Staying Home Sucks, home
7 Main Street, Cornish ME
Cornish, the nearest town, 17 km away. Photo: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Saco River

Kayak spot · United States

Flat water: a lake, canal or slow river

Is it worth the trip?

85Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Tue 3: Wind 3 kn gusting 8, Air 17 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 93 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
17°C
Rain
0 mm

Wed 4 · 92 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
21°C
Rain
0 mm

Thu 5 · 79 out of 100

Wind
7 kn
Gusts
15kntoo gusty
Air
22°C
Rain
0.3 mm

Fri 6 · 91 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
17°C
Rain
11.7 mm

Sat 7 · 40 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
16kntoo gusty
Air
11°C
Rain
0.9 mm

Sun 8 · 77 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
15kn
Air
11°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 84 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
10°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 393, good
  3. Wed 492, good
  4. Thu 579, good
  5. Fri 691, good
  6. Sat 740, poor
  7. Sun 877, good
  8. Mon 984, good
  9. Tue 1077, good
  10. Wed 110, poor

The spot in two facts

  • Flat waterthe water
  • Best Jun–Sep7 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 Saco River
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Mon 2Nov80, good7 kn14kn20°C0 mm
Tue 3Nov93, good3 kn8kn17°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov92, good3 kn10kn21°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov79, good7 kn15kntoo gusty22°C0.3 mm
Fri 6Nov91, good2 kn8kn17°C11.7 mm
Sat 7Nov40, poor5 kn16kntoo gusty11°C0.9 mm
Sun 8Nov77, good5 kn15kn11°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov84, good1 kn8kn10°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov77, good4 kn10kn9°C0.9 mm
Wed 11Nov0, poor11 kn22kntoo gusty10°C25.8 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–Sep

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

  1. Jan4of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb4of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar4of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr5of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May6of 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. Oct6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov5of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
  12. Dec4of 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

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.

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 Saco River

A launch on the Saco River. No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle. OpenStreetMap marks the water open to canoes and kayaks. None within 10 km, the nearest 22 km away. For new paddlers the best months are usually June, July, August and September, with about 7 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Cornish.

  • River Saco River
  • Grade No grade is stated.
  • Who it suits No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle.
  • Access OpenStreetMap marks the water open to canoes and kayaks.
  • Schools, hire None within 10 km, the nearest 22 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$1,130–US$2,060 each

about US$1,130–US$2,060 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 MDW to PWM, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$174–US$362
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$60–US$100
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$348–US$583
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$201–US$375
Totalabout US$1,130–US$2,060

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Cornish

Closest

Cornish

about 30 min by car · 6 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 6 places to stay in Cornish · Booking.com

About Cornish its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$134 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 5h 05m

About 5h 05m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → PWM, direct, then 50 min by road

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

On the water

Paddling schools, clubs and hire nearby

No paddling school, club or hire with a name mapped within 25 km: the map has one 22 km away with no name.

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