What Level Can You Run Big Shoals on the Suwannee?
Big Shoals is a clean run at roughly 55 to 65 feet on USGS gauge 02315500 at White Springs. Above about 65 feet the drop washes out. Below about 55 feet it gets rocky and technical. It is Florida's only Class III whitewater, and a marked portage trail is always there, so portage at low water or if you are not solid in Class III. Drive down on the wrong number and there is nothing worth seeing.
The gauge to read
| USGS 02315500 | Suwannee River at White Springs, FL, the reference gauge for Big Shoals | live reading |
Readings come from the USGS. The thresholds above are ours, measured on the water in a loaded canoe and cross-checked against Florida State Parks.
What the season does to it
Late fall through spring. Summer thunderstorms can spike the level fast.
Where you camp, and how high
Screened river-camp platforms (Woods Ferry and Holton Creek are both closed for 2026), state parks, and sandbars.
Where these numbers come from
We paddle this river. The ranges above are what a loaded boat needs, not what an agency publishes as navigable, and they are the numbers we use ourselves before deciding whether a trip is worth the drive. A gauge is a reading at one point on one day: rain upstream, a recent rise and the flood forecast all change what the number means, so read the trend and not just the figure.
Written by Rodney Thompson, who has paddled and camped every river on this site. Full river guide: Suwannee River · live readings for all seventeen rivers: river levels.