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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. |
| 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 | Until I get specific data for this river, use Main Southwest Miramichi below. | ||
| Eel | |||
| 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 | 5.49 | Perfect height, lots of water, no dragging. |
| Little | |||
| Little Southwest Miramichi | |||
| Magaguadavic | I have often tried to get Irving Oil to tell me when they are planning to open the dam at the lake, but we have not yet understood each other. | ||
| 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 | 19.6 | Treacherous. See Mitchell's trip report |
| 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. " |
| Middle Branch Nashwaaksis Stream at Sandwith's Farm | 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. " | |
| Nepisiguit | Middle River near Bathurst | 1 to 1.5 | High water, excellent paddling. I'm not sure this guage reflects the upper Nepisiguit, 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." | |
| 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 | 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."
The level was 18.16 at Durham on the Nashwaak. Tom says, "Don't go if below pier, 6 inches above is good, 18 inches above is a blast." | ||
| Nashwaak River @ Durham Bridge | 18.55 | Rudi says, "Could have used another foot of water, but still very runnable." | |
| Tobique | Tom says, "Little Tobique (Nictaux Lake to Forks) - 1.9m at Riley Brook is 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.
