Staying Home Sucks, home
Orcières Merlette 1850 - 271213 - Guillaume La Sala (cropped)
Orcieres, the nearest town, 8 km away. Photo: Guillaume La Sala, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Drac Blanc, Les Gondouins - Pont de Corbière (Vallée de Champoléon)

Kayak spot · France

Whitewater: a river with rapids

Is it worth the trip?

42Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Thu 5: Wind 2 kn gusting 16, Air 4 °C, River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Wed 4 · 41 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
25kn
Air
1°C
Rain
1.8 mm

Thu 5 · 47 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
4°C
Rain
0.5 mm

Fri 6 · 34 out of 100

Wind
0 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
1°C
Rain
11.5 mm

Sat 7 · 42 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
4kn
Air
2°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 43 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
2°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 43 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
2°C
Rain
0.6 mm

Tue 10 · 37 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
4°C
Rain
13.8 mm

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Tue 346, fair
  2. Wed 441, poor
  3. Thu 547, fair
  4. Fri 634, poor
  5. Sat 742, poor
  6. Sun 843, poor
  7. Mon 943, poor
  8. Tue 1037, poor
  9. Wed 1140, poor
  10. Thu 1240, poor

The spot in three facts

  • Grade IIIat its hardest
  • Moving waterthe water
  • Best Jun–Aug7 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number
Wind and weather forecast and score for each day at Drac Blanc, Les Gondouins - Pont de Corbière (Vallée de Champoléon)
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Tue 3Nov46, fair3 kn11kn3°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov41, poor6 kn25kn1°C1.8 mm
Thu 5Nov47, fair2 kn16kn4°C0.5 mm
Fri 6Nov34, poor0 kn11kn1°C11.5 mm
Sat 7Nov42, poor1 kn4kn2°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov43, poor1 kn8kn2°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov43, poor1 kn8kn2°C0.6 mm
Tue 10Nov37, poor1 kn11kn4°C13.8 mm
Wed 11Nov40, poor2 kn19kn4°C12.9 mm
Thu 12Nov40, poor4 kn25kn4°C9.9 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–Aug

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

  1. Jan0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May3of 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. Sep6of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct3of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov0of 7: a trip from Wed 4 Nov
  12. Dec0of 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 Drac Blanc, Les Gondouins - Pont de Corbière (Vallée de Champoléon)

A river section on the Drac Blanc, 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. None within 10 km, the nearest 25 km away. For expert paddlers the best months are usually June, July and August, with about 7 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Orcieres.

  • River Drac Blanc
  • 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 None within 10 km, the nearest 25 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$1,440–US$2,680 each

about US$1,440–US$2,680 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 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to MXP, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$497–US$1,030
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$141–US$235
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$329–US$543
Food7 days eating outabout US$315–US$584
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$154–US$289
Totalabout US$1,440–US$2,680

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Orcieres

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

Closest

Orcieres

14 min by car · 17 places to stay

about US$121/nightcountry average

See 17 places to stay in Orcieres · Booking.com

About Orcieres 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 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 17h 40m

About 17h 40m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → MXP, direct, then 4h 05m 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 25 km away with no name.

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