Check the river before you raft. This page pulls the live U.S. Geological Survey reading for the New River at Thurmond, station 03185400, the gauge outfitters watch, and tells you what that level means for a Lower New trip, from low water near the bottom of the commercial range to big water that calls for real skills. Below that you'll find the 2026 Summersville Dam release days for the Gauley and the phone lines that give recorded river levels.
The New River at Thurmond right now
The panel only tells you what it knows. If the newest USGS value is more than six hours old it says the reading is stale, and if the service doesn't answer it says the gauge is unavailable; neither case shows a band. Recent USGS values are provisional, marked "P" in the feed. The seven-day line is history, not a forecast, so for where the river is headed tomorrow, ask your outfitter.
Lower New trips run from April to October on Adventures on the Gorge's Lower New page, and that's the season the panel uses; some outfitters print May to October instead. For how rafting season fits the rest of the year, see best time to visit.
What today's level means for your trip
The five bands below are keyed to flow at Thurmond. Each edge sits on a figure ACE or American Whitewater published (converted with the Park Service's gauge table where the source speaks in feet), and the live panel highlights whichever band the river is in right now. They describe commercial trips on the Lower New, which you can read all about in rafting the New River.
Paddling your own boat? The Park Service's private boater page draws a sterner line: "The New River below Thurmond is suitable only for advanced and expert paddlers." It also says, "Running whitewater rivers is inherently risky."
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Low: below 1,000 cfs Current reading
Source: ACE Lower New trip page; also Adventures on the Gorge guest policies
ACE lists commercial Lower New trips from just below 1,000 cfs, so this reading is near or below the bottom of that range. Adventures on the Gorge says it may change the river, section or boat size for extremely high or low water.
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Normal range: 1,000 to 11,400 cfs Current reading
Source: American Whitewater, Lower New; also NPS gauge conversion table, ACE Lower New trip page
This reading is inside the flows ACE lists for commercial Lower New trips. American Whitewater says most agree the optimal level is 2 feet on the Fayette Station gauge, which the Park Service conversion table puts at 4,440 cfs at Thurmond.
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Big water: 11,400 to 15,250 cfs Current reading
Source: American Whitewater, Lower New; also NPS gauge conversion table, ACE Lower New trip page
American Whitewater, which measures this reach in feet on the Fayette Station gauge, tells paddlers without big water paddling skills to stay off above 6 feet; the Park Service conversion table puts 6 feet on that gauge at 11,400 cfs. This reading is still inside the American Whitewater range for the Thurmond gauge, 500 to 15,250 cfs, and inside the flows ACE lists for commercial trips.
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Very high: 15,250 to 32,000 cfs Current reading
Source: American Whitewater, Lower New; also NPS gauge conversion table, ACE Lower New trip page
This reading is above the American Whitewater range for the Thurmond gauge, which ends at 15,250 cfs, and the same page says there are no real eddies above 10 feet, which the Park Service table lists as 23,800 cfs for the Fayette Station gauge. American Whitewater also says the Park Service cuts off put-ins for commercial rafting trips at 12 feet, a level the table does not reach, while ACE lists commercial trips up to about 32,000 cfs.
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Above published commercial limits: 32,000 cfs and up Current reading
Source: ACE Lower New trip page; also ACE FAQ, Adventures on the Gorge guest policies
This reading is above the highest flow ACE lists for commercial Lower New trips, about 32,000 cfs. ACE says it gives a full rain check when it deems conditions unsafe, and Adventures on the Gorge says it may change the river or section for extremely high water, so call your outfitter before driving.
A few notes on the band edges
The low band follows ACE's commercial floor rather than American Whitewater's 500 cfs, since these bands are about outfitter trips. The big-water edge comes from American Whitewater's warning, "If you do not have big water paddling skills then stay off above 6 feet," read on the Fayette Station gauge. And no one publishes the exact flow where the Park Service's commercial cutoff kicks in (American Whitewater says "At 12ft," which sits above the top of the conversion table), so when the river is very high, call your outfitter before you drive.
Gauley release calendar, 2026
Gauley Season, as the Park Service puts it, "begins the first weekend after Labor Day, and continues for six weekends," and it's when Summersville Dam lets out enough water to wake up the Gauley's Class V rapids. The Army Corps of Engineers' 2026 Whitewater Schedule of Releases, updated September 4, 2026, sets a target flow of 2,800 cfs for every window. Planning a trip on those days? See Gauley season rafting.
Army Corps of Engineers, 2026 Whitewater Schedule of Releases, updated September 4, 2026. Eastern time. Target flow 2,800 cfs on every release day.
| Release window | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Monday |
| September 11 to 14 | 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
| September 18 to 21 | 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| September 25 to 28 | 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
| October 2 to 5 | 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
| October 9 to 12 | 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
| October 17 to 18 | No release | 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. | No release |
What does 2,800 cfs mean? It's the rate water leaves the dam into the Gauley, a different river from the New, so the Thurmond bands above don't apply. The Corps' C.J. Hamilton told WV MetroNews in 2019 that 2,800 cfs is "the best level for the commercial rafting industry."
The Corps adds an hour of release on September 19 to 21 for Gauley Fest, held September 17 to 20 (the table already shows the longer hours), and notes that Bridge Day falls on October 17, the Saturday of the final release weekend. Both are on the events calendar. One Park Service letter ends the boating season on October 17, but the Corps table and the park's whitewater page both run releases on October 17 and 18. On October days without a whitewater release, the Corps provides 750 cfs all day for fishing.
Treat the hours as close rather than exact: the Corps' own outflow forecast for the first weekend ran about an hour later than the table. On release days the live panel adds the water height just below the dam from USGS 03189600, in feet only, because that station's flow record has gone stale.
Status as of September 8, 2026: The Park Service closes Gauley Tailwaters Campground September 11 to 28, 2026, the first three release weekends. Check the
NPS letter to Gauley boaters before you go.
River levels by phone
Rather hear it than read it? The Park Service's private boater page lists four numbers for river levels. That list was last updated April 13, 2022, so if a recording has moved, the visitor center can point you to the current line.
Numbers and descriptions from the Park Service's private boater page, last updated April 13, 2022.
| Line | Number | What it gives |
| New River at Bluestone Dam | 304-466-0156 | "Recorded message updated each morning by 9:00 a.m. Gives levels for the New River, Bluestone River, and Greenbrier River." |
| Gauley River | 304-872-5809 | "Recorded message updated each morning by 9:00 a.m. Gives levels for the Gauley River at Summersville Dam and at Craigsville, and for the Meadow River." |
| National Park Service | 304-574-2115 | "Canyon Rim Visitor Center can give you a summary of all river level information by 9:30 a.m. each morning." |
| Army Corps of Engineers | 304-529-5127 | "Recorded message updated by 10:00 a.m. Most comprehensive report for West Virginia rivers. Includes 24-hour change in stage." |
For a trip question, start with the Canyon Rim Visitor Center. It's the only line on the list answered by a person, and the Park Service says staff can summarize all the river level information by 9:30 a.m. each morning.
The Gauley number, 304-872-5809, also appears on a West Virginia Division of Natural Resources page as the Summersville Lake conditions line. For questions about the release schedule itself, the Corps lists Summersville project operations at 304-872-3412, option 1.
How to read the gauge
Two numbers come off the Thurmond station. Discharge is the volume of water passing the gauge, in cubic feet per second (cfs). Stage, also called gage height, is the water surface in feet on that station's own scale. The bands on this page use discharge.
Feet mean little until you know which gauge. American Whitewater's Lower New page talks in feet on the Fayette Station gauge while USGS reads Thurmond, and the two scales differ. The sweet spot most paddlers agree on, 2 feet at Fayette Station, works out to 4.9 feet at Thurmond and 4,440 cfs on the Park Service table.
American Whitewater labels its Fayette Station reading "CALCULATED." Thurmond is a real USGS station with a live public feed, and American Whitewater keys its Lower New flow range to it, which is why this site reads Thurmond.
The Park Service conversion table
Straight from the Park Service's private boater page. It steps in whole feet on the Fayette Station gauge and stops at 10 feet, so for in-between levels, read between the rows.
"New River Gauge Conversions," NPS private boater page, last updated April 13, 2022.
| Thurmond gauge (ft) | Fayette Station gauge (ft) | Cubic feet per second |
| 1.5 | -2.0 | 1,070 |
| 2.5 | -1.0 | 1,700 |
| 3.2 | 0.0 | 2,440 |
| 4.0 | 1.0 | 3,350 |
| 4.9 | 2.0 | 4,440 |
| 5.6 | 3.0 | 5,820 |
| 6.5 | 4.0 | 7,550 |
| 7.2 | 5.0 | 9,550 |
| 8.1 | 6.0 | 11,400 |
| 9.0 | 7.0 | 14,100 |
| 9.9 | 8.0 | 17,200 |
| 10.6 | 9.0 | 20,200 |
| 11.4 | 10.0 | 23,800 |
Why the Gauley reading is feet only
USGS 03189600, on the Gauley below Summersville Dam, still reports gage height, but its flow record has gone stale: ask the USGS service for a discharge there and it hands back 1,470 cfs from September 30, 2003. So the site shows height only at that station, and the live panel drops any reading more than six hours old.
Booking around the numbers
You don't need to become a hydrologist to plan a trip, because outfitters make the call on the day. Adventures on the Gorge's guest policies let it move a trip to another river or section for "extremely high or low water," and ACE's FAQ gives a full rain check if ACE deems conditions unsafe. Ready to pick an outfitter? See which rafting company.
