About of the Lackawanna River are navigable by canoe during snowmelt and within three to seven days of hard rain. It is typically navigable when the United States Geological Survey gauge at Archbald reads over , though navigation becomes difficult when the gauge height is over . However, even in the summer, when the gauge height is often , a few pool reaches in Dickson City and Scranton are still navigable. The difficulty rating of the river from Stillwater Lake to Carbondale ranges from 1 to 3. From Carbondale to the river's mouth, the difficulty rating is mostly 1, but there is one class-4 rapid formed by a complex ledge system at Moosic. The scenery above Carbondale is described as "good to poor" in Edward Gertler's book "Keystone Canoeing". The scenery below Carbondale is "fair to poor". However, Gertler also described the area as "a place that most of us associate with ugliness, with a capital U". A few of the larger tributaries are also seasonally navigable by canoe or kayak.