Cubic Feet per Second (CFS)
Front Royal Gauge
River Conditions Summary
Wednesday May 26, 2026
The Shenandoah valley received an incredibly important weather system that soaked the valley for about five days. River levels were getting super low already but this batch of rain is no doubt going to mean lovely paddling and tubing for weeks or months. Having to limit trips or close due to high water is a huge bummer for us but I’m not complaining this time since we needed the rain so badly.
In regards to trip suggestions, I think through Thursday our offerings will remain similar as levels are high. But a recession of flow is coming and for weekend planners, check with us Thursday evening, and maybe again Friday to hear our latest thoughts and predictions.
We have no real time limit for our tubers, we just ask they everyone be off the water by 5PM so staff can clean everything up for the next day and get home to family dinners.
Current River Level:
3.5 Feet on the Front Royal Gauge, but forecasts suggest it may rise seme more. Check back with us here Wednesday to see what the weekend’s forecast is if you were thinking of a weekend trip.
Tubing: The river is currently a tiny bit too high for tubing, and cool. Warmer weather this week will warm the water to a temperature that late morning/mid day tubing floats will likely be quite nice.
Kayaking and Canoeing: Unless the river gets over 4.5 feet we’ll keep offering our kayaking and canoeing trips for those who are strong swimmers. Our stretch of river gets swifter when the river is at this level, and most of the mid- river rocks are underwater. So this means its easy to pick a fairly simple route down the river since you wont’ have to dodge many remaining obstacles except right along the shore. Swimming required just in case you ended up with a turned over boat, you just are going to need swimming skills to get yourself back together and heading back downriver, requiring righting the boat, gathering belongings including paddle.
Current Water Temperature:
62 Degrees Fahrenheit, which combined with afternoon warm temperatures is just about perfect tubing and paddling weather. Refreshing temps.
Current Water Condition:
Modest rises from the last rain system are making their way down the river system.
Helpful Hint: 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 our regular stretch of river from Luray Avenue to our headquarters, but a great level for our reservoir tubing if we’re able to move over to tubing only.
- 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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- Reservoir tubing may be offered at levels below 4.5 feet, but this requires us to go “tubing only” which we normally will do on weekend days in the summer with high water. Please inquire.
- 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