Come join us on the river this summer. .
Whether you are keen on whitewater Kayak or Canoe instruction, offered by MKC all summer
long - Weekend and 5-Day courses, or a Raft excursion down the legendary Ottawa
River with OWL Rafting..... we want to make your experience a memorable one.
Please find water levels for the full length of the Madawaska
River below - updated once a week in our paddling season. Descriptions on what the
levels mean, are below the table.
The Madawaska River Levels -
2009:
| Date |
Upper Mad |
Middle Mad |
Lower Mad |
| April 20 |
85 cms |
10 cms |
100cms |
| April 24 |
100 cms |
34 cms |
120 cms |
| April 25 |
100 cms |
44 cms |
160 cms |
| April 27 |
100 cms |
55 cms |
163 cms |
| April 29 |
100 cms |
90 cms |
200 cms |
| May 4 |
100 cms |
60 cms |
200 cms |
| May 11 |
80 cms |
54 cms |
145 cms |
| May 20 |
55 cms |
55 cms |
145 cms |
| May 23 |
45 cms |
45 cms |
125 cms |
| May 26 |
45 cms |
45 cms |
110 cms |
| May 29 |
45 cms |
35 cms |
120 cms |
| June 2 |
40 cms |
34 cms |
115 cms |
| June 10 |
40 cms |
34 cms |
115 cms |
| June 11 |
30 cms |
26 cms |
75 cms |
| June 15 |
26 cms |
26 cms |
60 cms |
| June 19 |
|
15 cms |
40 cms |
| June 22 |
20 cms |
26 cms |
55 cms |
| June 25 |
20 cms |
26 cms |
55 cms |
| June 26 |
15-20 cms |
3 cms |
25 cms |
| June 30 |
|
26 cms |
25 cms |
| July 1 |
|
38 cms |
40 cms |
| July 2 |
|
26 cms |
30 cms |
| July 3 |
|
3 cms |
|
| July 6 |
12 cms |
26 cms |
55 cms |
| July 10 |
15 cms |
5 cms |
36 cms |
| July 13 |
15 cms |
26 cms |
30 cms |
| July 16 |
6-7 cms |
26 cms |
36 cms |
| July 17 |
|
4 cms |
30 cms |
| July 21 |
10 cms |
26 cms |
30 cms |
| July 24 |
30 cms |
26 cms |
35 cms |
| July 27 |
|
42 cms |
72 cms |
| Aug 1 |
20 cms |
32 cms |
100 cms |
| Aug 4 |
16 cms |
28 cms |
90 cms |
| Aug 7 |
12 cms |
10 cms |
70cms |
| Aug 10 |
10 cms |
26 cms |
43 cms |
| Aug 14 |
12 cms |
4 cms |
28 cms |
| Aug 17 |
12 cms |
28 cms |
22 cms |
| Aug 21 |
|
25 cms |
70 cms |
| Aug 28 |
|
4 cms |
35 cms |
| Sept 01 |
10 cms |
26cms |
40 cms |
| Sept 05 |
10 cms |
10 cms |
35 cms |
| Sept 14 |
5 cms |
4 cms |
12 cms |
| Sept 24 |
|
4 cms |
13 cms |
| Sept 25 pm |
|
20-25 cms |
35-40 cms |
| Sept 28 |
10 cms |
15 cms |
65 cms |
| Oct 02 |
12 cms |
26 cms |
65 cms |
| |
|
|
|
| Closed for the
Season |
|
|
|
|
The Madawaska River,
from a paddling point of view is divided into three sections:
 |
Upper Mad
- Whitney to the town of Madawaska
|
|
Middle Mad -
5km section below Bark Lake Dam to Lake Kamaniskeg, where MKC is located
|
|
Lower Mad
- The Palmer rapids section down to Griffith
|
The gauge is updated weekly, during MKC's season (mid May - Labour Day).
The river levels are given in cms (cubic metres per second), with the paddling
level in brackets (eg. high water).
Water levels for the middle Madawaska, in the summer months only flow
between Monday and Thursday. Friday, Saturday and Sunday normally see a minimum 3cms
flow, unless specifically indicated.
Water Level explanation for Whitewater Paddlers
Upper Madawaska - the
section between Algonquin Park (Whitney) to the town of Madawaska (Bark Lake)
| Level (in CMS) |
Comment |
| > 120 |
very high
water |
| 60 - 120 |
good paddling
level |
| 25 - 60 |
medium/low
levels |
| < 25 |
low, too
little water to paddle |
Middle Madawaska -
the section infront of MKC, between Bark Lake and Lake Kamaniskeg (there is an MNR
minimum flow requirement of 3 cms)As of July 8th, the water releases are Mon - Thurs. from
9am - 3:30pm only.
| Level (in CMS) |
Comment |
| > 50 |
huge,
with some keepers |
| 25 - 50 |
high |
| 25.6 |
regular MKC
release level -great! |
| 15 - 25 |
low, but
navigable |
| < 15 |
too low to
paddle |
Lower Madawaska -
this is both Palmer Rapids and the section from Aumonds Bay to Griffith, as the Palmer Dam
feeds this whole section. (the minimum MNR flow requirement is 10 cms)
| Level (in CMS) |
Palmer |
Snake Rapids |
| > 250 |
washed out |
huge
- be careful, water runs through the trees |
| 120 - 250 |
pushy, with
boily eddy lines |
high |
| 80 - 120 |
high, three
chutes at Jessups |
great,
forgiving and perfect for Haas' hole |
| 40 - 80 |
good |
medium,
very enjoyable paddling |
| 25 - 40 |
good |
low, but
still a good run |
| 10 - 25 |
low |
very low,
rocky |
|
