Abstract: Spur dikes, a hydraulic structure frequently used in river engineering, generate flow circulations and bring about complication in flow velocity distribution and sediment transport, significantly impacting navigation and local water environment. Most previous studies focused on mathematical modeling of the flow and sediment transport behaviors, while its field or laboratory measurements are lacking. In this study, we conducted a laboratory experiment on a train of model spur dikes in a wide open channel built in a large-scale flume to simulate the flow circulations and their effects on the channel flow. Full-field velocity was measured using a particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) and time histories of discharge and flow depth were recorded to analyze the characteristics of circulations. The results indicate that: (1) the electromagnetic flowmeter (EMF) gives accurate measurement of discharge and the flow depth varies smoothly as expected; (2) a circulation zone can be divided into three regions: a backflow region, a forward flow region, and a mainstream region; (3) the backflow rate of a recirculation zone can reach up to 50% of the inflow. This study provides a set of reliable data that would help further study of the flows and sediment transport around spur dikes and be useful for verification of numerical models.