Medina River — San Antonio Natural Area: River Level Today — Can You Paddle It?

At 48 cfs the Medina River is inside the runnable range but only 18 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 gone from 64 cfs to 48 cfs, 26% down. Daily means over the past 7 days have run between 53 cfs and 67 cfs, 14% 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.

Medina River at San Antonio Natural Area is a 5-mile Class I run in Texas — easygoing moving water with light riffles and nothing technical. Most paddlers put in at Medina River Natural Area, San Antonio and take out at Applewhite Rd, a trip that runs about 3 hours at a relaxed pace.

Whether it's worth the drive comes down to flow. This section generally paddles well at 30–1,200 cfs (a conservative estimate — see our methodology). Much below that and the Medina 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 08181500 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.

This reach can run year-round in a typical year, though levels still swing with rain and dry spells — the live gauge always beats the calendar, so check today's reading before you load the car.