San Miguel River

Placerville area · Class II–III · CO

1,200Oct 22 snapshot

Runnable

Snapshot from Oct 22, 2026. Live reading loading.

Runnable range 300 to 1,500 cfs. This is a draft estimate that paddlers have not reviewed yet.

Season

May to June

Character

Free-flowing snowmelt river with no major dams.

Watch for

Wood and strainers.

Gauge

USGS 09172500
San Miguel River near Placerville
1,200 cfs at 6:05 PM MT on Oct 22, 2026 (snapshot)

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.