Staying Home Sucks, home

Swatara Creek

Kayak spot · United States

Flat water: a lake, canal or slow river

Is it worth the trip?

97Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

2 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 98 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
19°C
Rain
0 mm

Wed 4 · 100 out of 100

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

Thu 5 · 98 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
20°C
Rain
7.2 mm

Fri 6 · 100 out of 100

Wind
0 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
20°C
Rain
0 mm

Sat 7 · 99 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
7kn
Air
19°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 95 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
14kn
Air
17°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 81 out of 100

Wind
11 kn
Gusts
19kn
Air
11°C
Rain
0 mm

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 296, good
  2. Tue 398, good
  3. Wed 4100, good
  4. Thu 598, good
  5. Fri 6100, good
  6. Sat 799, good
  7. Sun 895, good
  8. Mon 981, good
  9. Tue 1090, good
  10. Wed 1183, 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 Swatara Creek
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Mon 2Nov96, good4 kn11kn18°C0 mm
Tue 3Nov98, good4 kn10kn19°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov100, good8 kn16kn21°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov98, good6 kn10kn20°C7.2 mm
Fri 6Nov100, good0 kn8kn20°C0 mm
Sat 7Nov99, good1 kn7kn19°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov95, good6 kn14kn17°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov81, good11 kn19kn11°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov90, good10 kn23kn14°C0 mm
Wed 11Nov83, good9 kn25kn11°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.

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 Swatara Creek

A launch on the Swatara Creek. No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle. OpenStreetMap marks the water open to canoes and kayaks. No paddling school, club or hire within 50 km on the map. The town to stay in is Jonestown. Within 5 km we also list 1 kayak spot.

  • River Swatara Creek
  • 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 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$1,120–US$2,030 each

about US$1,120–US$2,030 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 MDT, estimated from distance and season, 4 airlines on the route, with a hold bagabout US$148–US$302
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$81–US$127
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$1,120–US$2,030

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Jonestown

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

Closest

Jonestown

about 5 min by car

about US$134/nightcountry average

See places to stay in Jonestown · Booking.com

About Jonestown 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 45m

About 4h 45m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → MDT, direct, then 55 min by road

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

On the water

River level

Gauge at Swatara Creek near Inwood, PA, 11 km upstream: 1.79 m³/s, 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.