Water Levels

During the rafting season from May to August, the Green River’s water levels in Gates of Lodore typically range between 900 – 20,000  CFS. Higher flows usually start in June and trickle down thereafter. The Green River is dammed controlled from Flaming Gorge Reservoir, so its flows are fairly reliable year to year.

CFS stands for “cubic feet per second.” One cubic foot is about the size of a basketball. So if the Green is flowing at 1,000 CFS, imagine standing on the side of the river, watching 1,000 basketballs bounce past you every second.

If you’d like to explore the water levels in Gates of Lodore from various of timespans, visit this page of USGS.

Rapids

If your Gates of Lodore trip occurs during a period of high flow, you can expect multiple class III and IV rapids with class II mixed in. High flows can be considered 10,000 – 20,000 CFS

If your trip is during a period of low flow, you can still expect class II and III rapids. Low flows can be considered 900 – 3,000 CFS

For trips taking place with medium flow rate, expect a mix of both, naturally! Between 3,000 – 10,000 CFS.