Otter Tail River — Orwell Dam to Fergus Falls: River Level Today — Can You Paddle It?

At 104 cfs the Otter Tail River is inside the runnable range but only 4 cfs above the 100 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, 106 cfs to 104 cfs. Daily means over the past 7 days have run between 105 cfs and 124 cfs, 14% lower at the end of the week than the start.

Otter Tail River at Orwell Dam to Fergus Falls is a Class I run in Minnesota — easygoing moving water with light riffles and nothing technical. Most paddlers put in at Orwell Dam access and take out at Fergus Falls / Elizabeth access.

Whether it's worth the drive comes down to flow. This section generally paddles well at 100–1,200 cfs. Much below that and the Otter Tail 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 05030500 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–September. 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.