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Sunrise Kayaking

How do you decide when to cancel rides?

Our top priority is for our riders to have a fun and safe experience. We cancel rides at our discretion based on the weather forecast (rain, thunder, lightning, high winds, high/low temperatures, low air quality, etc.), the water temperature, and the river flow levels (see below).

When do you notify customers if you cancel rides?

We frequently monitor the weather forecast and river levels. If it looks likely that the conditions will not be fun/safe we try to cancel rides as far in advance as possible (no later than 1 hour before the reservation start time). However, on rare occasions, the weather/river conditions change at the last minute and we need to cancel rides with little or no advance notice. That is why we recommend that you visit our website and click the "Status" link at the top before leaving for your reservation.

How do you notify customers if you cancel rides?

If we need to cancel reservations due to the weather/river or other reasons, we update the status page (this page) on our website. We also attempt to notify our customers using the email they entered when booking their reservation. Keep in mind, our emails are sometimes blocked by our customers' email software. Therefore, we highly recommend that you visit sunrisekayaking.com and click the "Status" at the top before leaving for your reservation.

Can customers reschedule or receive a refund if rides are canceled?

Yes, please see our Terms of Service for more details.

What are typical river flow levels in your area?

We use the USGS website to monitor current river flow levels in our area. Here's what you can expect based on the current river flow:

  •  GREEN | Up to 300 ft³/s : The current is very slow. Paddling on the river will be similar to paddling on a lake except for a few sections (~50ft) with a little bit of current. Conditions are good. The river is typically at this level.
  •  BLUE | 301-600 ft³/s : The current is slow. You will need to work a bit when traveling up stream against the current. Conditions are still good for almost all riders. The river is typically at this level for a few days after a moderate rainfall.
  •  RED | 601 ft³/s or more : We typically cancel rides when the river is at this level. The river current is strong and potentially dangerous. Paddling up stream is difficult or impossible. The river can be at this level for 3-10 days after a heavy rainfall.

How does local rainfall effect the river flow?

When rain falls to the north of the Dublin Bridge Park District (Jerome, Ostrander, Powell, Delaware, etc.) the water eventually flows into the Scioto River at our location. Rainfall in that watershed area has a direct impact on the river levels where we provide rides. A good way to predict whether the river flow will be too high for kayaking is to click on this rainfall map and change the date range to the last 7 days. If there has been more than an inch of rainfall in the area north of Dublin (Marysville, Delaware, Marion, etc.) in the last 7 days, there is a good chance the river will be too high for kayaking.


As you can see on the USGS website, when the river flow goes up high, it typically takes several days for it to fall back below safe levels. When the river starts going down, we typically find that it decreases about 1000-1500cfs per day (assuming there is no rain). For example, if there is 2 inches of rainfall in the watershed area and the river increases to 6000cfs, it will probably take 5-10 days without any rain before the river lowers back to safe levels. Also keep in mind... When there is an increase in the river level due to rain, there is often an initial sharp surge in the river level that lasts for about a day and then the river starts dropping, but then a secondary surge starts about 1.5 days after the initial surge. That is likely due to water flow from the area north of Dublin finally making it to our location from many miles away.