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NB Rivers Water Level Reference Guide |
These are the rivers featured on this website. My goal is to provide the optimal water level for each of these rivers as measured on the nearest Environment Canada hydrometric station.
I can't do this alone, I need your help. Please click here to tell me which New Brunswick river you ran, the dates, and whether the water level was too low, too high or just right. You be Goldilocks, I'll be Papa Bear.
| River | Gauge | level | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnaby | |||
| Bartholomew | Blackville | 1.7 | Mitchell said: When I did it last fall, the water level was 1.7m at Blackville but I wouldn't do it much lower than that. |
| Becaguimec | Coldstream | 1.3 | Mitchell said: A group of nine paddled the Becaguimec this saturday. Water level was quite high. The level at Coldstream was 1.3m. We put in off the Pole Hill Rd at 10:30 am and off the river by 3:30 pm in Hartland for a total of 24 kms. The shuttle is very quick and the roads are great. The first half of the trip to Coldstream was flat but quick. We spoke with a local walking dogs just above Coldstream. He told us a rapid called Hells Eddy could not be run and may be too steep to be portaged. I always wonder when locals say this....did they run it once drunk in a coleman? We proceeded cautiously after the bridge. There were some sharp turns with some drops that could easily be avoided on the opposite side because of the high water. The stream was moving very quickly with some nice wavetrains. We never did quite figure out where Hells Gate is but everything is completely runnable. I would be interested in trying in lower water as I think it would be much more technical. Glad I finally got to run it. |
| Coldstream | 0.42 | Jeff K. says, "Eight canoes put in at 2:30 pm on May 2nd and we were at the bridge in Stormdale by 5 pm with a short ˝ hour break along the way. The water level was a bit too low for a really good paddle. Everyone had to do a little bit of pushing here and there in the worst spots but overall a great, super easy, trip." | |
| Big Presque Isle | Tracey Mills | 1.3m | Gjlydon says, "What a blast! At this water level the majority of the river was running at a class 1 and several portions at class 2." |
| Cains | Blackville | 1.4 | Owl says, "The water level was just enough and I mean "just"." |
| Blackville | 1.2 | Josh says, "Four of us paddled the Cains from Rt. 123 to Blackville (taking out at the municipal park) on June 6 to June 8, 2008. This was primarily a fishing trip. First off, this is a beautiful stretch of river and has no significant rapids at this time. Perfect for paddlers just starting out or those that just want to float and enjoy the view. I am certain that the bow man in Canoe B (as we call them) never even touched a paddle!" | |
| Dungarvon | Miramichi | 1.4 | Canyak says, "I just paddled this beautiful river today in a 16 ft kayak. There was just enough water on the Dungarvon for a kayak, as long as you don't mind scraping some rocks. The run between the Holtville Road bridge to Ledgie Landing bridge was 15k, and took me 2 hours of good paddling. The run through "The Jaws" and "The Narrows" was fun with just adequate water. The more quiet stretch from Ledgie Landing to the Renous was very pleasant and with deeper water. I took out at the Grainfield bridge over the Renous. It was about 48 k, and was 6 hours of fast paddling. This stretch could be done by canoe now, but the first 10k below Ledgie Landing has some bump and scrape sections. Don't take yer fancy cedarstripper." |
| Eel | Meduxnekeag Gauge | 1.25 | Jeff K. says, "Ran the lower section of the Eel yesterday. and the Becaguimec is showing .6. We ran from the warming shack at Porten Settlement to the park in Meductic. Water level was perfect for canoe travel. Flotation bags weren't pressed into use but we did need to bail water from the Old Town Allagash after each of a handful of rapids." |
| Gaspereau (into Grand Lake) | Salmon River at Castaway | 10.3 | Beevar says, "10 hours of brutal slogging on what is a 4 hr run during good conditions." |
| Salmon River at Castaway | 10.44 | NotN says,"Just enough water to get down. I had to push off a few rocks, glad I had my 6-foot snubbing pole. We didn't get off the river till late evening." | |
| Green | The City of Edmundston releases water from its dams every day at 10:00 a.m. You may meet many other canoeists on this trip. | ||
| Kedgwick | The guage at Environment Canada near the Restigouche | 1 meter | Godfreyk says, "This is an easy steady flow river at that level. Great for beginners." |
| Keswick | Narrows Mountain on the Nashwaak | 5.78 | Dangerous height for open boats, lots of water, big waves, some of us swamped and went for a swim. The big drops were avoided on the inside turn. Be alert for trees across the stream on the turns around islands. |
| 5.49 | Perfect height, lots of water, no dragging. | ||
| 5.43 | Sean says, "Paddled down the West Branch of the Keswick; water level read 5.43. We scraped a few rocks but all the corners were negotiable and we were able to make it down to Highway 104 in less than 4 fours." | ||
| Little | |||
| Little Southwest Miramichi | |||
| Magaguadavic | Elmcroft | 1.95 | Mitchell says, "The level was at a really good height. Not too many rapids on the first day but Long rips and Mcdougall falls had some nice waves. Most rocks were under water through the rapids." |
| Main Southwest Miramichi | Blackville | 3.1 | big water all the way from mckeil to rocky brook. huge standing waves... |
| 1.5 | Tom says, "I would say 1.5 is probably the lower limit." | ||
| 1.25 | Carm says, "Very scratchy going with loaded canoe; lots of rocks everywhere." | ||
| Nashwaak | Durham | 5.97 | Treacherous. See Mitchell's trip report |
| Narrows Mountain | 5.17 | Stay home, shallow, rocky, hard hard work. | |
| Nashwaaksis Stream | Middle Branch Nashwaaksis Stream at Sandwith's Farm | 0.65 | Mitchell says, "If you look upstream from the bridge on the douglas highway and all rocks are under water, it will be a good run. The water should also be over the footing of the kingsley rd bridge pier. " |
| 0.7 | Ryan Ward says, "So my girlfriend Sonya and I attempted (attempt being the key word) the Nashwaaksis Stream this evening. The Sandwith Farm gauge read 0.70, the water was over the footing of Estey's Bridge 4 inches, and all the upstream rocks were underwater. (All reference points I obtained on this site as I had no experience with this stream). There was certainly no worries about bottoming out, scraping or pushing based on the little section we were on. Sonya in her 11ft kayak, and I in my 16ft sea kayak set off for a rare fall opportunity to paddle. We lasted about 400m according to my GPS. We pulled out just on the far side of the mouth of the West Branch. At every turn the FAST FAST current swept you into a logjam, or a row of sweepers, or a giant rock and it was way too fast to maneuvre in my big sea kayak over to the calm side. Sonya fared no better in her little 11ft. We could see the beginning of rapids ahead decided to call it off. We didn't swamp, but came close every 25-30m. An hour of pulling the boats through the woods, and taking turns shooting across the West Branch in the little 11ft, then dragging the 16ft across on the end of a rope, spinning and flipping and fighting the whole way brought us to the far edge of the field where you put in. My experience is limited, but I think I'll use my 8ft whitewater kayak next time, and i'll be prepared for a wild fight the whole way down. This stream is not a peaceful calm evening paddle where you can float and chat with your partner and enjoy the scenery. It is an adrenaline filled adventure. Take rope, a hand saw, and be ready to swim. " | ||
| 0.5 | NRGotN says, "We went last evening, one canoe and one river kayak, starting around 7ish, and had an excellent run. The water level, .5, was perfect. We never scraped, and could choose our way down without worrying about strainers. There were some trees across the stream where it widened out in the bottom half, but there was enough room to squeeze through on the right bank by the treetops." | ||
| .46 | Junkyard says, "The water level was .46 and about 1 ˝ inches below the concrete at the base of Estey’s Bridge. Still a very easy paddle but it looks like the ideal water level is .5 and could be manageable down to around .4." | ||
| Nepisiguit | Middle River near Bathurst | 1 to 1.5 | High water, excellent paddling. I'm not sure this guage reflects the upper Nepisiguit, though. You might call the dam at 546 2519 to find out how much water they are releasing over the spillway. I don't have data to make a call what level might be good, though. |
| Between .9 and 1.0 | Tickles says, "Our boats are all just under 13'. Water I would say was too low between Bathurst Lake and Popple Depot for canoes but after that you probably could make it. We still did some scraping in some place with our kayaks though." You might call the dam at 546 2519 to find out how much water they are releasing over the spillway. I don't have data to make a call what level might be good, though. | ||
| North Oromocto | Tracy | 1.5 m | Kyle says, "it's really fun when the water level on the NB gauge is reading 1.5 m or so." |
| North Renous | |||
| North Rusagonis | N Oromocto at Tracy | 1.4 |
We started at Charter's Settlement and water was lower than what I expected for this time of year, didn't have to get out and push but definitely scratchy. So many alders and turns that I wouldn't start a newbie there. If you put in lower you'll be fine, avoid the alders and the widowmaker beside a large field, water was waist high there. |
| Piskahegan | Oromocto at Tracy. | It was scratchy at 0.8 and we passed on it, and it's known to drop fast. I'd say you need 1.0 or more. | |
| Restigouche | Kedgwick River | Tom says, "1.1 m at Kedgwick River gauge is as low as I would go, only had to drag a few times, 1.6 is fast and fun with some really big waves in places." Carm says, "based on “below Kedgwick station” @ 1.28 meters is fine, only scratching taking place due to inattentiveness." | |
| Salmon | Castaway | ||
| South Rusagonis | |||
| St. Francis | |||
| St. Croix | guage | It should be flowing at least around 800 to 1000. Godfreyk says,"1100 at the dam at Vanceboro is a really good level to go down." Tom says, "St Croix - 600 to 700 is still ok, just a few more rocks to avoid, no dragging." | |
| Serpentine | Tom says, "Serpentine River (Hazelton Brook to Forks)- 2.0m at Riley Brook. | ||
| Shogomoc | |||
| South Tay Creek | Nashwaak River @ Durham Bridge | 5.54 | Pete says, "If the water is at the top of the pier footing on river left it is too low. We ran it at this level a few weeks back and pushed our boats down through, didn't have to get out but you don't get a break or else you will be sitting still."
Tom says, "Don't go if below pier, 6 inches above is good, 18 inches above is a blast." |
| 5.65 | Rudi says, "Could have used another foot of water, but still very runnable." | ||
| 5.84 | John Smart says, "At put-in on rte 620, water was about 4"-6" over concrete footing. Most rocks covered, some only just. Quite fast running. Lovely!" | ||
| Tobique | Riley Brook | 1.9 | Tom says, "Little Tobique (Nictaux Lake to Forks) - good." |
| Upsalquitch | Restigouche River above Rafting Ground Brook | 1.15 | Nicolas says, "The river was fairly low for this time of year (June 6.) Also, plenty of sweepers from the 10 mile down to the forks." |
This may take time to crystallize, but it may prove to be a valuable resource. If you have a stream to add, let me know.
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