See all 8 routes on Wapsipinicon River
Iowa | Eastern Iowa
Wapsipinicon River
Newport Mills Access to Oxford Mills Access
Route planning details, access notes, and local verification guidance.
Route location
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Need to know
Why this call
Conditions
Gauge history and hourly forecast
Use the gauge context and hourly forecast to verify local conditions before launching.
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
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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
Consolidated lower-Wapsipinicon family route from Newport Mills to Oxford Mills, with Olin and Jungletown retained as public intermediate accesses and shorter-trip options.
Plan a shorter segmentOptional
Access planner
Pick a shorter segment
This changes launch and take-out logistics, not today's river score.
Peltier Lake to Long Lake is the full route. Shorter access pairs are useful when wind, time, or group energy changes the plan.
Prepare this trip
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Put-in
Newport Mills AccessNewport Mills is a one-acre rural access six miles northwest of Olin. Confirm the signed access road, parking, and ramp surface before unloading.
Take-out
Oxford Mills AccessOlin Access is the planned take-out, not just an informal roadside stop.
Plan this segment
Access caveats and watch for
Access caveats
- Newport Mills is a one-acre rural access six miles northwest of Olin. Confirm the signed access road, parking, and ramp surface before unloading.
- Olin Access is the planned take-out, not just an informal roadside stop.
- The lower Wapsi is meandered, but adjacent uplands can still be private. Keep stops on legal sandbars or public access land.
- Olin Access is a named public Wapsipinicon access in the Jones County access chain, but it is a rural site; confirm parking and ramp condition before unloading.
- Jungletown Access is a one-acre county access with a paved boat ramp south of Hale. It is the planned take-out, not just a bailout.
- The lower Wapsi is meandered and sandbar camping is allowed, but adjacent uplands can still be private. Keep stops on legal bars or public access land.
- Jungletown is a small one-acre county access with a paved ramp; confirm room to stage and turn around.
- Oxford Mills is the planned take-out in the Jones County access chain. Verify access-road condition and exact landing before launching.
- Do not treat private banks between Jungletown and Oxford Mills as legal exits.
Watch for
- Proxy-gauge uncertainty because the downstream Oxford Mills product feed is stale.
- Fresh strainers, bank-sweepers, and floating debris after storms.
- Shallow riffles and soft muddy banks in low water; faster bridge current and disappearing bars in high water.
- Proxy-gauge uncertainty: USGS 05421760 at Oxford Mills was stale during this run, so confirm actual local depth and current at Olin.
- Fast or rising water around bridges and outside bends, especially if the Anamosa gauge is climbing toward the top of the community range.
- Proxy-gauge uncertainty and the stale Oxford Mills USGS product feed.
- Fresh strainers, floating debris, and outside-bend sweepers after rain.
- Higher current, disappearing sandbars, and harder landings when the Anamosa proxy is high or rising.
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
Data and sources
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 | Wapsipinicon River near Anamosa, IA |
| 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 | 200 cfs to 2,800 cfs |
| Low threshold | 200 cfs |
| High threshold | 2,800 cfs |
| Evidence strength behind the range | Local route guidance |
| Gauge observed | Checking |
| Paddle Today updated | Checking |
| Main source behind this score | CanWePaddle lower Wapsipinicon Anamosa-to-Oxford range |
| 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.
- Public put-inNewport Mills Access
Jones County identifies Newport Mills as a one-acre river access six miles northwest of Olin, and WQP station 21IOWA-15530003 resolves the access to 42.044995, -91.200209.
- Public take-outOlin Access
Travel Jones County lists Olin Rec Area and Olin Access as public Wapsipinicon access points; WQP station 21IOWA-15530006 resolves Olin Access to 42.003487, -91.132667.
- Lower-river safety contextFree-flowing below Anamosa
The Iowa DNR/Jones County Wapsipinicon water-trail map says the Wapsipinicon is free-flowing with no dams from Anamosa to the Mississippi and highlights wood, PFD, weather, and private-property safety basics.
- Gauge caveatOxford Mills feed stale; Anamosa proxy fresh
USGS Water Services returned current 05421740 Anamosa values at 2026-07-24 00:15 CDT, while 05421760 Oxford Mills still returned 2017 instantaneous values.
- Public put-inOlin Access
Travel Jones County lists Olin Rec Area and Olin Access among public Wapsipinicon River access points, and Water Quality Portal station 21IOWA-15530006 resolves the access to 42.003487, -91.132667.
- Public take-outJungletown Access
Jones County describes Jungletown Access as a one-acre county river access three miles south of Hale with a paved boat ramp; Water Quality Portal station 21IOWA-15530004 resolves the access to 41.997559, -91.055705.
- Lower-river safety contextFree-flowing below Anamosa
The Iowa DNR/Jones County Wapsipinicon water-trail map says the Wapsipinicon is free-flowing with no dams from Anamosa to the Mississippi and highlights wood, weather, PFD, and private-property safety basics.
- Camping contextSandbars allowed from Central City to Mississippi
The Iowa DNR/Jones County map says camping on sandbars is allowed on the meandered Wapsipinicon from Central City to the Mississippi River.
- Gauge caveatOxford Mills feed stale; Anamosa proxy fresh
USGS Water Services returned 05421760 Oxford Mills data from 2017, while 05421740 near Anamosa returned current 2026 data during this run.
- Public put-inJungletown Access
Jones County describes Jungletown Access as a one-acre county river access three miles south of Hale with a paved boat ramp.
- Public take-outOxford Mills Access
Jones County and Travel Jones County list Oxford Mills Access in the lower-Wapsipinicon access chain, and WQP station 21IOWA-15530005 resolves the Oxford Mills river site to 41.971513, -90.96209.
- Threshold model200 to 2,800 cfs
CanWePaddle describes the Anamosa-to-Oxford Wapsipinicon corridor as generally runnable at 200 to 2,800 cfs and ties the model to USGS 05421760, but that product feed is stale in the current app path.
- Camping contextSandbars allowed from Central City to Mississippi
The Iowa DNR/Jones County map says camping on sandbars is allowed on the meandered Wapsipinicon from Central City to the Mississippi River; private uplands remain off-limits.
- Gauge caveatUSGS 05421740 at 1,970 cfs / 7.20 ft
USGS Water Services returned current Anamosa values at 2026-07-24 00:15 CDT, while Oxford Mills remained stale at 2017 values.
Verify it yourselfCheck the source links
Use these links to double-check the gauge, route details, and access notes before you head out.
- Jones County Newport Mills Access
- Travel Jones County outdoor adventures
- Water Quality Portal Newport Mills Access
- CanWePaddle Wapsipinicon River Anamosa to Oxford
- USGS 05421740 monitoring location
- Iowa DNR / Jones County Wapsipinicon River Water Trail map
- Jones County Jungletown Access
- Jones County Wapsipinicon River page
- Water Quality Portal Oxford Mills
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
Wapsipinicon River paddling FAQ
What water level is good for paddling Wapsipinicon River?
Paddle Today watches Wapsipinicon River near Anamosa, IA and treats 200 cfs to 2,800 cfs as the target band for this route, with weather and recent trend included in the final score.
Where does this Wapsipinicon River route start and end?
This route starts at Newport Mills Access and ends at Oxford Mills Access, about About 17 mi on the water.
Is this Wapsipinicon River route good for beginners?
This is listed as an easy route, but conditions still matter. Check today's score, water level, weather, and access notes before you go.
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