See all 8 routes on St. Louis River
Minnesota | Northeast Minnesota
St. Louis River
County Road 4 to County Road 95
Check current paddling conditions for this St. Louis River route, including water level, recent gauge trend, weather, and route details.
Route snapshot
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Today
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Start with the verdict, current conditions, route plan, and quick facts before you commit to the drive.
Today's conditions
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
Best window today
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Today by hour
Short-route forecast
Checking the next several hours.
Quick facts
Plan
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Use this section once the route looks viable and you need to turn it into an actual trip plan.
Access plan
Access, shuttle, and map
Launch from the undeveloped County Road 4 bridge carry-in and take out at the County Road 95 public access for the official DNR 7.3-mile upper St. Louis day trip. The downstream Forbes gauge was below the official scrapable floor during this run, so visual low-water checks are essential.
Put-in
County Road 4 bridge carry-inOpen mapCounty Road 4 is a DNR-recommended undeveloped bridge carry-in at river mile 151.9, not a formal public-water-access-layer record.
Take-out
St. Louis River, County Rd 95 Public Water Access SiteOpen mapCounty Road 95 resolves in Minnesota public-water-access GIS as WAS02152 at DNR river mile 144.5 / 144.6.
Pulling access map tiles. Usually under 5 seconds.
Access caveats and watch for
Access caveats
- County Road 4 is a DNR-recommended undeveloped bridge carry-in at river mile 151.9, not a formal public-water-access-layer record.
- County Road 95 resolves in Minnesota public-water-access GIS as WAS02152 at DNR river mile 144.5 / 144.6.
- The Forbes gauge is downstream of this trip. Use it as a conservative corridor proxy and confirm depth at both endpoints before launching.
Watch for
- Shallow sandy sections on the recommended route and difficult boulder-bed conditions nearby at medium-low water.
- Wood, strainers, cold water, remote banks, limited services, and the logjam-prone upper-river context shown upstream on DNR Map 1.
- Private shoreland and unclear roadside parking at the undeveloped County Road 4 bridge put-in.
Route gallery
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Sources
Check the data behind today's call.
Use this section when the page shows stale data, limited confidence, or a call you want to verify before driving.
Why this scoreToday's data confidence is checking
Data confidence mostly comes down to three things: how direct the gauge is, how clear the range is, and how fresh the data is.
- Checking data confidence notes.
- Checking data confidence cautions.
OutlookTomorrow and weekend
This is a cautious early look. If the data is too thin, we leave it out.
Waiting on forecast.
Waiting on forecast.
Data behind the scoreGauge, thresholds, and timing
These are the live readings and threshold notes behind today's score.
| Gauge site | St. Louis River nr Forbes, US53 |
| Gauge height | Checking |
| Discharge | 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 |
| Target band | 3.70 ft to 7.60 ft |
| Low threshold | 3.00 ft |
| High threshold | 8.00 ft |
| Data confidence 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 St. Louis River near Forbes |
| 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 shapeCounty Road 4 RM 151.9 to County Road 95 RM 144.6
MN DNR recommends County Road 4-to-County Road 95 as a 7.3-mile day trip and notes that the put-in is undeveloped with a downstream-side carry-in.
- Map sequenceCR4, CR108, CR95
MN DNR St. Louis Map 1 places County Road 4 bridge, County Road 108 bridge, and County Road 95 bridge/carry-in access in downstream order.
- Take-out access recordWAS02152
Minnesota public-water-access GIS resolves County Road 95 as a DNR-administered St. Louis River public access with river-mile and coordinate records.
- Official DNR bands3.0 / 3.7-7.6 / 8.0 ft
MN DNR interprets the downstream Forbes gauge as Scrapable below 3.0 ft, Low from 3.0 to 3.7, Medium from 3.7 to 7.6, High from 7.6 to 8.0, and Very High above 8.0.
- Current gauge check2.79 ft at 2026-07-22 04:45 PM
The current MN DNR feed placed Forbes below the official scrapable floor during this run, so this upper St. Louis route should score as too low today.
- Safety contextShallow sand, boulder beds, logjams
DNR says this day trip has shallow sandy sections and Map 1 warns of upper-river boulder beds, logjams, Class I-III context, and downstream dam awareness.
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
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Reports
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Quick answers
St. Louis River paddling FAQ
What water level is good for paddling St. Louis River?
Paddle Today watches St. Louis River nr Forbes, US53 and treats 3.70 ft to 7.60 ft as the target band for this route, with weather and recent trend included in the final score.
Where does this St. Louis River route start and end?
This route starts at County Road 4 bridge carry-in and ends at St. Louis River, County Rd 95 Public Water Access Site, about About 7.3 mi on the water.
Is this St. Louis 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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