Staying Home Sucks, home
Dohnaischer Platz Pirna
Pirna, the nearest town, 4 km away. Photo: Bambizoe from Dresden, Germany, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Elbe

Kayak spot · Germany

Flat water: a lake, canal or slow river

Is it worth the trip?

80Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Fri 6: Wind 5 kn gusting 11, Air 10 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 79 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
7°C
Rain
0.1 mm

Wed 4 · 78 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
7°C
Rain
0 mm

Thu 5 · 80 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
8°C
Rain
0 mm

Fri 6 · 83 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
10°C
Rain
0 mm

Sat 7 · 78 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
6°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 79 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
8°C
Rain
0.3 mm

Mon 9 · 76 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
8°C
Rain
0 mm

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 280, good
  2. Tue 379, good
  3. Wed 478, good
  4. Thu 580, good
  5. Fri 683, good
  6. Sat 778, good
  7. Sun 879, good
  8. Mon 976, good
  9. Tue 1061, good
  10. Wed 1172, good

The spot in two facts

  • Flat waterthe water
  • 3.7 kmthe section

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 Elbe
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Mon 2Nov80, good3 kn9kn7°C0 mm
Tue 3Nov79, good4 kn12kn7°C0.1 mm
Wed 4Nov78, good4 kn16kn7°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov80, good5 kn13kn8°C0 mm
Fri 6Nov83, good5 kn11kn10°C0 mm
Sat 7Nov78, good4 kn11kn6°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov79, good6 kn13kn8°C0.3 mm
Mon 9Nov76, good5 kn16kn8°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov61, good10 kn19kn4°C1.2 mm
Wed 11Nov72, good9 kn21kn9°C0 mm

Wind and gusts are in knots, rain in mm. The river's level is under In the water. 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

No month stands out

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

  1. Jan5of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 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. Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov6of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
  12. Dec5of 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

2 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Elbe

A river section on the Elbe, from a put-in down to a take-out. It runs 3.7 km along the river. No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle. 1 paddling school, club or hire within 10 km, the nearest 4.3 km away. The town to stay in is Pirna. Within 5 km we also list 3 kayak spots and 1 climbing area.

  • River Elbe
  • Grade No grade is stated.
  • Length 3.7 km along the river.
  • Who it suits No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle.
  • Access No source states the access rules: check locally.
  • Schools, hire 1 paddling school, club or hire within 10 km, the nearest 4.3 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$1,310–US$2,480 each

about US$1,310–US$2,480 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, 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 DRS, estimated from distance and season, changing at FRA, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$496–US$1,030
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$54–US$87
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$308–US$509
Food7 days eating outabout US$295–US$549
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$161–US$308
Totalabout US$1,310–US$2,480

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Pirna

Closest

Pirna

about 10 min by car · 89 places to stay

about US$114/nightcountry average

See 89 places to stay in Pirna · Booking.com

About Pirna its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$114 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 17h 45m

About 17h 45m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → DRS, changing at Frankfurt Main Airport (FRA), then 45 min by road

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

On the water

River level

Gauge at PIRNA, 1 km downstream: 0.94 m, low (updated 3 h ago). Low.

Bands are this gauge's own record: under its usual low, running, high, and in flood on its few highest days a year. Not a runnable range for the section: check before you go. River levels in Germany: PEGELONLINE, Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes (WSV), DL-DE Zero 2.0. Credits

Paddling schools, clubs and hire nearby

The nearest named schools, clubs and kayak or canoe hire within 25 km, in a straight line. Listings, not a recommendation. Schools, clubs and hire: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits