Mississippi River — Grand Rapids to Blackberry: River Level Today — Can You Paddle It?

At 202 cfs the Mississippi River is inside the runnable range but only 172 cfs above the 30 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, 202 cfs to 202 cfs. Daily means over the past 7 days have run between 203 cfs and 224 cfs, 9% lower at the end of the week than the start.

Mississippi River at Grand Rapids to Blackberry is a Flatwater float in Minnesota — no rapids under normal flows, just moving water and the odd riffle. Most paddlers put in at Grand Rapids access and take out at Blackberry landing.

Whether it's worth the drive comes down to flow. This section generally paddles well at 30–1,910 cfs. Much below that and the Mississippi 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 05211000 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 May–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.