Gauge Description:

There are three separate ways people gauge the flows on Lolo Creek: there's a painted gauge at the upper put-in bridge, a painted gauge on the river-right concrete bridge support at the take-out, and a USGS-style stick gauge on river-left at the take out.
I personally prefer using the stick gauge, as it's easier to read. The levels referenced in this guide will be based on the stick gauge.
The lowest level I'd want to run Lolo Creek would be around 9.5'. At this level, the creek has lots of exposed rocks, and very little push. A great medium level (for me) is around 10.7' to 11.3' or so. The highest I've run it is 12.7'. At that level Lolo was almost unrecognizable compared to lower flows. Eddies are hard to locate, and if there's a new tree in the channel, kayakers can get into trouble quickly. I've heard of people running Lolo over 13'. Maybe they can add some comments on their experiences... Plenty of people, after boating down to the first rapid and seeing it at ~12', have ditched their boats and hiked back up to the put-in...