Dolores River

Slickrock to Bedrock · Class III · CO

2,850Oct 22 snapshot

High

Snapshot from Oct 22, 2026. Live reading loading.

Runnable range 800 to 2,500 cfs. This is a draft estimate that paddlers have not reviewed yet.

Season

Wet snowmelt years and managed releases

Character

Remote desert canyon with a short and unpredictable season.

Watch for

Far from help, and flows depend on reservoir releases.

Gauge

USGS 09171100
Dolores River near Bedrock
2,850 cfs at 6:00 PM MT on Oct 22, 2026 (snapshot)

Permit

No permit

No permit for private trips on the Colorado section.

Official page

Fees and rules

Check with the BLM Tres Rios Field Office for current rules. The Utah section has its own permit, listed under Lower Dolores River.

Source: BLM page.

Snowpack

Dolores / San MiguelEarly seasonDam-regulated

Snow water equivalent 1.1 in. Early season — median too low for a meaningful %.

Dam-regulated: McPhee Reservoir. Flows on this river also depend on reservoir releases — snowpack alone does not determine flows. Applies to the Dolores below the dam. The San Miguel has no major dams.

Outlook indicator, not a flow forecast. Spring temperatures, rain, soil moisture, dust on snow and reservoir releases also matter. NRCS SNOTEL data as of Oct 31, 2026 (provisional).

See basin snowpack

Draft details for paddlers to review and edit. Community voting on runnable ranges is coming.

Trip reports

Wavetrain is an early build. Flow readings are USGS provisional data and may be revised. Runnable ranges and run details are drafts for paddlers to review. Permit dates and rules come from the agency pages linked on each permit and can change. Snowpack figures come from NRCS SNOTEL stations, are provisional, and are grouped into basins by watershed, so they may differ from official NRCS basin reports. Nothing here replaces scouting, local knowledge or a conversation with a nearby outfitter.