About this river
James River is a 15.9 mile river near Wesley Hodges Fly Fishing in Virginia. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge James River at Lick Run, VA (site 02016500). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 7. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
1980 to 2026
James River typically runs highest in March, at a median 1,950 cfs, and lowest in October, at 430 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 67,500 cfs, in 1986.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1,130 | 694 to 2,040 | |
| February | 1,430 | 899 to 2,790 | |
| March | 1,950 | 1,240 to 3,460 | |
| April | 1,790 | 1,150 to 3,340 | |
| May | 1,550 | 1,030 to 2,720 | |
| June | 756 | 598 to 1,355 | |
| July | 611 | 519 to 809 | |
| August | 543 | 463 to 670 | |
| September | 459 | 409 to 594 | |
| October | 430 | 372 to 672 | |
| November | 528 | 376 to 1,135 | |
| December | 911 | 545 to 1,760 |
Typical is the median of each month’s daily median values, and the usual range runs from the median 25th to the median 75th percentile, across about 47 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for James River at Lick Run, VA (site 02016500). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.
Boat access nearby
4 mapped launches sit in the mapped area of James River, all of them public access. Ramp data comes from the USGS national boat-ramp inventory.
- BuchananJames RiverPublic
- SpringwoodJames RiverPublic
- ArcadiaJames RiverPublic
- Horseshoe BendJames RiverPublic
Embed this gauge on your site
Paste this snippet anywhere, an outfitter page, a club site, a trip report, to show James River's live streamflow, water level and 7-day trend. It reads the USGS gauge directly, updates itself, and links back here.
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