McDowell Dam Recreation Area

SUP School / RentalsPaddleboarding (SUP)

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About

McDowell Dam Recreation Area is an SUP school and rentals in Bismarck. They offer kayak rentals and have an accessible kayak launch. The recreation area features a 0.6-mile paved shared-use loop trail and a 2.4-mile unpaved biking and hiking loop trail.

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Outfitter details

Disciplines: Paddleboarding (SUP)

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Paddler reviews

What paddlers are saying

4.6· 396 reviews on Google

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S
Stephen Herda· a month ago
Great place to rake kids for a day outside. Swimming beach, sand beach, fishing boating/kayaking, walking, playground and so on. A really nice park located only a few minutes east of Bismarck. Make sure you bring what you need as there aren't any services out there.
C
Cassandra Stamps· 3 months ago
This was awesome, it was peaceful, beautiful, the pedal boats were so much fun and we even got to see a river otter swimming beside our pedal boat. Our new favorite swimming spot and only a 10 minute drive from our house in Bismarck. We will be back many times this summer.
J
Jennifer Spitzer· 6 years ago
The trail around the lake is wonderful! I saw dozens of bird species and a great variety of trees, plants and flowers, with excellent views of the lake from different heights and angles. I will certainly be returning. I expect it will be especially glorious in Autumn.
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Suzy B· 5 years ago
This has been one of our favorite Bismarck area parks to come to for over 30 years! We brought our children here and now are bringing our grand children. Love the beach, the play areas, the walking areas. Great memories are made here.

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Typical flow by month

1946 to 2026

The water at McDowell Dam Recreation Area typically runs highest in April, at a median 54 cfs, and lowest in September, at 1.2 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 5,590 cfs, in 1950.

Typical flow by month at Apple Creek near Menoken, ND, in cfs
Month	Typical (cfs)	Usual range (cfs)
January	1.5	0.7 to 4.3
February	1.7	0.7 to 5.1
March	10	2.3 to 79
April	54	11 to 225
May	36	7.1 to 115
June	20	5.6 to 89
July	7.8	1.4 to 52
August	2.0	0.3 to 27
September	1.2	0.2 to 11
October	1.4	0.6 to 9.6
November	2.6	1.0 to 9.7
December	2.0	1.0 to 7.1

Typical is the median of each month’s daily median values, and the usual range runs from the median 25th to the median 75th percentile, across about 80 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for Apple Creek near Menoken, ND (site 06349500). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.

Current conditions

63Maybe/ 100 conditions scoreBest day: Thu, Sep 24 (77)

Streamflow

11 cfs

Normal (75th)

Water level

4.67 ft

High today

65°F

Wind

15 kt

Gusts 25 kt

Rain chance

Week ahead

Tue65°F1%

Wed64°F66%

Thu83°F54%

Fri67°F36%

Sat81°F36%

Sun75°F10%

Mon85°F39%

Forecast from Open-Meteo global models (NOAA & ECMWF).

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