See all 2 routes on Passaic River
New Jersey | Passaic County / Lower Passaic River Blueway
Passaic River
Suchorsky Canoe Launch to Pennington Park Canoe Launch
Check current paddling conditions for this Passaic 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
Checking the next several hours.
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
A bounded Lower Passaic River Blueway planning reach between two PVSC-mapped municipal canoe launches, from Suchorsky Park toward Pennington Park.
Prepare this trip
Take the plan with you
Download the canonical route, add a calendar hold, or send a simple float plan to your group.
Put-in
Suchorsky Canoe LaunchPVSC’s official Blueway layer identifies both endpoints as municipal canoe launches, but current parking, hours, erosion, carry, and wetted-edge conditions must be confirmed before travel.
Take-out
Pennington Park Canoe LaunchGreat Falls is a hard portage boundary within the Blueway. Do not approach or run the falls, and do not use private or emergency-only intermediate sites as substitutes.
Plan this segment
Pulling access map tiles. Usually under 5 seconds.
Access caveats and watch for
Access caveats
- PVSC’s official Blueway layer identifies both endpoints as municipal canoe launches, but current parking, hours, erosion, carry, and wetted-edge conditions must be confirmed before travel.
- Great Falls is a hard portage boundary within the Blueway. Do not approach or run the falls, and do not use private or emergency-only intermediate sites as substitutes.
- The route passes through a heavily developed corridor. Keep a hard turnaround and emergency extraction plan for bridge, debris, water-quality, traffic, and landing changes.
Watch for
- USGS 01389500 direct Little Falls discharge and gage height, plus USGS 01389802 Great Falls stage context, recent rain, and current PVSC spill/cleanup notices
- Great Falls and other dam/portage hazards, bridge hydraulics, strainers, debris, eroding banks, cold water, and urban runoff
- Suchorsky and Pennington municipal parking/hours, carry, landing, daylight, portage status, and the non-routine status of emergency-only/private sites
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 | Passaic River at Little Falls NJ |
| 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 | Not calibrated yet |
| High threshold | Not calibrated yet |
| Evidence strength behind the range | Official data source |
| Gauge observed | Checking |
| Paddle Today updated | Checking |
| Main source behind this score | PVSC Lower Passaic River Blueway and USGS Passaic River monitoring |
| 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.
- Named moving-water corridorPVSC Lower Passaic River Blueway Canoe and Kayak Trail; approximately 32 miles with 20 public launch/access sites
PVSC’s official program page and story map identify the Blueway, its endpoints, public launch network, and field-work partners.
- Direct public endpoint evidenceSuchorsky Canoe Launch and Pennington Park Canoe Launch, both municipal features in PVSC’s official canoe-launch layer
The layer is queried in WGS84 for the stored coordinates; verify current municipal parking, carry, erosion, hours, and wetted-edge conditions.
- Route-specific hazard and portage evidencePVSC story map documents Great Falls, portage options, emergency-only sites, and private-site constraints
The route stops at Pennington Park and does not treat the Great Falls or Dundee structures as runnable water.
- Direct flow evidenceUSGS 01389500 Passaic River at Little Falls NJ
Use current discharge and gage height with Great Falls stage context, recent rain, urban runoff/spill notices, debris, and visual scouting; no numeric recreational cutoff is inferred.
- Camping postureNearby basecamp only
No municipal launch, portage, or shoreline camping entitlement is claimed.
- Live gaugeUSGS 01389500, Passaic River at Little Falls NJ
Direct route-context station: use current discharge, gage height, recent rain, and visual conditions together; no numeric recreational cutoff is transferred.
- Approved route imageryRights-cleared same-river or same-water-trail context image
Approved PVSC Blueway sign image from the official Lower Passaic River Blueway project; it provides route context and does not certify current launch, portage, flow, or water-quality conditions.
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
Compare another stretch on this river, or jump to nearby options before you pick a plan.
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Quick answers
Passaic River paddling FAQ
What water level is good for paddling Passaic River?
Paddle Today watches Passaic River at Little Falls NJ and uses Not calibrated yet as the conservative low-water floor for this route. The ideal range still needs more paddler reports.
Where does this Passaic River route start and end?
This route starts at Suchorsky Canoe Launch and ends at Pennington Park Canoe Launch, about Approximately 8 river miles including the Great Falls portage context on the water.
Is this Passaic River route good for beginners?
This is listed as a hard route. Treat the live score as a planning aid, then confirm conditions, hazards, access, and group skill before launching.
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Access, hazards, wood, and shuttle details change. Send a quick correction if something looks off.