About this river
Elk River is a 39.4 mile river near Clear Waters Outfitting Company in Minnesota. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge Elk River near Big Lake, MN (site 05275000). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 5. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
1911 to 2026
Elk River typically runs highest in April, at a median 456 cfs, and lowest in January, at 101 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 7,170 cfs, in 1965.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 101 | 77 to 144 | |
| February | 106 | 74 to 139 | |
| March | 160 | 106 to 267 | |
| April | 456 | 279 to 818 | |
| May | 334 | 223 to 545 | |
| June | 250 | 150 to 443 | |
| July | 198 | 101 to 321 | |
| August | 147 | 89 to 242 | |
| September | 150 | 93 to 248 | |
| October | 163 | 107 to 247 | |
| November | 173 | 130 to 300 | |
| December | 130 | 97 to 185 |
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 99 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for Elk River near Big Lake, MN (site 05275000). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.
Boat access nearby
4 mapped launches sit in the mapped area of Elk River, all of them public access. Ramp data comes from the USGS national boat-ramp inventory.
- Lake Maria State ParkLittle Mary LakePublic
- Montissippi ParkMississippi RiverPublic
- Big LakeBig LakePublic
- Birch LakeBirch LakePublic
Embed this gauge on your site
Paste this snippet anywhere, an outfitter page, a club site, a trip report, to show Elk River's live streamflow, water level and 7-day trend. It reads the USGS gauge directly, updates itself, and links back here.
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