About this river
Des Plaines River is a 4.1 mile stream near Chicago River Canoe and Kayak in Illinois. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge Des Plaines River near Des Plaines, IL (site 05529000). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 4. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
1941 to 2026
Des Plaines River typically runs highest in March, at a median 543 cfs, and lowest in September, at 70 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 5,010 cfs, in 2013.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 148 | 69 to 304 | |
| February | 159 | 79 to 406 | |
| March | 543 | 309 to 844 | |
| April | 508 | 265 to 885 | |
| May | 340 | 158 to 611 | |
| June | 204 | 90 to 432 | |
| July | 102 | 55 to 255 | |
| August | 81 | 26 to 167 | |
| September | 70 | 20 to 162 | |
| October | 80 | 25 to 192 | |
| November | 124 | 52 to 284 | |
| December | 167 | 68 to 330 |
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 Des Plaines River near Des Plaines, IL (site 05529000). 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 Des Plaines River, all of them public access. Ramp data comes from the USGS national boat-ramp inventory.
- Northwestern Woods Canoe LandingPublic
- Big Bend Lake Boat RampPublic
- Beck LakeBeck LakePublic
- Allison Wood Boat LaunchPublic
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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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