About this river
Des Plaines River is a 12.0 mile stream near Kayak Chicago in Illinois. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge Des Plaines River at Riverside, IL (site 05532500). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 4. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
1944 to 2026
Des Plaines River typically runs highest in March, at a median 890 cfs, and lowest in September, at 198 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 10,700 cfs, in 2013.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 310 | 157 to 571 | |
| February | 320 | 171 to 674 | |
| March | 890 | 547 to 1,390 | |
| April | 858 | 488 to 1,555 | |
| May | 611 | 318 to 1,100 | |
| June | 449 | 215 to 879 | |
| July | 278 | 153 to 580 | |
| August | 226 | 107 to 474 | |
| September | 198 | 70 to 400 | |
| October | 215 | 80 to 433 | |
| November | 268 | 143 to 554 | |
| December | 330 | 160 to 628 |
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 83 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for Des Plaines River at Riverside, IL (site 05532500). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.
Boat access nearby
2 mapped launches sit in the mapped area of Des Plaines River, all of them public access. Ramp data comes from the USGS national boat-ramp inventory.
- Maywood Grove Canoe LandingPublic
- Irving Park Road Canoe LandingPublic
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Paste this snippet anywhere, an outfitter page, a club site, a trip report, to show Des Plaines 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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