St. Croix River deep and cold

Victoria Day paddlers urged to save partying for dry land
(For more on this, see the Saint Croix Courier, Tuesday, May 13)

For many local residents, canoeing the St. Croix is a Victoria Day weekend tradition. The St. Croix International Waterway Commission hopes that paddlers will make it an enjoyable and safe one.

River conditions

Water flows are expected to be 40-80 per cent higher than usual for the holiday weekend. A flow forecast should be available on the Domtar phone-in line (207-427-3117) by late Wednesday and will be posted at the St. Croix put-in site on Friday. Current flows can be viewed online at http://me.water.usgs.gov/stcroix.html (click on St. Croix River at Vanceboro at the bottom of the page).
The water temperature is currently at 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Farenheit), which will quickly affect anyone's ability to function and can result in unconsciousness in 30 minutes.

Road conditions

Route 745 to Beaconsfield is in good condition and was graded this week by the Department of Transportation. Road shoulders are still soft in places, however, so avoid these if possible.
The County Line Road between Route 630 and Beaconsfield is currently impassable due to a culvert washout near the midpoint. If conditions change, this will be posted at the St. Croix put-in site on Friday. Better to go the long way around, using Route 745, than get stuck or have to backtrack.
Firewood
There is very little wood for fires at the campsites this year and it is illegal to cut live trees. Campers are asked to either bring firewood with them or to stop along the river or roadways between the campsites to pick up dead wood to burn.