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Iowa | Cedar Valley
Cedar RiverCedar Bend Park to Three Rivers Park
Short Bremer County Cedar River connector from Cedar Bend Park to Three Rivers Park at Waverly, ending before the Waverly dam portage corridor.
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Route location
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Safety
Route safety
CautionThis route has hazards or access considerations that require extra verification.
Take out at Three Rivers Park and do not drift into the Waverly dam sequence unless your group has separately planned the signed portage and downstream relaunch.
Safety details
- Cedar Bend Park vehicle access can be seasonal. Confirm the county park gate, campground, and ramp approach before staging a shuttle.
- The Waverly gauge is at the take-out corridor, but it does not show wood, debris, or dam-portage conditions. Make a visual check at Cedar Bend before launching.
Route overview
Trip details
Access rules, camping and seasonal notes.
Permits, camping and season
Access and shuttle
Paddle the short Cedar Bend-to-Three Rivers connector into Waverly and take out before the dam-portage corridor. This fills the official guide gap between the North Cedar/Cedar Bend cards and the Waverly/Brookwood downstream card.
Access map
Put-in
Cedar Bend Park accessCedar Bend and Three Rivers coordinates come from the Cedar River Paddling Trips guide; use posted park/ramp signs for final boat handling.
Take-out
Three Rivers Park boat rampThree Rivers Park has a double boat ramp and dock according to the guide, and is the required take-out for this card.
Road shuttle
Stage at Three Rivers Park on the north edge of Waverly, then launch from Cedar Bend Park. Confirm Cedar Bend gate and vehicle access before unloading, especially outside the May-through-October park season.
Additional access notes
- Do not continue into the Waverly dam sequence unless your group separately plans the Kohlmann portage and below-dam relaunch.
More route and safety guidance
- Cedar Bend Park vehicle access can be seasonal. Confirm the county park gate, campground, and ramp approach before staging a shuttle.
- The Waverly gauge is at the take-out corridor, but it does not show wood, debris, or dam-portage conditions. Make a visual check at Cedar Bend before launching.
Plan this paddle
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Conditions
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Minimum 200 cfs · Cedar River at Waverly, IA
Does this gauge apply to my trip?
Use the Cedar River at Waverly gauge. Treat 200 cfs as the guide-supported low-water floor and 400 to 600 cfs as the better range; no high cutoff is inferred, so avoid high, rising, or debris-heavy water.
New to reading stage or flow? Read the paddler's gauge guide.
Recent trend
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Gauge source
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Weather
Hourly forecast
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Next 8 hours
Short-route forecast
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Plan ahead
Tomorrow and the weekend
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Station details and river cameras
Station observations
USGS measurements
Measurement notes and coverage
These are observations at the station. Water depth and current can differ along your trip.
River camera · USGS
View at the gauge
Cedar River at Waverly, IA. This view may be outside your paddling reach. Images are periodic and do not establish safe conditions.
Photos and recent reports
Look for recent access, obstruction and hazard observations. Context photos may show a different part of the river.
Paddler reports
Recent notes from paddlers
A few quick notes from people who were on this route recently.
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More level reports needed
Only a low-water floor is known.
We can tell when this route is likely too low, but we do not yet have enough reports to define a best range. If you paddled it recently, send a condition report with how the level felt.
Sources and methodology
Review source dates and published guidance below. We have not inspected this trip in person.
Why this scoreData reliability: checking
This rating reflects whether the gauge measures this part of the river, whether published water-level guidance is available, and how recently the data was updated.
- Checking data sources and update times.
- Checking evidence cautions.
Data behind the scoreWater levels, published guidance and update times
These readings and published water-level limits help explain today’s score.
| Gauge site | Cedar River at Waverly, IA |
| Discharge | Checking |
| Gauge height | Checking |
| 24h trend | Checking |
| 24h change | Checking |
| Current band | Checking |
| Rain last 24h | Checking |
| Rain last 72h | Checking |
| Air temp | Checking |
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| Wind | Checking |
| Gusts | Checking |
| Rain timing | Checking |
| Preferred range | Needs paddler reports |
| Known low-water floor | 200 cfs |
| High threshold | Water-level guidance unavailable |
| Evidence strength behind the range | Official and local sources |
| Gauge observed | Checking |
| Paddle Today updated | Checking |
| Main source behind this score | Cedar River Paddling Trips Waverly gauge guidance |
| Gauge source | Checking |
| Weather source | Checking |
| Rainfall source | Checking |
NotesPublished evidence and verification notes
These notes cover the access details, route quirks, and source caveats most likely to matter once you get there.
- Route shape4.2 miles
The Cedar River Paddling Trips guide lists Cedar Bend Park as 4.2 miles upstream of Three Rivers Park and marks the Waverly dam portage context downstream.
- Endpoint coordinates42.760425, -92.493585 to 42.73722, -92.469794
The guide publishes GPS coordinates for Cedar Bend Park and Three Rivers Park.
- Gauge check during route review · 2026-07-232,400 cfs / 5.08 ft at 2026-07-23 12:15 CDT
This reading was saved when we checked the guide. It is not today’s water level. Check the current gauge and local conditions before paddling.
Verify it yourselfCheck the source links
Use these links to double-check the gauge, route details, and access notes before you head out.
Other routes nearby
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