About this river
Nantahala River is a 24.0 mile river near NOC Paddling School in North Carolina. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge Nantahala River near Rainbow Springs, NC (site 03504000). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 5. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
1941 to 2026
Nantahala River typically runs highest in March, at a median 262 cfs, and lowest in September, at 86 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 3,620 cfs, in 2004.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 236 | 170 to 331 | |
| February | 256 | 192 to 369 | |
| March | 262 | 204 to 348 | |
| April | 243 | 186 to 314 | |
| May | 188 | 152 to 247 | |
| June | 143 | 109 to 200 | |
| July | 112 | 83 to 162 | |
| August | 99 | 70 to 147 | |
| September | 86 | 60 to 129 | |
| October | 88 | 61 to 138 | |
| November | 115 | 82 to 189 | |
| December | 181 | 122 to 277 |
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 86 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for Nantahala River near Rainbow Springs, NC (site 03504000). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.
Embed this gauge on your site
Paste this snippet anywhere, an outfitter page, a club site, a trip report, to show Nantahala 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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