About this river
Des Plaines River is a 19.7 mile stream near Lakeshore Paddle in Illinois. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge Des Plaines River at Lincolnshire, IL (site 05528100). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 4. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
2009 to 2026
Des Plaines River typically runs highest in April, at a median 569 cfs, and lowest in September, at 82 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 3,650 cfs, in 2017.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 172 | 92 to 350 | |
| February | 195 | 90 to 417 | |
| March | 537 | 355 to 675 | |
| April | 569 | 279 to 901 | |
| May | 314 | 162 to 753 | |
| June | 211 | 127 to 375 | |
| July | 144 | 81 to 387 | |
| August | 95 | 65 to 169 | |
| September | 82 | 58 to 142 | |
| October | 86 | 57 to 228 | |
| November | 113 | 78 to 244 | |
| December | 170 | 76 to 292 |
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 17 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for Des Plaines River at Lincolnshire, IL (site 05528100). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.
Boat access nearby
3 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.
- Inependence Grove Boat RampPublic
- North Bay Pavilion Boat RampPublic
- Sterling LakeSterling LakePublic
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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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