Staying Home Sucks, home
Rue Charamil à Allevard en été (août 2020)
Allevard, the nearest town, 9 km away. Photo: Florian Pépellin, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Isère, Vague de Goncelin

Kayak spot · France

Whitewater: a river with rapids

Is it worth the trip?

Not for new 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 new 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

the spot and its town

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

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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 Isère, Vague de Goncelin

A launch on the Isère. Grade IV, on the international scale. Suits expert paddlers only, by its grade. None within 10 km, the nearest 25 km away. The town to stay in is Allevard. Within 5 km we also list 1 climbing area.

  • River Isère
  • 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 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: Allevard

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

Closest

Allevard

25 min by car · 16 places to stay

about US$121/nightcountry average

See 16 places to stay in Allevard · Booking.com

About Allevard 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 30m

About 17h 30m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → MXP, direct, then 3h 55m by road

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

On the water

River level

River level at L'Isère au Cheylas - EDF: its gauge has sent no reading in the last day, so check it before you go.

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 flow in France: Hub'Eau (hubeau.eaufrance.fr), data from the hydrometric services (SCHAPI, DREAL), Licence Ouverte 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