Staying Home Sucks, home
Roanoke station from street level, June 2019
Roanoke, the nearest town, 8 km away. Photo: Joe Ross from Lansing, Michigan, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Back Creek Water Access

Kayak spot · United States

Flat water: a lake, canal or slow river

Is it worth the trip?

93Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Fri 6: Wind 1 kn gusting 8, Air 22 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 97 out of 100

Wind
7 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
21°C
Rain
0 mm

Wed 4 · 98 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
18kn
Air
22°C
Rain
0 mm

Thu 5 · 94 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
17kn
Air
22°C
Rain
16.2 mm

Fri 6 · 100 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
22°C
Rain
0 mm

Sat 7 · 97 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
19kn
Air
21°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 94 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
17°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 37 out of 100

Wind
8 kn
Gusts
26kntoo gusty
Air
13°C
Rain
0 mm

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 295, good
  2. Tue 397, good
  3. Wed 498, good
  4. Thu 594, good
  5. Fri 6100, good
  6. Sat 797, good
  7. Sun 894, good
  8. Mon 937, poor
  9. Tue 1096, good
  10. Wed 1190, good

The spot in one fact

  • Flat waterthe water

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 Back Creek Water Access
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Mon 2Nov95, good3 kn10kn16°C1.1 mm
Tue 3Nov97, good7 kn16kn21°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov98, good5 kn18kn22°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov94, good6 kn17kn22°C16.2 mm
Fri 6Nov100, good1 kn8kn22°C0 mm
Sat 7Nov97, good6 kn19kn21°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov94, good5 kn16kn17°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov37, poor8 kn26kntoo gusty13°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov96, good5 kn19kn18°C0 mm
Wed 11Nov90, good7 kn22kn16°C0 mm

Wind and gusts are in knots, rain in mm. The river's level is under In the water. 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. Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb6of 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. 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. 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

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 Back Creek Water Access

A launch on the Back Creek. No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle. No paddling school, club or hire within 50 km on the map. The town to stay in is Roanoke.

  • River Back Creek
  • Grade No grade is stated.
  • Who it suits No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle.
  • Access No source states the access rules: check locally.
  • Schools, hire No paddling school, club or hire within 50 km on the map.

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$1,070–US$1,950 each

about US$1,070–US$1,950 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 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to ROA, estimated from distance and season, 2 airlines on the route, with a hold bagabout US$141–US$295
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$34–US$54
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$349–US$584
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$637
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$201–US$376
Totalabout US$1,070–US$1,950

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Roanoke

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

Closest

Roanoke

about 15 min by car · 22 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 22 places to stay in Roanoke · Booking.com

About Roanoke 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 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 4h 20m

About 4h 20m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → ROA, direct, then 35 min by road

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

On the water

River level

Gauge at BACK CREEK NEAR DUNDEE, VA, 4 km downstream: 0.371 m³/s, very low for November (updated 3 h ago). Running.

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 levels in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey (public domain). Credits

Paddling schools, clubs and hire nearby

No paddling school, club or hire mapped within 50 km.

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

Saved: this link opens the same trip

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The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.