Skip to primary navigation Skip to content Skip to footer

Current Flows

Current flows for different sections of the Arkansas River. Higher water generally translates into larger, more difficult rapids.

CFS stands for Cubic Feet per Second. This is how we measure what the river is flowing. You can imagine that one CFS is equivalent to an over-inflated basketball, so if the gauge reads 1,000 CFS that means 1,000 basketballs are floating by the gauge a second!

The higher the CFS generally the bigger the rapids become, and many rapids form in areas where there were previously rocks that are now underwater. Many times higher CFS will increase a rapids difficulty rating. Be sure to contact us if you have questions about current CFS.

The beautiful thing about the Arkansas River is that no matter the flows, high or low water, there is an appropriate section for nearly every age and ability.

 

The Numbers view gauge
Browns Canyon view gauge
Bighorn Sheep Canyon view gauge
Royal Gorge view gauge