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Texas | Prairies and Lakes
Colorado River
Utley (FM 969) Bridge to Fisherman's 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
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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 Utley / FM 969 and paddle 14 miles to Fisherman's Park for the official Wilbarger Paddling Trail. Use USGS 08159200 at Bastrop with a conservative 200 cfs lower-Colorado floor, then make a same-day call on low-water dragging, full-day pace, wood, heat, wind, and private-bank discipline.
Prepare this trip
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Put-in
Utley (FM 969) BridgeTPWD publishes both endpoint coordinates, while LCRA identifies FM 969 / Utley Bridge as a TxDOT-managed access and Fisherman's Park as a City of Bastrop access.
Take-out
Fisherman's ParkBastrop River Co. calls Wilbarger a full-day trip and not for beginners. Do not launch late or assume the mostly calm water makes the distance casual.
Plan this segment
Access caveats and watch for
Access caveats
- TPWD publishes both endpoint coordinates, while LCRA identifies FM 969 / Utley Bridge as a TxDOT-managed access and Fisherman's Park as a City of Bastrop access.
- Bastrop River Co. calls Wilbarger a full-day trip and not for beginners. Do not launch late or assume the mostly calm water makes the distance casual.
- This route uses a conservative minimum-only threshold from broad lower-Colorado guidance. If the Bastrop gauge is near the floor, expect slower travel, shallow dragging, and harder-to-avoid wood.
- Do not infer legal public camping from Scout Island, sandbars, or visible banks. Use a nearby campground or a separately arranged outfitter/permission-based overnight plan.
- Rainfall runoff and upstream release changes can alter current, debris, water quality, and sandbar availability on this lower Colorado reach.
Watch for
- Low-water shallows, sandbar scraping, and slow travel across a 14-mile day when the Bastrop gauge approaches the 200 cfs floor.
- High or rising water after rain or upstream release changes, especially where bends, islands, and side channels collect wood.
- Snags, overhanging limbs, hidden rocks, soft banks, summer heat, thunderstorms, headwinds on open bends, and fatigue from a long flatwater day.
- Private banks outside the named public accesses and any direct hazard-portage corridor.
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 Bastrop, 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 | Texas River Flows lower Colorado table |
| 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 route shapeUtley (FM 969) Bridge to Fisherman's Park, 14 mi
TPWD identifies the Bastrop Wilbarger Paddling Trail with Utley / FM 969 as the put-in and Fisherman's Park as the take-out; local outfitter notes corroborate 14 river miles and a 5-8 hour full-day paddle.
- Public endpoint coordinates30.1683, -97.4023 to 30.1119, -97.3250
TPWD publishes GPS coordinates for the Utley / FM 969 Bridge put-in and Fisherman's Park take-out.
- Direct live gaugeUSGS 08159200 at 579 cfs / 2.90 ft
USGS Water Services returned same-day values for Colorado River at Bastrop, TX at 2026-08-09 21:40 CDT during this run.
- Conservative low-water floor200 cfs minimum-only
Texas River Flows lists lower Colorado Austin-to-Bastrop and Bastrop-to-Smithville corridor levels starting at 200 cfs and defines level 1 as minimum floating water; Paddle Today uses only that conservative floor for Wilbarger.
- Safety and access contextFull-day route, low-water hazards, private-bank discipline
Bastrop River Co. says Wilbarger is a full-day trip that is not for beginners and warns that low-water hazards can be harder to avoid; TPWD and LCRA access records support the named public access pair.
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
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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 Bastrop, 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 Utley (FM 969) Bridge and ends at Fisherman's Park, about About 14 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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