Skip to content

Rainy River in Minnesota

River41.2 mi

Around here

Around Rainy River

Manitou Rapids · 0.7 miLong Sault Rapids6.3 mi10 mi

Nature3

Source: USGS GNIS · Public land: USGS PAD-US

About this river

Rainy River is a 41.2 mile river. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge Rainy River at Manitou Rapids, MN (site 05133500). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 8. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.

Typical flow by month

1929 to 2026

Rainy River typically runs highest in May, at a median 17,500 cfs, and lowest in February, at 8,550 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 75,600 cfs, in 2014.

Show the numbers
Typical flow by month at Rainy River at Manitou Rapids, MN, in cfs
MonthTypical (cfs)Usual range (cfs)
January8,9006,980 to 11,300
February8,5506,590 to 10,500
March8,7406,960 to 10,500
April13,0509,135 to 19,700
May17,50010,500 to 27,500
June17,3509,815 to 30,550
July14,3009,280 to 23,400
August9,7406,220 to 13,300
September8,7155,505 to 12,600
October8,9405,940 to 13,600
November9,1906,290 to 14,300
December9,4505,990 to 13,100

Typical is the median of each month’s daily median values, and the usual range runs from the median 25th to the median 75th percentile, across about 98 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for Rainy River at Manitou Rapids, MN (site 05133500). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.

Boat access nearby

3 mapped launches sit in the mapped area of Rainy River, all of them public access. Ramp data comes from the USGS national boat-ramp inventory.

Free widget

Embed this gauge on your site

Paste this snippet anywhere, an outfitter page, a club site, a trip report, to show Rainy River's live streamflow, water level and 7-day trend. It reads the USGS gauge directly, updates itself, and links back here.

Embed code

See every free widget you can put on your site, including live conditions and a 7 day forecast.