Crow River — Hanover to Dayton: River Level Today — Can You Paddle It?

At 279 cfs the Crow River is inside the runnable range but only 176 cfs above the 103 cfs floor, so it is sitting at the shallow end of what this reach runs at. A dry few days would take it under.

Over the last 24 hours it has barely moved, 302 cfs to 279 cfs. Daily means over the past 7 days have run between 307 cfs and 522 cfs, 41% lower at the end of the week than the start.

Crow River at Hanover to Dayton is a Class I run in Minnesota — easygoing moving water with light riffles and nothing technical. Most paddlers put in at Hanover access and take out at Dayton (river mouth access).

Whether it's worth the drive comes down to flow. This section generally paddles well at 103–1,400 cfs. Much below that and the Crow 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 05280000 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 April–October. 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.