Rooster Rock Water Levels
The river is high as you might expect. The water was about eight feet from the bottom of the stairs and you'd have to wade just to get to the changing bench near the bottom of the ramp.
USGS Water Levels below the Bonneville Dam
The water gets lower that by the beginning of August there should be an appreciable beach at the end of Buffalo Trail and you should be able to wade out to Sand Island if you are careful . . . the the water will still be bellybutton to chest high and deeper many places. At the moment the gage water levels are measuring between 19.5 and 22ft (measured below Bonneville).
Water levels will steadily drop as we go into August with the mean around 15 ft and dropping to around 10 ft by the beginning of September. The water levels stay steady throughout the months of September and October before beginning the rise slowly again during November.
In general, when the water level (as measured at the Bonneville gage site) is:
>15 ft (until the beginning of August) - most of the clothing optional area and the un-vegetated areas of Sand Island are covered by water,
12-15 ft (into the middle of August)and it is possible to wade/swim out to Sand Island though little beach will be evident,
10-12 ft (last week of August) and much of the beach is becoming exposed and the trails/vegetation are drying-up. As the water level approaches 10 ft you will be able to walk to Sand Island in no more than ankle-deep water.
The first image shows the clothing optional area (less Sand Island) in vertical; showing the east parking lot at lower left. The clothing optional area signage is at the top of the ramp just beyond the restroom. At the bottom of the ramp is a screen bench were most people feel comfortable getting nude.
Water levels will steadily drop as we go into August with the mean around 15 ft and dropping to around 10 ft by the beginning of September. The water levels stay steady throughout the months of September and October before beginning the rise slowly again during November.
In general, when the water level (as measured at the Bonneville gage site) is:
>15 ft (until the beginning of August) - most of the clothing optional area and the un-vegetated areas of Sand Island are covered by water,
12-15 ft (into the middle of August)and it is possible to wade/swim out to Sand Island though little beach will be evident,
10-12 ft (last week of August) and much of the beach is becoming exposed and the trails/vegetation are drying-up. As the water level approaches 10 ft you will be able to walk to Sand Island in no more than ankle-deep water.
Annotated Google Earth images of Rooster Rock Clothing Optional Beach to give an idea of where the trails are. Note that these images were produced for a project back in 2005 but they do accurately reflect the trail names and alignments and the boundary of the designated clothing optional area. Since these images were made the location of the volleyball court has reportedly been changed.
The first image shows the clothing optional area (less Sand Island) in vertical; showing the east parking lot at lower left. The clothing optional area signage is at the top of the ramp just beyond the restroom. At the bottom of the ramp is a screen bench were most people feel comfortable getting nude.
The second image shows the clothing optional area in oblique (looking east up the gorge). This image again shows the trails and Sand Island near the top center of the image.
Rooster Rock 360 Panoramic of Sand Beach (taken late Sept in 2005 during the lowest water level I've ever seen):
http://nudehiker.blogspot.com/2005/09/rooster-rock-360-panoramic-of-sand.html
http://nudehiker.blogspot.com/2005/09/rooster-rock-360-panoramic-of-sand.html
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