Colorado | Uncompahgre River / Ridgway
Uncompahgre River
Rollans Park to Ridgway Reservoir (Town Run)
Check current paddling conditions for this Uncompahgre 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
A guarded approximately 4.5-mile Ridgway Town Run with direct 09146200 telemetry, Class II–III park features, a 500–2,500 cfs planning correlation, public Rollans Park access, and a condition-dependent Ridgway Reservoir take-out.
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
Rollans Park public Uncompahgre River accessAmerican Whitewater publishes the exact Rollans Park and reservoir endpoint coordinates. Treat them as planning anchors and verify the current public carry, parking, bank, water entry, and reservoir-side landing in person.
Take-out
Ridgway Reservoir / Pa-Co-Chu-Puk reservoir-side take-out anchorRollans Park is a public river-side town park with restroom/picnic context and local paddling activity; check town/event restrictions and do not unload from a roadway or private business frontage.
Plan this segment
Pulling access map tiles. Usually under 5 seconds.
Access caveats and watch for
Access caveats
- American Whitewater publishes the exact Rollans Park and reservoir endpoint coordinates. Treat them as planning anchors and verify the current public carry, parking, bank, water entry, and reservoir-side landing in person.
- Rollans Park is a public river-side town park with restroom/picnic context and local paddling activity; check town/event restrictions and do not unload from a roadway or private business frontage.
- The reservoir endpoint is not a promise of a maintained take-out ramp for this moving-water route. Confirm the waterline-to-vehicle carry and state-park access before committing; postpone if the final landing is unsafe or unlawful.
- Ridgway State Park camping is nearby basecamp context only. Follow reservations, park hours, fees, fire restrictions, and current closures separately.
- The route ends at the reservoir edge; do not continue into open reservoir travel or substitute a downstream private-bank landing.
Watch for
- USGS 09146200 below 500 cfs, above 2,500 cfs, rapidly rising, unavailable, or inconsistent with the local river visual
- Ridgway Whitewater Park features, shallow cobble, exposed rocks, strainers, cold water, bridge/park users, and the reservoir transition/take-out
- Town events, parking changes, CPW/state-park fees or closures, stage 2 fire restrictions, private-property boundaries, water-quality advisories, and an unsafe reservoir-side carry
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 | Uncompahgre River near Ridgway, CO |
| 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 |
| Target band | 700 cfs to 1,600 cfs |
| Low threshold | 500 cfs |
| High threshold | 2,500 cfs |
| Evidence strength behind the range | Official and local sources |
| Gauge observed | Checking |
| Paddle Today updated | Checking |
| Main source behind this score | Ridgway Town Run 500 cfs minimum and 2,500 cfs maximum route correlation |
| 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 public corridorRollans Park to Ridgway Reservoir Town Run, approximately 4.5 miles, Class II–III
American Whitewater names the route, endpoint pair, length, and difficulty; Ridgway sources corroborate the town park and recreational corridor.
- Direct live gauge and flow guidanceUSGS 09146200; 500 cfs minimum and 2,500 cfs maximum route correlation
USGS provides direct discharge telemetry and BoaterBeta pairs the route with the station and 500–2,500 cfs planning bounds. The preferred window is a conservative product planning choice within that correlation.
- Endpoint access and coordinatesRollans Park 38.152,-107.752 to Ridgway Reservoir 38.191,-107.748
American Whitewater publishes the exact endpoint anchors. Ridgway local materials identify Rollans Park as a river-side public park; CPW documents the nearby state-park/reservoir facilities. Confirm the final waterline landing.
- Safety boundaryScout Ridgway Whitewater Park and shallow cobble; mandatory reservoir take-out
The route includes instream features and a reservoir transition. Preserve the reservoir endpoint as a hard boundary and treat published flow bands as planning evidence only.
- Camping and logisticsNearby designated Ridgway State Park camping; no endpoint camping
CPW documents designated campgrounds and facilities at Ridgway State Park. Rollans Park and the route endpoint remain day-use access areas.
- Rights-clean image decisionApproved CC BY 4.0 Wikimedia Commons Uncompahgre River at Ridgway image
The selected image has explicit author and CC BY 4.0 metadata and depicts the Uncompahgre River at Ridgway. Use it as corridor context, not as a guarantee of current access conditions.
- Duplicate separationDistinct Rollans Park-to-reservoir town corridor, separate from Ouray/Uncompahgre Gorge and downstream Uncompahgre opportunities
The exact Rollans Park/reservoir endpoint pair, direct Ridgway gauge, town-run features, and reservoir boundary distinguish this route from other Uncompahgre reaches.
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
Uncompahgre River paddling FAQ
What water level is good for paddling Uncompahgre River?
Paddle Today watches Uncompahgre River near Ridgway, CO and treats 700 cfs to 1,600 cfs as the target band for this route, with weather and recent trend included in the final score.
Where does this Uncompahgre River route start and end?
This route starts at Rollans Park public Uncompahgre River access and ends at Ridgway Reservoir / Pa-Co-Chu-Puk reservoir-side take-out anchor, about Approximately 4.5 river miles on the water.
Is this Uncompahgre 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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