Staying Home Sucks, home
Pedestrian bridge over Bell Rapids on the Swan River in Brigadoon
Swan River. Photo: Bidgee, CC BY-SA 3.0 au, Wikimedia Commons

Swan River

Kayak spot · Australia

Whitewater: a river with rapids

Is it worth the trip?

79Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

5 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 76 out of 100

Wind
8 kn
Gusts
20kn
Air
22°C
Rain
2 mm

Wed 4 · 80 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
28°C
Rain
0 mm

Thu 5 · 80 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
30°C
Rain
0 mm

Fri 6 · 80 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
18kn
Air
29°C
Rain
0 mm

Sat 7 · 80 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
15kn
Air
27°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 80 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
26°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 75 out of 100

Wind
9 kn
Gusts
25kn
Air
23°C
Rain
0 mm

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 275, good
  2. Tue 376, good
  3. Wed 480, good
  4. Thu 580, good
  5. Fri 680, good
  6. Sat 780, good
  7. Sun 880, good
  8. Mon 975, good
  9. Tue 1072, good
  10. Wed 1180, good

The spot in two facts

  • Moving waterthe water
  • 7 kmthe section

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 Swan River
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Mon 2Nov75, good9 kn22kn20°C1 mm
Tue 3Nov76, good8 kn20kn22°C2 mm
Wed 4Nov80, good4 kn16kn28°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov80, good2 kn8kn30°C0 mm
Fri 6Nov80, good5 kn18kn29°C0 mm
Sat 7Nov80, good5 kn15kn27°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov80, good3 kn9kn26°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov75, good9 kn25kn23°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov72, good7 kn22kn23°C0 mm
Wed 11Nov80, good5 kn26kn25°C0 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

No month stands out

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

  1. Jan7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun6of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug6of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep6of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov7of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
  12. Dec7of 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.

Photos of Swan River

Bells Rapids, Western Australia, September 2024 01
Photo: Calistemon, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Bells Rapids02
Photo: Conlinp, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Bells Rapids and bridge, Western Australia, September 2024 03
Photo: Calistemon, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Swan River

A river section on the Swan River, from a put-in down to a take-out. It runs 7.0 km along the river. Suits grade III paddlers and up: a river with no grade stated, which we never offer a new paddler. None within 10 km, the nearest 38 km away. The town to stay in is Perth.

  • River Swan River
  • Grade No source states its grade: check a guidebook before you paddle it.
  • Length 7.0 km along the river.
  • Who it suits Suits grade III paddlers and up: a river with no grade stated, which we never offer a new paddler.
  • Access No source states the access rules: check locally.
  • Schools, hire None within 10 km, the nearest 38 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$2,000–US$3,870 each

about US$2,000–US$3,870 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 ORD to PER, estimated from distance and season, changing at HKG, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$1,070–US$2,230
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$47–US$80
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$362–US$603
Food7 days eating outabout US$322–US$596
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$194–US$355
Totalabout US$2,000–US$3,870

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Perth

Closest

Perth

about 50 min by car · 170 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 170 places to stay in Perth · Booking.com

About Perth 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 32h 35m

About 32h 35m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → PER, changing at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), then 40 min 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