See all 7 routes on North Fork Crow River
Minnesota | Twin Cities Northwest Metro
North Fork Crow RiverRockford Access to Riverside County Park
Shorter lower North Fork Crow day that fills the gap between the upper Wright County reach and the long Riverside-to-Dayton run. The route has DNR access-guide support, official public-access records, and the same Rockford DNR level ladder as the downstream route.
Checking current river conditions…
Route location
Loading the route snapshot. This usually takes a few seconds.
Route overview
Trip details
Access rules, camping and seasonal notes.
Permits, camping and season
Access and shuttle
Launch at the Rockford public water access and take out at Riverside County Park near Hanover. DNR describes this as an 8.5-mile possible day trip on a straight, shallow lower North Fork Crow reach.
Access map
Put-in
Rockford Boat Launch / Rockford public water accessThe Rockford access is a small-watercraft launch with moderate bank height and a fishing pier nearby.
Take-out
Riverside County Park / Riverside Park public water accessRiverside County Park is a real Wright County river-access park. The DNR Riverside guide describes the access as somewhat steep but usable for small boats and canoes.
Road shuttle
Plan a straightforward two-car shuttle from Rockford to Riverside County Park. This is the shorter, cleaner setup upstream of the longer Riverside-to-Dayton route.
Additional access notes
- This route overlaps the same lower-river gauge family as Riverside-to-Dayton; choose this if you want a shorter day.
More route and safety guidance
- Shallow gravel, cobble, boulders, and fresh wood can create avoidable hazards at low or post-storm levels.
- Check both accesses for changing mud and bank conditions after rain.
Plan this paddle
Choose your trip times
No account needed. Check the selected access points above, then choose both dates and times. For an overnight paddle, set take-out to the following date.
Times use the selected time zone. Check it against the river’s location before saving or sharing.
Browser plans stay on this device. Sharing opens your device’s share tools or gives you text to copy.
Download GPX Route geometry only; no schedule required.
Conditions
Check how the river is changing and what weather to expect.
Recent trend
Checking preferred range.
Checking trend.
Gauge source
--Checking timestampundefined provides a current paddling-level interpretation; Paddle Today does not turn the source hydrograph image into trend samples.
Detailed weather
Weather
Hourly forecast
Checking weather.
Loading today's forecast.
Next 8 hours
Short-route forecast
Checking the next several hours.
Plan ahead
Tomorrow and the weekend
Forecasts can change. Check current conditions again before leaving.
Waiting on forecast.
Waiting on forecast.
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.
Share a recent access update, hazard observation or photo.
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 | North Fork Crow River nr Rockford, Farmington Ave |
| 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 |
| Preferred range | 500 cfs to 1,500 cfs |
| Low threshold | 345 cfs |
| High threshold | 1,750 cfs |
| Evidence strength behind the range | Official data source |
| Gauge observed | Checking |
| Paddle Today updated | Checking |
| Main source behind this score | MN DNR river-level interpretation bands for North Fork Crow River near Rockford |
| 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.
- DNR bands345 / 500-1,500 / 1,750 cfs
MN DNR interprets the Rockford reading as Scrapable below 345 cfs, Low from 345 to 500, Medium from 500 to 1,500, High from 1,500 to 1,750, and Very High above 1,750.
- DNR route support8.5 river miles
The DNR Rockford Access guide names Rockford Access to Riverside County Park as a possible day trip and describes the river as straight and shallow with few downed trees encountered in the guide survey.
- Public access recordsDNR access IDs WAS03086 and WAS01955
Minnesota public-water-access data identifies the put-in as North Fork Crow River, Rockford Public Water Access Site at river mile 22.8 and the take-out as Crow River, Riverside Park Public Water Access Site at river mile 15.4.
- Take-out supportWright County park
Wright County confirms Riverside County Park has public river access, river frontage, pit toilets, picnic area, and a reservable primitive canoe campsite.
- Take-out launch detailSteep but launchable
The DNR Riverside Access guide says Riverside County Park has a somewhat steep access, but small boats and canoes may be launched there.
- Hazard contextFormer low-head dams removed
The DNR Rockford guide notes that former low-head dam hazards at Hanover and Berning Mill were removed, but same-day wood and water-level checks still matter.
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
More on North Fork Crow River
All 7Nearby routes within 75 miles
Flag a change
See something outdated?
Access, hazards, wood, and shuttle details change. Send a quick correction if something looks off.