What is nokken?
A free site showing live water flow, short-range forecasts, and key data for kayakable river sections across Norway. Volunteer-run, no ads, no login required to read. The About page has the full story; the name comes from Norse folklore — see below.
What do Too low / Low / Good / High / Very high mean?
These five states are nokken's shared vocabulary for how much water a section is carrying, judged by how it paddles. On sections whose gauge has a set threshold band, the site computes the state from the live reading — the thresholds are set to suit the average kayaker, conditional on the section's grade. Paddlers use the same words when they report conditions, so a state means the same thing whether a gauge or a person set it. Every section's flows differ, so these describe how a section paddles at each state, not a number:
Too low — Not enough water to run the section as intended: bony and scrapey, lots of walking or dragging; the character it's known for isn't there yet.
Low — Runnable but lean: more rock exposed, technical, slower. Below the section's sweet spot — often the call is whether it's worth the drive.
Good — The section at its recommended, most-enjoyable flow: the level it's normally run at and the one the grade and description assume. The default “yes, go.”
High — Pushy and fast, clearly above the sweet spot: bigger features, fewer eddies, less margin. For paddlers comfortable at the upper end. The section's difficulty may be higher than its grade indicates.
Very high — At or past the top of the runnable range: powerful and consequential, features washing out, wood and rescue harder. Real caution — for most, a “not today.” At this level the section's grade no longer applies.
How are sections graded?
Sections are graded I to VI: I is flat moving water, VI is not considered navigable. The grade reflects the predominant difficulty, so a section graded III might still hold one IV rapid. It describes the technical difficulty of running a rapid and nothing else — the surroundings don't change it, so a run through a committing canyon carries the same grade as the same water in an open valley.
Where does the flow data come from?
Water flows are collected, with permission, from the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), Glommens og Laagens Brukseierforening (GLB), and Lysakerelvas Venner (LvV). Weather observations and forecasts come from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (met.no). Sources and attribution in full on the About page.
How current and reliable is the live flow?
Live flow and level are provisional. Gauge readings — for most sections from NVE — are published automatically in near-real-time, and the agency quality-controls them after the fact: a value can be reviewed and corrected days or weeks later (for example when ice affects the sensor in winter, or a gap is filled by estimation). So the freshest number is also the least reviewed.
In practice this is fine almost all the time. But treat a sudden odd reading — especially in freezing conditions — with a little skepticism, and when it matters, cross-check the official source (the “see … source →” link on a section's Gauge card). Historical numbers on older dates are the more settled, quality-controlled ones.
Where to get guides for rivers?
Data on river sections, optimal water levels, and similar information is primarily based on the excellent, free FrendeLause whitewater guides. The printed Padlefører for Oppdal og omegn is also a nice source of information for the Oppdal area.
How do condition reports work?
Signed-in paddlers can post a quick report from any section page: a status, an optional estimate, and a short note. Reports are paddler observations, never gauge data — they show on the section page (and on the list and map for sections without a gauge) for 48 hours, after which the byline fades to “a paddler”. Every report carries a flag link; content flagged by several distinct accounts is hidden automatically pending review. See the community rules.
Is my trip logbook private?
Yes. Trips, notes, companions, gauge snapshots, and GPX tracks are visible only to you. The one exception is explicit: the optional “Share conditions” block on the trip form posts a public condition report — the trip itself stays private. Uploaded GPX tracks are cropped at upload so only the on-section segment is ever stored.
How do I get my data out?
From your account's security page: one click exports everything — profile, trips, tracks, custom sections, reports, favorites, alert rules — as a single JSON file. Each trip with a track also has a per-trip GPX download in the logbook. Deleting the account (same page) removes all of it permanently, no ticket needed.
Can I log rivers that aren't in the catalogue?
Yes — either type a free-text waterway name on the trip form for a one-off, or create a private custom section (with optional put-in/take-out markers and a reference gauge) for waterways you paddle often. Custom sections can be suggested to the catalogue with one click.
Why “nokken”?
Nokk are male water spirits from Norse folklore who play enchanted songs on the violin, luring listeners into lakes and streams — not always malevolently. If you brought the nokk a treat of three drops of blood, a black animal, some vodka or snus (wet snuff) dropped into the water, he would teach you his enchanting form of music. (Loosely paraphrased from Wikipedia.) A shapeshifter who grows despondent without regular contact with moving water felt like the right patron for this site.