We can usually expect to paddle in the floodlands area near Tranquille by the end of May.    High water lasts for 2 – 6 weeks, but usually it has receded by the end of June.    On May 12, I was able to launch my kayak into the floodlands using a hand launch in the Tranquille Wildlife Management parking area.    There was enough water to paddle over the tops of barbed wire fences.    Many of the channels were full of debris, but there were also open water channels out to the river.

Later in the season we can paddle across the river and go up more floodlands channels on the south side of the river. A 10 km loop through the floodlands is possible during freshet.

A few moments of the morning of paddling are found in this YouTube video: