Staying Home Sucks, home
Winchester, Kentucky
Winchester, the nearest town, 18 km away. Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Kentucky River

Kayak spot · United States

Flat water: a lake, canal or slow river

Is it worth the trip?

92Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

3 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 97 out of 100

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

Wed 4 · 82 out of 100

Wind
8 kn
Gusts
14kn
Air
19°C
Rain
12 mm

Thu 5 · 97 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
14kn
Air
20°C
Rain
0 mm

Fri 6 · 97 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
20°C
Rain
0 mm

Sat 7 · 90 out of 100

Wind
5 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
13°C
Rain
0.3 mm

Sun 8 · 81 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
7kntoo gusty
Air
11°C
Rain
2.4 mm

Mon 9 · 75 out of 100

Wind
8 kn
Gusts
20kn
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 297, good
  2. Tue 397, good
  3. Wed 482, good
  4. Thu 597, good
  5. Fri 697, good
  6. Sat 790, good
  7. Sun 881, good
  8. Mon 975, good
  9. Tue 1079, good
  10. Wed 1193, 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 Kentucky River
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Mon 2Nov97, good2 kn8kn20°C3.8 mm
Tue 3Nov97, good5 kn11kn25°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov82, good8 kn14kn19°C12 mm
Thu 5Nov97, good6 kn14kn20°C0 mm
Fri 6Nov97, good6 kn12kn20°C0 mm
Sat 7Nov90, good5 kn12kn13°C0.3 mm
Sun 8Nov81, good4 kn7kntoo gusty11°C2.4 mm
Mon 9Nov75, good8 kn20kn10°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov79, good8 kn19kn12°C0 mm
Wed 11Nov93, good4 kn11kn16°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. 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. 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.

More kayaking near here

1 place

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Kentucky River

A launch on the Kentucky River. 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 Winchester.

  • River Kentucky River
  • 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$1,080–US$1,970 each

about US$1,080–US$1,970 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 LEX, estimated from distance and season, 2 airlines on the route, with a hold bagabout US$121–US$255
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$67–US$114
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$1,080–US$1,970

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Winchester

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

Closest

Winchester

about 35 min by car · 2 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 2 places to stay in Winchester · Booking.com

About Winchester its beds, food and every spot near it

Nearest town: Winchester, 18 km. We have not checked places to stay in Winchester yet. The nearest beds we have counted are in Lawrenceburg, 52 km away. Search before you plan on staying there.

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 05m

About 4h 05m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → LEX, direct, then 50 min by road

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

On the water

River level

Gauge at KENTUCKY RIVER AT LOCK 10 NEAR WINCHESTER, KY, 10 km upstream: 7.87 m³/s, very low for November (updated 3 h ago). Low.

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.