Staying Home Sucks, home
Town hall of Riom-es-Montagne (1)
Riom-ès-Montagnes, the nearest town, 4 km away. Photo: Tournasol7, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Petite Rhue, Pont D678 - Retenue du barrage de Journiac

Kayak spot · France

Whitewater: a river with rapids

Is it worth the trip?

64Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Tue 10: Wind 11 kn gusting 25, Air 17 °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 · 57 out of 100

Wind
8 kn
Gusts
17kn
Air
9°C
Rain
0.6 mm

Thu 5 · 60 out of 100

Wind
8 kn
Gusts
17kn
Air
11°C
Rain
2.3 mm

Fri 6 · 56 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
9°C
Rain
1.3 mm

Sat 7 · 57 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
9°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 65 out of 100

Wind
8 kn
Gusts
18kn
Air
12°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 66 out of 100

Wind
12 kn
Gusts
23kn
Air
14°C
Rain
0 mm

Tue 10 · 72 out of 100

Wind
11 kn
Gusts
25kn
Air
17°C
Rain
0 mm

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Tue 352, fair
  2. Wed 457, fair
  3. Thu 560, good
  4. Fri 656, fair
  5. Sat 757, fair
  6. Sun 865, good
  7. Mon 966, good
  8. Tue 1072, good
  9. Wed 1168, good
  10. Thu 1246, fair

The spot in three facts

  • Grade IVat its hardest
  • Moving waterthe water
  • Best Jun–Aug7 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 Petite Rhue, Pont D678 - Retenue du barrage de Journiac
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Tue 3Nov52, fair8 kn18kn6°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov57, fair8 kn17kn9°C0.6 mm
Thu 5Nov60, good8 kn17kn11°C2.3 mm
Fri 6Nov56, fair4 kn11kn9°C1.3 mm
Sat 7Nov57, fair3 kn9kn9°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov65, good8 kn18kn12°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov66, good12 kn23kn14°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov72, good11 kn25kn17°C0 mm
Wed 11Nov68, good10 kn31kn17°C0 mm
Thu 12Nov46, fair3 kn14kn10°C12.6 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. Feb1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr3of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May5of 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. Oct5of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov1of 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 Petite Rhue, Pont D678 - Retenue du barrage de Journiac

A river section on the Petite Rhue, 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. For expert paddlers the best months are usually June, July and August, with about 7 good days in 7; in January and December, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Riom-ès-Montagnes. Within 5 km we also list 1 kayak spot and 1 climbing area.

  • River Petite Rhue
  • 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$1,410–US$2,640 each

about US$1,410–US$2,640 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 3 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to CFE, estimated from distance and season, changing at CDG, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$476–US$992
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$583
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$154–US$288
Totalabout US$1,410–US$2,640

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Riom-ès-Montagnes

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

Closest

Riom-ès-Montagnes

about 10 min by car · 3 places to stay

about US$121/nightcountry average

See 3 places to stay in Riom-ès-Montagnes · Booking.com

About Riom-ès-Montagnes 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 3 November 2026.

Getting there: about 18h 05m

About 18h 05m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → CFE, changing at Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG), then 1h 30m 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