsAmerican Whitewater

Pressing this asks the USGS for the current reading. Nothing is sent but the gauge numbers.

Flow readings from USGS Water Services (public domain), cubic feet per second at the time shown; Directions opens Google Maps at the gauge; a gauge under ice or offline reads as no reading, never as a number. Stretch names are the common ones; the river descriptions, classes and access points are American Whitewater's, linked on each river.

How to choose a river day

  1. Flow first. The same stretch is a float at 300 cfs and a different river at 3,000. Read the gauge the morning you go, and read what American Whitewater says the stretch runs well at.
  2. Class is the water, not you. Pick the class you have run with a guide before you pick it without one; Class III is where self-rescue stops being easy.
  3. Cold is the hazard the numbers hide. Snowmelt rivers run near freezing in June; a wetsuit or drysuit and a helmet are part of the day, not an option.

What the classes mean

Class I
Fast moving water with riffles and small waves; few obstructions, easy self-rescue.
Class II
Straightforward rapids with clear channels; trained paddlers avoid the obstacles.
Class III
Moderate, irregular waves and complex manoeuvres; scouting advisable for inexperienced parties.
Class IV
Intense, powerful but predictable rapids demanding precise boat handling.
Class V
Extremely long, obstructed or violent rapids; the scale is open-ended above it.
Class VI
Rarely attempted runs of extreme difficulty and danger; teams of experts only.

Class definitions from Wikipedia, International scale of river difficulty (CC BY-SA 4.0), read 2026-11-05; the class of each Colorado stretch is American Whitewater's, linked; the choosing lines are ours.