See all 6 routes on West Branch St. Regis River
New York | St. Lawrence County / Five Mile Conservation Easement
West Branch St. Regis River
Five Mile Hand Launch Parking Area #4 to Hand Launch Parking Area #1 on the West Branch St. Regis River
Check current paddling conditions for this West Branch St. Regis 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 planning-only approximately five-mile high-water West Branch St. Regis River paddle from the current NYSDEC Five Mile Hand Launch Parking Area #4 to Hand Launch Parking Area #1, with Hand Launches #3 and #2 retained as intermediate access and bailout contexts. NYSDEC identifies four hand launches along the Main Haul Road/Five Mile Road system, permits seasonal paddling on the designated West Branch section, describes mostly flatwater with a few small rapids, and requires portage trails around the Main Camp and Saunders Camp exclusion areas. This is a remote conservation-easement route with seasonal roads, possible logging operations, high-water-only navigation, cold water, and no claimed on-route campground.
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
Take the plan with you
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Put-in
NYSDEC Five Mile Hand Launch Parking Area #4The four official coordinates identify parking/access-area anchors; confirm the actual waterline, carry path, launch condition, and current signage in the field.
Take-out
NYSDEC Five Mile Hand Launch Parking Area #1Five Mile public use is seasonal, and the main access road may be closed for wet conditions, logging operations, or land-management reasons. A route that is legal on the river may still be inaccessible by vehicle on a given day.
Plan this segment
Pulling access map tiles. Usually under 5 seconds.
Access caveats and watch for
Access caveats
- The four official coordinates identify parking/access-area anchors; confirm the actual waterline, carry path, launch condition, and current signage in the field.
- Five Mile public use is seasonal, and the main access road may be closed for wet conditions, logging operations, or land-management reasons. A route that is legal on the river may still be inaccessible by vehicle on a given day.
- The #3 access has a documented 0.4-mile carry; the other listed points still require current carry and water-entry inspection. Do not treat a parking coordinate as permission to launch from every adjacent bank.
- The route ends at Hand Launch #1 before any unlisted downstream continuation. Do not use Main Camp, Saunders Camp, bridge shoulders, private shore, or an unmarked road pull-off as a substitute take-out or portage.
Watch for
- USGS 04268800 discharge trend, local high-water depth, recent rain, rapid rise, cold water, daylight, and changing wood/strainers
- Main Camp and Saunders Camp exclusion areas, signed portage trails, Cooperage Camp boundary, private banks, logging trucks, skidders, gates, and seasonal-road closures
- Hand Launch #4, #3, #2, and #1 parking/carry/waterline condition, public-use signage, vehicle staging, intermediate bailout feasibility, and the hard downstream boundary
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 | West Branch St. Regis River near Parishville, NY |
| 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 and local sources |
| Gauge observed | Checking |
| Paddle Today updated | Checking |
| Main source behind this score | NYSDEC describes the West Branch St. Regis section as navigable only during periods of high water; no standardized numeric runnable cutoff is published, so use local depth, recent rain, debris, and proxy-gauge trend. |
| 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.
- Current public endpoint chainNYSDEC Five Mile Hand Launch Parking Areas #4, #3, #2, and #1
Current NYSDEC names all four Five Mile hand-launch parking areas, publishes their coordinates, documents the 0.4-mile river carry at #3, and identifies the designated seasonal public recreation area.
- Named moving-water corridorWest Branch St. Regis River Five Mile section; mostly flatwater with a few small rapids; high-water only
NYSDEC explicitly describes the West Branch as a paddling section accessible from four hand launches and navigable only during periods of high water, with portages around Main Camp and Saunders Camp exclusions.
- Direct live gaugeUSGS 04268800 West Branch St. Regis River near Parishville, NY
USGS provides current same-branch discharge and stage telemetry. Use it as trend context with local depth and field inspection rather than as a universal runnable cutoff.
- Route-specific flow and access guidanceHigh-water-only navigation, seasonal May 1–September 30 use, and signed camp-exclusion portages
The current NYSDEC recreation and management rules provide the route-specific high-water, season, road, public-use-area, and portage controls.
- Safety and land-management postureCold water, wood, remote rescue, logging/road closures, camp leases, and mandatory portages
NYSDEC warns that logging operations may be present, roads may close, and public use is restricted around leased camps and designated exclusion areas.
- Camping postureNearby managed or designated camping only; no riverbank or parking-area camping claim
The route preserves nearby DEC campsite context without treating the four launch parking areas, riverbank, or camp leases as overnight facilities.
- Approved same-branch imageUSGS West Branch St. Regis station photograph used as direct branch route context
The public-domain image is clearly labeled as West Branch context and does not certify the current Five Mile access road, waterline, wood, or camp-exclusion portages.
- Direct live gaugeUSGS 04268800, West Branch St. Regis River near Parishville, NY
USGS 04268800 is a direct West Branch St. Regis River station near Parishville and is the same branch used by this route. Pair its discharge trend with local high-water depth, recent rain, wood, access-road status, and visual inspection; no universal cfs value certifies navigability or safety along the Five Mile reach.
- Safety and river conditionsCheck live gauge, recent rainfall, trend, debris, bridges, and access conditions before launch
NYSDEC Raquette Boreal Complex / USGS and its linked safety material warn that conditions change rapidly and require local inspection.
- Image decisionApproved same-river context image used for route presentation
The image is labeled as river-level context when it depicts the named river elsewhere, not this exact reach.
Verify it yourselfCheck the source links
Use these links to double-check the gauge, route details, and access notes before you head out.
- NYSDEC Raquette Boreal Complex / USGS route record
- NYSDEC Five Mile Conservation Easement hand-launch and public-use map
- USGS 04268800 West Branch St. Regis River near Parishville current conditions
- NYSDEC Five Mile Conservation Easement paddling and seasonal-access rules
- USGS 04268800 monitoring location
- USGS 04268800 current conditions
- West Branch St. Regis River context image
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
West Branch St. Regis River paddling FAQ
What water level is good for paddling West Branch St. Regis River?
Paddle Today watches West Branch St. Regis River near Parishville, NY 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 West Branch St. Regis River route start and end?
This route starts at NYSDEC Five Mile Hand Launch Parking Area #4 and ends at NYSDEC Five Mile Hand Launch Parking Area #1, about Approximately 5 planning river miles from Five Mile Hand Launch Parking Area #4 to Hand Launch Parking Area #1, with #3 and #2 retained as intermediate access or bailout contexts on the water.
Is this West Branch St. Regis 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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Access, hazards, wood, and shuttle details change. Send a quick correction if something looks off.