Cubic Feet per Second (CFS)
Front Royal Gauge
River Conditions Summary
July 15th Update
Wednesday – Friday we’re expecting water levels teetering between spring levels and high. Please check back regularly this week since we’re going to have to make decisions on a day by day nature, always trying to make them the night before, but sometimes having to make “morning of” decisions about age restrictions, boat types etc.
Current River Level:
Front Royal Gauge is reading 2.9 feet at 8PM Tuesday July 15, 2025 and is expected to remain near this level through Friday, but we’ll update as more predictions become available.
Tubing: We believe we’ll be running our normal 3 mile tubing stretch of river for participants ages 12 and up only. Expect about a 1.5 hour trip, but if you come early enough, we’re happy to take you on a second run up until our last departure at 2PM sharp. 1.5 hours is the amount of time it would take if you just let the tube drift, but guests often decide to park and hang out, which is great. The tube trip is yours to time, just be back by 5PM so staff can get all the gear cleaned and put away.
Kayaking and Canoeing: River is getting swift and powerful so we’re instituting a 12 year old minimum age for Wednesday and only allowing people who can swim on the river. Our 9.5 miler is taking about 2.5 hours, give or take a bit, with normal paddling and has a pushy wavy class II rapid at the beginning. 5 Miler is 2 hours or so. 3 miler is an hour or less. Paddle by the hour currently is unavailable since there is too much water at the top of our reservoir and guests will struggle not to get taken downriver where they’d be unable to take out where they initially launched.
Current Water Temperature:
84 Degrees, which combined with afternoon warm temperatures is just about perfect tubing weather. Refreshing temps.
Current Water Condition:
Color is like coffee with cream
Helpful Hint: as is often the case for early summer, changing conditions are normal and we recommend checking back before you make a trip out to see us without a reservation. If possible, get those reservations in! Reservations help us prepare for you before you arrive, and also greatly speed up the check in process.
(NOTE: If the graphs above don’t show today’s levels, it means you have visited the site before. Hold down the ctrl button and click the page refresh icon, top left on your browser, to reset cache)
What different water levels mean for our river and your adventure:
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- Flatwater Paddle By The Hour is a great option – launching at our site offers deep water with almost no flow and is perfect for exploring during low water with none of the hassles of going upriver
- Tubing ages 5 and up
- Inner Tubing shortened to Private Access at 1.6 miles – but still expect nearly continuous shallow rocky water with lots of scraping and some walking – Average Trip Time 3.5 -4 hours.
- Upriver Kayaking and Canoeing trips will be shortened to 3 or 5 miles, and experience with reading shallow rivers and paddling through small slots of deeper water will help keep things fun
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- Tubing for ages 5 and up
- Inner Tubing shortened to Private Access at 1.6 miles – expect low scrapy conditions which will require your full attention at times in order to choose the deepest path down the river – Average Trip Time 2 – 3 hours
- Upriver Kayaking and Canoeing Trips will be shortened to 3 or 5 miles for most paddlers. 9 miles possible for very experienced river goers who can read shallow water and move their boats nimbly, and who catch the first trip of the day
- Flatwater Paddle By The Hour is a great option – launching at our site offers deep water with almost no flow and is perfect for exploring during low water with none of the hassles of going upriver
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- Tubing for ages 5 and up.
- Inner Tubing Trip from Luray Avenue is 3 miles – expect gentle flow with occasional navigation required to avoid obstacles or shallow bars and shelves – Average Trip Time 2 – 3 hours
- Upriver Kayaking and Canoeing Trips – 3-15 mile trips offered. However, we suggest guests who want the 9 and 15 mile option to arrive early and eat their Wheaties, especially at the 1.4 – 1.8 foot levels.
- Flatwater Paddle By The Hour is a great option – launching at our site offers deep water with slow to moderate flow and allows guests to decide how long they want to be out, as opposed to having to cover X number of miles on one of our upriver 3-15 mile trips
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- Children 12 and up may tube without being tethered to a parent or legal guardian
- Children 5 and up may participate but parents must keep children of this age group with them, preferably by twine tether, to help them navigate the faster river current.
- Inner Tubing Trip from Luray Avenue is 3 miles – expect gentle flow with occasional navigation required to avoid obstacles or shallow bars and shelves – Average Trip Time 2 hours
- Upriver Kayaking and Canoeing Trips – 3-15 mile trips offered. However, we suggest guests who want the 9 and 15 mile option to arrive early and eat their Wheaties, especially at the 1.4 – 1.8 foot levels.
- Flatwater Paddle By The Hour is a great option – launching at our site offers deep water with slow to moderate flow and allows guests to decide how long they want to be out, as opposed to having to cover X number of miles on one of our upriver 3-15 mile trips
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- All participants must know how to swim within this range of levels (2.5-3.5) and age restrictions are necessary because younger tubers with short arms simply can’t move their tube around efficiently when necessary.
- 2.5-3.0 feet on the gauge means tubing is for those who are age 12 and up and who are swimmers
- 3.0-3.5 feet on the gauge means tubing for those who are age 16 and up and who are strong swimmers. Trip time is reduced to about 1.5 hours unless you find a place to hang out, which you are welcome to do as long as you’re back by 5PM
- 3.5-4.5 Tubing may be offered on our flowing reservoir, decisions to be made the day before, and it will require us to move to tubing only status.
- Great Level for Upriver Kayak and Canoe Trips 3-15 miles. The river flows freely with moderate to fast flow. Good time to try a longer float if you have some experience and endurance
- Too High for Flatwater Paddle By The Hour option because our normally quiet flatwater area picks up quite a bit of current which makes paddling back to our takeout more of a challenge. We prefer not to mess with it at these levels.
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- Too high for inner-tubing
- Upriver Kayaking and Canoeing Trips for VERY experienced paddlers who are also strong swimmers in the event of capsize or difficulties
- We will be running rafts at this level on our 3- and 5-mile sections. For experienced paddlers and strong swimmer
- Guided Trips are still on
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- Guided River Trips are still on
- All Non-Guided River Trips Cancelled
- Riverside Camping may be possible with levels between 4.0 and 5.0 feet, but please call to check. These sites get inundated with water at 5.0 Feet on the Gauge
- Riverview Campsites are still lovely
- Reservoir tubing may be offered at levels below 4.5 feet