St. Francis River — calm reach below Patterson: River Level Today — Can You Paddle It?

At 372 cfs the St. Francis River is inside the runnable range but only 272 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 gone from 448 cfs to 372 cfs, 17% down. Daily means over the past 6 days have run between 162 cfs and 665 cfs, 184% 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.

St. Francis River at calm reach below Patterson is a 8-mile Class I run in Missouri — easygoing moving water with light riffles and nothing technical. Most paddlers put in at Patterson area and take out at downstream access, a trip that runs about 4 hours at a relaxed pace.

Whether it's worth the drive comes down to flow. This section generally paddles well at 100–2,500 cfs (a conservative estimate — see our methodology). Much below that and the St. Francis 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 07037500 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.