River Levels
Illinois river levels
Live streamflow for 52 gauged Illinois reaches, highest first. Where a gauge has a long enough record, the reading is placed against its own history for today's date.
60% of gauged Illinois rivers are running above normal for the date, as of October 9, 2026.
Of 50 gauged reaches with a long enough USGS record, 2 are below normal (1 of them much below), 18 are in the normal range, and 30 are above normal (13 of them much above). Normal means the middle half of that gauge's own history for this calendar date.
To cite: Paddling Hubs analysis of USGS streamflow, paddlinghubs.com/flows/illinois. The daily normals behind it are a free download.
| River | Flow | Usually today | Vs normal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi Rivernear Cache Bayou Outfitters | 359,000 cfs26.15 ft | 124,000 cfs | Much above normal91st percentile · 93 yr record |
| Ohio Rivernear Cache Bayou Outfitters | 92,600 cfs22.73 ft | 118,000 cfs | Normal35th percentile · 11 yr record |
| Mississippi Rivernear Quad Cities Kayak River Adventures | 33,500 cfs9.81 ft | 31,300 cfs | Normal54th percentile · 153 yr record |
| Illinois Rivernear Kayak Starved Rock | 17,500 cfs16.49 ft | 6,550 cfs | Above normal88th percentile · 45 yr record |
| Rock Rivernear Quad Cities Kayak River Adventures | 10,300 cfs8.73 ft | 3,980 cfs | Much above normal93rd percentile · 87 yr record |
| Wapsipinicon Rivernear Quad Cities Kayak River Adventures | 9,600 cfs12.55 ft | 539 cfs | Much above normal95th percentile · 92 yr record |
| Wabash Rivernear Kickapoo Adventures | 8,690 cfs10.22 ft | 2,590 cfs | Much above normal92nd percentile · 87 yr record |
| Mill Creeknear Rocktown Adventures of Rockford | 8,180 cfs7.84 ft | 4,210 cfs | Above normal81st percentile · 26 yr record |
| Illinois Rivernear Ayers Landing Canoes, Tubes and Kayaks | 7,050 cfs12.06 ft | 5,180 cfs | Normal62nd percentile · 107 yr record |
| Rock Rivernear Rocktown Adventures of Rockford | 5,870 cfs5.77 ft | 2,700 cfs | Above normal87th percentile · 87 yr record |
| Illinois Rivernear Kayak Morris Campground | 5,220 cfs5.19 ft | 4,540 cfs | Normal53rd percentile · 10 yr record |
| Des Plaines Rivernear Chicago River Canoe & Kayak at Tampier Lake | 4,300 cfs539.53 ft | 2,150 cfs | Above normal80th percentile · 21 yr record |
| Fox Rivernear Ayers Landing Canoes, Tubes and Kayaks | 3,800 cfs8.22 ft | 745 cfs | Much above normal94th percentile · 111 yr record |
| Bass Creeknear Rocktown Adventures of Rockford | 3,280 cfs6.03 ft | 1,130 cfs | Above normal90th percentile · 112 yr record |
| Kankakee Rivernear Kayak Morris Campground | 3,240 cfs1.87 ft | 1,270 cfs | Above normal79th percentile · 91 yr record |
| Fox Rivernear Howling Wolfe Canoe & Kayak | 2,350 cfs13.21 ft | 564 cfs | Much above normal91st percentile · 37 yr record |
| Pecatonica Rivernear Rocktown Adventures of Rockford | 2,250 cfs6.75 ft | 1,160 cfs | Above normal84th percentile · 87 yr record |
| Green Rivernear Quad Cities Kayak River Adventures | 1,270 cfs5.66 ft | 176 cfs | Much above normal95th percentile · 90 yr record |
| Des Plaines Rivernear Kayak Chicago | 939 cfs3.34 ft | 226 cfs | Much above normal92nd percentile · 83 yr record |
| Des Plaines Rivernear Lakeshore Paddle | 595 cfs9.11 ft | 82 cfs | Above normal81st percentile · 17 yr record |
| Des Plaines Rivernear Chicago River Canoe and Kayak | 542 cfs10.77 ft | 82 cfs | Much above normal92nd percentile · 86 yr record |
| DuPage Rivernear Kayak Morris Campground | 455 cfs10.81 ft | 158 cfs | Above normal87th percentile · 86 yr record |
| Sugar Rivernear Rocktown Adventures of Rockford | 402 cfs1.42 ft | 256 cfs | Above normal81st percentile · 112 yr record |
| South Branch Kishwaukee Rivernear Rocktown Adventures of Rockford | 314 cfs3.04 ft | 54 cfs | Much above normal90th percentile · 87 yr record |
| Turtle Creeknear Rocktown Adventures of Rockford | 188 cfs4.10 ft | 82 cfs | Much above normal90th percentile · 87 yr record |
| Aux Sable Creeknear Kayak Morris Campground | 161 cfs3.81 ft | 12 cfs | Above normal83rd percentile · 19 yr record |
| Stoney Creeknear Kickapoo Adventures | 139 cfs2.65 ft | 84 cfs | Normal59th percentile · 112 yr record |
| West Branch Du Page Rivernear Naperville Kayak | 136 cfs4.50 ft | 56 cfs | Above normal77th percentile · 38 yr record |
| East Branch Du Page Rivernear Naperville Kayak | 121 cfs15.06 ft | 61 cfs | Above normal81st percentile · 38 yr record |
| Kishwaukee Rivernear Rocktown Adventures of Rockford | 114 cfs7.90 ft | 41 cfs | Above normal77th percentile · 15 yr record |
| Vermilion Rivernear Kayak Starved Rock | 110 cfs3.85 ft | 42 cfs | Normal62nd percentile · 55 yr record |
| South Branch Kishwaukee Rivernear Howling Wolfe Canoe & Kayak | 100 cfs3.91 ft | 3.3 cfs | Much above normal91st percentile · 101 yr record |
| Sangamon Rivernear Kingfisher Kayaking | 89 cfs5.33 ft | 17 cfs | Normal71st percentile · 118 yr record |
| Hickory Creeknear Chicago River Canoe & Kayak at Tampier Lake | 79 cfs11.01 ft | 17 cfs | Above normal85th percentile · 82 yr record |
| Calumet Rivernear Urban Kayaks | 75 cfs5.69 ft | 54 cfs | Normal60th percentile · 79 yr record |
| Mill Creeknear Quad Cities Kayak River Adventures | 72 cfs2.46 ft | 3.8 cfs | Much above normal92nd percentile · 87 yr record |
| Blackberry Creeknear Howling Wolfe Canoe & Kayak | 70 cfs4.07 ft | 14 cfs | Above normal85th percentile · 28 yr record |
| Mazon Rivernear Kayak Morris Campground | 64 cfs1.62 ft | 7.0 cfs | Normal61st percentile · 87 yr record |
| DuPage Rivernear Naperville Kayak | 64 cfs5.76 ft | 29 cfs | No historical record |
| Grand Calumet Rivernear Urban Kayaks | 41 cfs6.27 ft | 45 cfs | No historical record |
| Middle Fork Vermilion Rivernear Kickapoo Adventures | 28 cfs0.91 ft | 21 cfs | Normal54th percentile · 48 yr record |
| Saline Branch Drainage Ditchnear Kingfisher Kayaking | 28 cfs0.51 ft | 25 cfs | Normal53rd percentile · 17 yr record |
| Ferson Creeknear Howling Wolfe Canoe & Kayak | 26 cfs1.77 ft | 11 cfs | Above normal80th percentile · 65 yr record |
| Salt Creeknear Naperville Kayak | 17 cfs1.77 ft | 60 cfs | Below normal14th percentile · 81 yr record |
| Embarras Rivernear Kingfisher Kayaking | 15 cfs3.06 ft | 5.2 cfs | Normal63rd percentile · 66 yr record |
| Kaskaskia Rivernear Kingfisher Kayaking | 12 cfs2.24 ft | 14 cfs | Normal38th percentile · 14 yr record |
| Trenkle Sloughnear Kingfisher Kayaking | 7.6 cfs689.80 ft | 9.5 cfs | Normal42nd percentile · 10 yr record |
| Salt Creeknear Chicago River Canoe and Kayak | 5.5 cfs2.36 ft | 5.4 cfs | Normal50th percentile · 53 yr record |
| Cache Rivernear Cache Bayou Outfitters | 3.0 cfs8.44 ft | 4.3 cfs | Normal39th percentile · 103 yr record |
| Plum Creeknear Chicago River Canoe & Kayak at Tampier Lake | 2.9 cfs7.69 ft | 1.4 cfs | Normal55th percentile · 17 yr record |
| Piscasaw Creeknear Rocktown Adventures of Rockford | 2.5 cfs6.08 ft | 1.8 cfs | Normal68th percentile · 34 yr record |
| Massac Creeknear Cache Bayou Outfitters | 0.2 cfs2.68 ft | 0.8 cfs | Much below normal5th percentile · 55 yr record |
Streamflow from the U.S. Geological Survey, updated hourly. "Usually today" is the median for this calendar date over the gauge's full record. A gauge tells you how much water is moving, not whether a run is safe: check the class, the hazards, and a current local report before you put on.
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