It rises in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and flows through Lake Gopło and the town of Inowrocław. It reaches the voivodeship of Greater Poland in the historic Pałuki region south of Piła. Further down in Lubusz Voivodeship, it empties into the Warta at Santok near Gorzów Wielkopolski. The river is usually subdivided into an upper part (Noteć Górna), running from its source to Nakło, and a lower part (Noteć Dolna) from Nakło to its mouth into the Warta River. At Nakło, the Bydgoszcz Canal, built in 1773/74, connects the Noteć River with the Brda river, a tributary of the Vistula, at Bydgoszcz.