Oostanaula River — Resaca to Rome: River Level Today — Can You Paddle It?

At 1,360 cfs the Oostanaula River is 860 cfs above the 500 cfs minimum for this reach. There is no published upper bound for this section, so the reading tells you it is floatable, not how pushy it is.

Over the last 24 hours it has gone from 2,420 cfs to 1,360 cfs, 44% down. Daily means over the past 6 days have run between 1,070 cfs and 2,360 cfs, 121% higher at the end of the week than the start. The last day and the week as a whole point opposite ways, which usually means a recent rain bump on top of a longer rising trend — worth a second look at the chart before you commit to the drive.

Oostanaula River at Resaca to Rome is a 12-mile Class I run in Georgia — easygoing moving water with light riffles and nothing technical. Most paddlers put in at Resaca (US 41) and take out at Rome (Heritage Park, US 27), a trip that runs about 6 hours at a relaxed pace.

Whether it's worth the drive comes down to flow. This section generally paddles well at above 500 cfs (a conservative estimate — see our methodology). Much below that and the Oostanaula River gets low and bony, so you end up scraping gravel and walking the shallows; well above the top of the range it turns fast, cold and pushy, which is a more serious day than most casual boaters want. We read USGS gauge 02388500 about every 30 minutes and compare the live number to that window, so the verdict at the top of this page reflects conditions right now rather than a monthly average.

Flows here are usually most dependable March–November. Spring can run high after rain or snowmelt, and late summer often drops too low to float well — but the gauge always beats the calendar, so check today's reading before you go.