Staying Home Sucks, home
Upper Gardon d'Alès Valley 6147
St Privat de Vallongue, the nearest town, 1 km away. Photo: Photograph by Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent. ( www.clemrutter.net )., CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Gardon d'Alès, Pont N106 - Pont de la Croze

Kayak spot · France

Whitewater: a river with rapids

Is it worth the trip?

Not for grade III paddlers. Suits expert paddlers only, by its grade.

The spot in two facts

  • Grade IVat its hardest
  • Moving waterthe water

Full forecast

every day, every number

Not for grade III paddlers. Suits expert paddlers only, by its grade. See it for expert paddlers.

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.

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 Gardon d'Alès, Pont N106 - Pont de la Croze

A river section on the Gardon d'Alès, from a put-in down to a take-out. Grade IV, on the international scale. Suits expert paddlers only, by its grade. None within 10 km, the nearest 27 km away. The town to stay in is St Privat de Vallongue. Within 5 km we also list 2 kayak spots.

  • River Gardon d'Alès
  • Grade Grade IV, on the international scale.
  • Who it suits Suits expert paddlers only, by its grade.
  • Access No source states the access rules: check locally.
  • Schools, hire None within 10 km, the nearest 27 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$1,430–US$2,660 each

about US$1,430–US$2,660 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 MPL, estimated from distance and season, changing at CDG, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$489–US$1,010
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$1,430–US$2,660

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: St Privat de Vallongue

Closest

St Privat de Vallongue

2 min by car · 5 places to stay

about US$121/nightcountry average

See 5 places to stay in St Privat de Vallongue · Booking.com

About St Privat de Vallongue 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 35m

About 18h 35m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → MPL, changing at Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG), then 1h 40m 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 mapped within 25 km.

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