Staying Home Sucks, home
Foix, Francia (Unsplash)
Foix, the nearest town, 8 km away. Photo: Beatriz Álvarez beagouache, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Ariège, Mercus - Centrale Hydroélectrique de Ferrières

Kayak spot · France

Whitewater: a river with rapids

Is it worth the trip?

67Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Mon 9: Wind 2 kn gusting 18, Air 22 °C, River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 51 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
6°C
Rain
0.3 mm

Wed 4 · 54 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
7°C
Rain
0 mm

Thu 5 · 63 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
11°C
Rain
0 mm

Fri 6 · 64 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
13°C
Rain
0 mm

Sat 7 · 67 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
14°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 70 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
16°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 80 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
18kn
Air
22°C
Rain
0 mm

Tap a day for wind, gusts, air and rain. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 261, good
  2. Tue 351, fair
  3. Wed 454, fair
  4. Thu 563, good
  5. Fri 664, good
  6. Sat 767, good
  7. Sun 870, good
  8. Mon 980, good
  9. Tue 1071, good
  10. Wed 1137, poor

The spot in three facts

  • Grade IIIat its hardest
  • Moving waterthe water
  • Best Jun–Sep7 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know the river level, weirs or your skill.

Wind and weather forecast and score for each day at Ariège, Mercus - Centrale Hydroélectrique de Ferrières
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Mon 2Nov61, good6 kn17kn11°C0 mm
Tue 3Nov51, fair3 kn10kn6°C0.3 mm
Wed 4Nov54, fair2 kn9kn7°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov63, good2 kn8kn11°C0 mm
Fri 6Nov64, good3 kn10kn13°C0 mm
Sat 7Nov67, good3 kn8kn14°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov70, good3 kn9kn16°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov80, good2 kn18kn22°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov71, good2 kn16kn16°C0.6 mm
Wed 11Nov37, poor11 kn39kn10°C4.8 mm

Wind and gusts are in knots, rain in mm. River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go. More

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

best Jun–Sep

Good kayaking days in a typical week, each month, for expert paddlers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb3of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar4of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr5of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May6of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov3of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
  12. Dec2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical weather, not a forecast, and not the river's level: a month that is often good to be outside may still be low water.

Map

put-in, take-out, its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More kayaking near here

1 place

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Ariège, Mercus - Centrale Hydroélectrique de Ferrières

A river section on the Ariège, from a put-in down to a take-out. Grade II to III, on the international scale. Suits grade III paddlers and up, by its grade. 2 paddling schools, clubs or hire within 10 km, the nearest 1.7 km away. For expert paddlers the best months are usually June, July, August and September, with about 7 good days in 7; in January, about 1. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Foix.

  • River Ariège
  • Grade Grade II to III, on the international scale.
  • Who it suits Suits grade III paddlers and up, by its grade.
  • Access No source states the access rules: check locally.
  • Schools, hire 2 paddling schools, clubs or hire within 10 km, the nearest 1.7 km away.

Spots and rivers: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Whitewater sections © Rivermap (rivermap.org), Riverzone and Jonathan Riddell, ODbL.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,420–US$2,650 each

about US$1,420–US$2,650 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, kayak hire.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to CCF, estimated from distance and season, changing at DUB, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$482–US$1,000
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$141–US$234
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$328–US$543
Food7 days eating outabout US$315–US$583
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$154–US$288
Totalabout US$1,420–US$2,650

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Foix

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Foix

about 15 min by car · 13 places to stay

about US$121/nightcountry average

See 13 places to stay in Foix · Booking.com

About Foix its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$121 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 18h 10m

About 18h 10m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → CCF, changing at Dublin Airport (DUB), then 1h 25m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

On the water

River level

River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go.

Paddling schools, clubs and hire nearby

No paddling school, club or hire with a name mapped within 25 km: the map has one 1.7 km away with no name.

Schools, clubs and hire: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits