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Texas | Prairies and Lakes
Colorado River
FM 960 Bridge to Hollywood Bottom Park
Check current paddling conditions for this Colorado River route, including water level, recent gauge trend, weather, and route details.
Route location
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Need to know
Why this call
Conditions
Gauge history and hourly forecast
The top card is the quick read. This lower section keeps the longer gauge trend, gauge context, and hourly forecast together.
Gauge detail
Gauge history & hourly forecastDetailed view
Gauge
Recent trend
Checking preferred range.
Checking trend.
Gauge source
--Checking timestampMN DNR provides the current paddling level here, but not chart-ready recent samples.
Weather
Hourly forecast
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Next 8 hours
Short-route forecast
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Route overview
Quick facts and what's next
Distance, difficulty, shuttle basics, and the near-term outlook before you commit to the drive.
Quick facts
Plan ahead
Upcoming outlook
These are early planning reads. Re-check live conditions before you commit to the drive.
Waiting on forecast.
Waiting on forecast.
Plan
Plan your trip
Launch points, shuttle details, distance, and access notes.
Route logistics
Access and shuttle
Launch at the official FM 960 Bridge access and paddle the distinct lower-Colorado reach to LCRA's Hollywood Bottom Park. Use USGS 08162000 at Wharton with a conservative 200 cfs floor, then make a same-day call on steep access, shallow lines, rising water, wind, heat, debris, and private-bank limits.
Prepare this trip
Take the plan with you
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Put-in
FM 960 BridgeLCRA describes FM 960 as an unimproved dirt path to a steep river edge. Carry boats carefully and do not treat the shoulder or private banks as a vehicle ramp or parking entitlement.
Take-out
Hollywood Bottom ParkHollywood Bottom Park is open 24 hours and camping is permitted, but confirm current park conditions and take-out logistics before launch.
Plan this segment
Access caveats and watch for
Access caveats
- LCRA describes FM 960 as an unimproved dirt path to a steep river edge. Carry boats carefully and do not treat the shoulder or private banks as a vehicle ramp or parking entitlement.
- Hollywood Bottom Park is open 24 hours and camping is permitted, but confirm current park conditions and take-out logistics before launch.
- The 200 cfs floor is a conservative community estimate tied to the Wharton gauge, not a go/no-go authority. Below the floor expect shallow or bony lines; high or rising water can increase current and debris hazards.
- This is a long reach with few public exits. Stage the shuttle, leave daylight and weather margin, and do not continue toward downstream dams or private access without a separately verified plan.
- Respect private banks and use only the named public endpoints or lawful hazard exits.
Watch for
- Steep, unimproved FM 960 launch bank and difficult boat carry.
- Low-water shallows, gravel, and scraping near the 200 cfs floor.
- Fast rises after storms or releases, strainers, floating wood, strong wind, heat, and limited shade.
- Private banks, unverified side landings, and any downstream dam or portage situation.
Route gallery
See this route on the water
Photos help show what the access looks like and what the route actually feels like on the water.
Score & sources
Why this score
See the gauge, weather, and source notes behind today's call.
Why this scoreToday's evidence strength is checking
Evidence strength mostly comes down to three things: how direct the active gauge is, how clear the range is, and how fresh the data is.
- Checking evidence-strength notes.
- Checking evidence cautions.
Data behind the scoreGauge, thresholds, and timing
These are the live readings and threshold notes behind today's score.
| Gauge site | Colorado Rv at Wharton, TX |
| 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 |
| Water temp | Checking |
| Wind | Checking |
| Gusts | Checking |
| Rain timing | Checking |
| Ideal range | Needs paddler reports |
| Known low-water floor | 200 cfs |
| High threshold | Not calibrated yet |
| Evidence strength behind the range | Local route guidance |
| Gauge observed | Checking |
| Paddle Today updated | Checking |
| Main source behind this score | CanWePaddle Colorado River Wharton conservative runnable range |
| Gauge source | Checking |
| Weather source | Checking |
| Rainfall source | Checking |
NotesWhat to know before you go
These notes cover the access details, route quirks, and source caveats most likely to matter once you get there.
- Official public endpoint pairFM 960 Bridge to Hollywood Bottom Park, 19 river miles
LCRA's lower-Colorado access sequence identifies FM 960 Bridge and Hollywood Bottom Park as consecutive public access points with 19 miles between them.
- Defensible access coordinates29.34, -96.20 to 29.16, -96.04
LCRA publishes rounded GPS coordinates for both public access anchors. They are stored as access anchors, not survey-grade wetted-edge launch points.
- Direct live gaugeUSGS 08162000 at 233 cfs / 7.53 ft on 2026-08-24 13:15 CDT
USGS Water Services returned same-day provisional discharge and gage-height values for Colorado River at Wharton, TX.
- Conservative low-water floor200 cfs minimum-only
CanWePaddle publishes a conservative 200–7,000 cfs estimate for the Wharton section tied to USGS 08162000. Paddle Today uses only the 200 cfs floor and does not treat the estimate as a go/no-go authority.
- Access, camping, and safetySteep FM 960 dirt-path access; Hollywood Bottom camping permitted
LCRA identifies FM 960 as a steep-bank unimproved access and Hollywood Bottom as an open 24-hour access with camping permitted. No private-bank or mid-river camping rights are inferred.
- Distinct corridor and image decisionDistinct from existing Smithville/Plum and Columbus/Bay City cards; no gallery image selected
The existing scored route inventory does not contain the FM 960-to-Hollywood reach. A bounded rights review found no clearly rights-clean exact route-context image selected for local reuse, so the route ships without a gallery image until one is verified.
Verify it yourselfCheck the source links
Use these links to double-check the gauge, route details, and access notes before you head out.
Paddler reports
Recent notes from paddlers
A few quick notes from people who were on this route recently.
Reports
Paddler reports
See recent photos and notes from people on the route.
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More routes to check next
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Quick answers
Colorado River paddling FAQ
What water level is good for paddling Colorado River?
Paddle Today watches Colorado Rv at Wharton, TX and uses 200 cfs as the conservative low-water floor for this route. The ideal range still needs more paddler reports.
Where does this Colorado River route start and end?
This route starts at FM 960 Bridge and ends at Hollywood Bottom Park, about About 19 mi on the water.
Is this Colorado River route good for beginners?
This is listed as a moderate route. Expect more planning than an easy float, and use the live score, route notes, and source links before committing.
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Access, hazards, wood, and shuttle details change. Send a quick correction if something looks off.