The Baseline Maps River Gauge Widget for iPhone: Setup & Tips

A river’s flow tells you most of what you need to know before a trip — whether it’s fishable, blown out, dropping into shape, or bumping up. The Baseline Maps River Gauge widget puts that number on your home or lock screen so you get it at a glance, no app-opening required.

Here’s how to add it and get the most out of it.

Add it to your home screen

1. Long-press an empty area of your home screen until the app icons start to jiggle.
2. Tap the plus (+) button in the top corner.
3. Search for Baseline and select it.
4. Swipe to the River Gauge size you want (see below), then tap Add Widget.
5. Tap Done.

That’s it — the widget lands on your home screen showing conditions for one of your saved rivers.

Add it to your lock screen

Lock screen widgets are perfect for a check without even unlocking:

1. Long-press your lock screen, then tap Customize.
2. Choose Lock Screen.
3. Tap the widget area below the clock and pick Baseline › River Gauge.
4. Tap Done.

Now the flow is right there every time you glance at your phone.

Which size to pick

• Small — a clean, single-river readout. Best for a dedicated “is it fishable” glance.
• Medium — the fully interactive one. Cycle between rivers and switch flow/stage without opening the app (see next section).

Two taps that make the medium widget shine

On iOS 17 and later, the medium River Gauge widget is interactive — you can control it right on the home screen:

• Tap the left or right edge to cycle between your saved rivers. Flip through the Sky, the Yakima, the Deschutes without ever opening the app.
• Tap the reading to switch between flow and stage — CFS (cubic feet per second) for volume, or FT (feet) for gauge height. Your choice sticks until you switch it back.

New to CFS? Our guide on what CFS means for fishing breaks down what range is actually fishable.

Picking which rivers show up

The widget reads the rivers you’ve favorited in Baseline Maps — there’s no separate widget setup. Save the rivers you actually fish in the app, and they’re the ones the widget (and the Siri commands) will know about.

A note on refresh timing

iOS controls how often home and lock screen widgets refresh — it batches updates to protect your battery, so the reading is recent but not live-to-the-second. When you need the exact current number (and the full hydrograph and forecast), tap the widget to open Baseline. It’ll refresh again shortly after on its own.

The short version

Task	How
Add it	Long-press home screen → + → Baseline → River Gauge
Change river	Tap the left/right edge of the medium widget
Flow vs. stage	Tap the reading to toggle CFS / FT
Pick rivers	Favorite them in the app

Add it once, favorite your water, and you’ve got the single most useful number for planning a day on the river without ever opening an app.