Staying Home Sucks, home
Verdun-sur-le-Doubs- confluent du Doubset de la Saône
Verdun Sur le Doubs, the nearest town, 6 km away. Photo: PRA, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons

Saône, Charnay-lès-Chalon

Kayak spot · France

Whitewater: a river with rapids

Is it worth the trip?

58Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Thu 5: Wind 1 kn gusting 4, Air 11 °C, River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 54 out of 100

Wind
10 kn
Gusts
20kn
Air
10°C
Rain
0 mm

Wed 4 · 60 out of 100

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

Thu 5 · 61 out of 100

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

Fri 6 · 55 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
4kn
Air
9°C
Rain
3.3 mm

Sat 7 · 59 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
10°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 53 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
6kn
Air
7°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 58 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
9°C
Rain
0 mm

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 255, fair
  2. Tue 354, fair
  3. Wed 460, good
  4. Thu 561, good
  5. Fri 655, fair
  6. Sat 759, fair
  7. Sun 853, fair
  8. Mon 958, fair
  9. Tue 1070, good
  10. Wed 1166, good

The spot in three facts

  • Grade III+at its hardest
  • Moving 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 Saône, Charnay-lès-Chalon
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Mon 2Nov55, fair9 kn20kn10°C0 mm
Tue 3Nov54, fair10 kn20kn10°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov60, good6 kn15kn11°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov61, good1 kn4kn11°C0 mm
Fri 6Nov55, fair1 kn4kn9°C3.3 mm
Sat 7Nov59, fair1 kn8kn10°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov53, fair1 kn6kn7°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov58, fair4 kn10kn9°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov70, good8 kn15kn17°C0.3 mm
Wed 11Nov66, good9 kn18kn16°C3 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 grade III 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. Mar3of 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. Nov1of 7: a trip from Tue 3 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

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.

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Saône, Charnay-lès-Chalon

A launch on the Saône. Grade III+, on the international scale. Suits grade III paddlers and up, by its grade. None within 10 km, the nearest 24 km away. For grade III paddlers the best months are usually June, July, August and September, 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 Verdun Sur le Doubs.

  • River Saône
  • Grade Grade III+, on the international scale.
  • Who it suits Suits grade III paddlers and up, by its grade.
  • Access No source states the access rules: check locally.
  • Schools, hire None within 10 km, the nearest 24 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 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to GVA, estimated from distance and season, changing at CDG, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$490–US$1,010
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$1,430–US$2,660

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Verdun Sur le Doubs

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

Closest

Verdun Sur le Doubs

13 min by car · 7 places to stay

about US$121/nightcountry average

See 7 places to stay in Verdun Sur le Doubs · Booking.com

About Verdun Sur le Doubs 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 18h 50m

About 18h 50m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → GVA, changing at Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG), then 2h 15m 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

  • Canoë Kayak du Pays Losnois Base André Coudor 24 km

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