Once you discover the joy of paddling the variety of creeks and rivers in Minnesota, the spring, summer, and fall reveal the challenge of fitting in all the great destinations you want to experience.  The last few years have brought on disappointing variations in precipitation and streamflow.  So what's a paddler to do when they find they have a weekend or workday free?   How do you avoid planning a trip only to find yourself dragging your kayak over a bed of mud, or worse, sand?

I developed an application called Streamwatcher that queries NOAA water level data and compares it to ideal streamflows I've found through my own experience and the experience of others.  The problem is that I need cash to host it, currently $20 a month.  If you'd like to sponsor the Streamwatcher site, contact me at rich@midwestik.com.   Once I have a way to sustain hosting the service on the Internet, I plan to add on a notification service, where you can pick your favorite streams, and receive a notification on a daily or weekly basis when water is at an ideal level for paddling.

Thanks!

The screenshot below contains all of the regions in Minnesota, with paddle-ready streams highlighted in green.

If you click on a stream or river you get more detail on that section of water, and a reference to books that describe the section in more detail.