Rivers in Colorado

Crystal River near Redstone

Pitkin County, ColoradoNWS RCYC2USGS 09081600Grand Junction office

Below flood stage
0.83ftStage

Observed Tue, Sep 22, 2:00 PM MDT

Flood stage
5.00 ft
Forecast crest
1.01 ftThu, Sep 24, 6:00 PM MDT
Record crest
6.12 ft1983

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood6.00 ft
Moderate flood5.50 ft
Minor flood5.00 ft
Action4.50 ft
  1. 8.50 ftInundation of Redstone Blvd. near the fire station.
  2. 7.00 ftCabins on right bank in Redstone begin to flood.
  3. 6.00 ftMajor flood stage - stage and flow is near maximum record. Flooding is possible at bridges along highway 133 south of Redstone. Water is approaching buildings along the river.
  4. 5.50 ftModerate flood stage - Inundation of agricultural and pasture land. Debris in river can block flow at private bridges.
  5. 5.00 ftFlood Stage - Moderate lowland flooding. Inundation of some secondary roads is possible. The town of Redstone begins to sandbag private property near the river.
  6. 4.50 ftMinor agricultural flooding of the lower lying areas along the Crystal River.
  7. 4.00 ftBankfull Stage - Safe water level that will not overflow the river banks. Water reaches edge of agricultural/pasture land in a few areas.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, September to November

CategoryChance
Minor floodingUnder 5%
Moderate floodingUnder 5%
Major floodingUnder 5%

The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued September 22, 2026.

Crest history

72 crests on NOAA’s list since 1956.

#DateStage
1June 25, 19836.12 ft
2June 10, 20106.01 ft
3July 1, 19575.65 ft
4June 9, 19855.57 ft
5June 15, 19955.46 ft
6June 24, 19845.39 ft
7June 28, 19735.39 ft
8June 6, 19865.32 ft
9June 21, 19655.22 ft
10June 25, 20115.21 ft
11June 11, 19805.19 ft
12June 21, 19685.18 ft
13July 3, 19755.14 ft
14June 23, 19675.12 ft
15July 27, 19625.05 ft
16May 28, 19795.02 ft
17June 22, 19715.01 ft
18July 1, 20194.99 ft
19June 25, 19784.99 ft
20June 30, 19934.93 ft
21May 29, 20034.92 ft
22June 11, 20154.92 ft
23June 6, 19584.90 ft
24May 21, 19644.85 ft
25June 7, 19724.81 ft

Most recent crests

  • May 29, 2026: 2.82 ft
  • June 3, 2025: 3.36 ft
  • May 31, 2025: 2.95 ft
  • June 8, 2024: 4.49 ft
  • June 23, 2023: 4.18 ft
  • June 12, 2022: 4.08 ft
  • June 4, 2021: 3.59 ft
  • June 6, 2020: 4.01 ft
  • July 1, 2019: 4.99 ft
  • May 26, 2018: 3.24 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center. Forecasts are issued routinely year-round. Gauge reading may be affected by ice. Forecast flows are unadjusted for ice.

Sources

Stage, flood stages, impacts and crest history from NOAA’s National Water Prediction Service. Streamflow and the daily record from the U.S. Geological Survey.