Cedar
Charles City Whitewater
| Difficulty | II(III) |
| Length | 0.3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Cedar River at Charles City, Ia |
| Flow Rate as of 47 minutes | 858 cfsII+low runnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | January 28, 2026 |
The course is 1200 feet long with three features. The river levels are rain dependent (not dam/release), and are generally best in spring/early summer. If fall rains prevail, flows can be good into fall and early winter. Late July, August, and Sept are typically the lowest flowing months.
Located in downtown Charles City, there is riverside camping ( www.rcampground.com), several restaurants and pubs within walking distance (Pub on the Cedar, Hotshots, Aromas, Hyvee, Saint Charles Brewing and several others).
Boaters and board-surfers are the main users of the park, and inner-tubers take to the river during the hot summer months. If you are inner-tubing, it is strongly suggested to wear a proper fitting PFD, and helmet. Read the signage at the park and USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
This is Iowa’s First Whitewater Park, built back in 2010, opened summer of 2011. The course is starting to show its age. The features are not functioning as they once did. The levels at which things are good are getting fewer and fewer. The city and Charles City officials have been made aware of this. It is unclear at this time what action(s) will be taken with the whitewater park. The features are intact, they are just not providing the high performance playbaoting and surfing aspects as they once did. Boaters and surfers may still find something with adjusted expectations. See descriptions below for further levels and info.
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ccwhitewater
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Just downstream from the Pedestrian Bridge, this wave is green most of the time, but can also become foamy at low levels.
0-600
ELF flows. This feature can either be green or foamy.
Playboat: Very minor front surfing.
Board: Go for inflatable or a foamie you don’t care too much about as its pretty shallow.
600-1000
Usually green but sometimes foams up.
Playboat: Front surfs and flatspins
Board: Still shallow (still recommend inflatable or foamie).
1000-1500
The wave is green, has flat spots guarding the little bit steeper middle area.
Playboat: front surfing and maybe flatspins on the lower end of this range.
Longboat: at the higher end of this range the wave becomes too flat for playboats so bring your longer boat and soul surf! (I have seen a sea kayak surf but they tend to purl a lot.)
Board: it is possible to surf with a fast, floaty board. Boards with high volume, sleek, and around 6' seem to work best. SUPs and work too. It can be challenging to get to the steeper center area but it is possible. Carves and shuvits possible.
1500-3400cfs
Playboat: its too flat and fast to surf a playboat. The pocket on river left is weak, may be able to briefly surf it.
Longboat: Able to surf in a long boat.
Board: a bit of an awkward level, the wave becomes tricky to catch and easy to flush off of -- you gotta move and generate speed. Fast boards tend to have more success. The upper end of this range is better
3500-5500
The main portion continues to be green. Eddy access is easier from river left via the pocket.
Playboat: the face of the wave is too flat and too fast for short boats to surf. Stick to the river left pocket for a little front surfing action.
Longboat: you can still surf a long boat if you want, but most head down to the other features for playboating.
Board: SUPs and shortboards can be surfed in the river left pocket at starting at around 3500cfs. The sweet spot appears to be 4000-5000 cfs for short boards.
5500-10000
Eddy access to the main wave becomes blocked by a guard curler. The wave is green and nearly uncatchable on the fly in boat. Boards may be able to catch the wave, but its fickle and tough to stay on. At the high end of this range (7500-10000) there is a secondary wave that forms behind DD Wave which tends to change moment to moment but does have eddy access and is entertaining to try to surf/spin in a boat. Good for practicing how to wipeout in style!
At about 12000-13800 the top wave can be caught on the fly in a boat or on a sup for front surfs and spins -- fun to be surfing on that much water through the park. A portion of the wave on surfers left builds (green) and crashes just a few feet from you! The secondary wave is also catchable so after you flush off the top wave, take a few strokes and you’re ready for another ride. The secondary wave is a bit foamier but very waveish, front surf and spins mostly.
Above 13,800 cfs all features become flat/washed out.
Generally a foamy and bouncy wavey hole but can green up at super low flows. At good flows, its deep enough for freestyle tricks. Eddy service is from river right, but the feature tends to feed you river-left and out. On rare occasions this feature forms two fun, friendly foam piles split by a green tongue (*this is referred to by the locals as 'Tew Shaning'. Why? You’ll have to ask the locals!)
0-600: can be green or foamy. Can surf in a boat but do not window-shade (super shallow)!
600-1800: can be green but more often foamy. Can front surf and spin or very low angle cartwheels. Window-shading still dangerous (still shallow). Can be a bit of fun for riversurfing/SUPsurfing if its green.
1800-3500: typically foamy but can occasionally Tew Shanez*. On the low end of this range, it’s still shallow but can surf/flatspin in a boat. Once flows hit about 2500cfs, its freestyle playboating time!
3500-5500: A foamy wave-ish hole. Eddy access from river-right but you’ll need to paddle vigorously to access the feature. It’s deep enough but tough to plug because of its wave-ish nature.
5500-8000: Still a wave-ish hole but catch on the fly (eddy access disappears).
8000-10,000: a beginner wave forms far river-right, but access is challenging as you have to paddle/pull yourself up through willows in the water.
~11,000+: It tends to flatten out.
The final feature is almost always a wave-ish hole with eddy access river-left. Its usually foamy but sometimes it can be nearly green. The accessible range for this feature is 2100-2500 cfs. While the feature is generally friendly and fun to throw tricks...it's a near himalayan workout to get to the feature from the river left eddy access. Good Luck!
While you can surf the foamy feature on a board, its not much fun -- DD Wave is much better. At lower levels (below 1800) it gets shallow under the bridge so it's best to have a quick and solid roll. Also charge back to the eddy after flushing, or you'll flush past the bridge pier and have to carry back up.
0-600 Its super shallow, can be green or foamy.
600-1800 Foamy, but still shallow. Can side surf and spin or low-angle cartwheels. Too shallow yet for vertical moves, you will hit the bottom with your boat and there is not much pop.
1800-3500 Foamy, best levels for play boating are 2100-2500cfs, but you'll have a work out getting there from the eddy. From 2600-around 3000cfs, good luck getting there from the eddy and the features starts to get flushy. Above 3000 ish to around 3500 its a very mellow front surf catch-on-the-fly, changing from moment to moment.
3500+ Feature is washed out.
May 4, 2023
Visited this park a few times are differnt levels, 1000cfs, 2300cfs, and 3200cfs.
At 1000 cfs, the first feature was a green wave that was fun to surf and spin in a playboat. There were also people ripping up the wave on surfboards.
2300cfs, the second and third features were the most fun. Both were deep enough for playboating and retentive enough to stay in the feature too.
3200cfs, the second feature was the most fun. It was a fluffy, floamy rodeo hole and was deep enough for loops.
May 19, 2013
Catching air at CCWWP
Jun 4, 2011
Steve W. surfing Dam Drop at 1200 cfs.
