Root River — Rushford to Houston: River Level Today — Can You Paddle It?

At 3.6 ft the Root River is inside the runnable range but only 0.6 ft above the 3 ft 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, 3.6 ft to 3.6 ft. Daily average flow — a different measurement from the gauge height this reach is graded on — has run between 678 cfs and 791 cfs, 14% lower at the end of the week than the start.

Root River at Rushford to Houston is a Class I run in Minnesota — easygoing moving water with light riffles and nothing technical. Most paddlers put in at Rushford access and take out at Houston (Root River access).

Whether it's worth the drive comes down to flow. This section generally paddles well at 3–7 ft. Much below that and the Root 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 05385000 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.