Royal Gorge

Parkdale to Canon City · Class III–IV · CO

—no reading

No reading

Snapshot from Oct 22, 2026. Live reading loading.

Runnable range 500 to 3,500 cfs. This is a draft estimate that paddlers have not reviewed yet.

Season

May to August

Character

Steep granite walls and big waves in a narrow canyon.

Watch for

Access is limited along the canyon walls, so help takes time to reach you.

Gauge

USGS 07094500
Arkansas River at Parkdale
Seasonal gauge. USGS lists no current reading.

Snowpack

Arkansas RiverAbove median

Snow water equivalent 1.4 in, 121% of median for the date.

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.