Jones Falls
Lake Roland to Round Falls
| Difficulty | I-III |
| Length | 5.2 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 23 fpm |
| Reach Info Last Updated | May 12, 2025 |
River Description
Time: about an hour with no playing
Difficulty: I-III
Fun Factor: 8 out of 10
Water Quality: Ever take a shower in a junkyard?
Scenery: Good to weird.
History: Used to provide Baltimore City with water. Currently providesBaltimore City Harbor with runoff.
Description: The Jones Falls is one of the most unique, most fun, strangest, stinkiest, wildest, and most bizarrely scenic little runs available anywhere, arguably, and certainly within an hour of Baltimore. The best put in is just below Lake Roland in Lake Roland Park, a hidden left turn, just after crossing the Jones' Falls bridge at the top of Falls Road. If you see Pepe's Pizza,you've gone too far.
It begins in a fast moving narrow gorge that cuts through the brambles of the park with an occasional class 2 to add interest. It quickly transforms into ariffley river enclosed on both sides by concrete, spillways, fences, parking lots and other man-made structures, none of which present a hazard (at least not physically). There are some blind turns, and opportunities to take wrong turns around islands, the only consequences of which are running out of water. Eventually, you begin to run right beside the expressway itself. You can hear the roar of trucks, see exit signs, and enjoy the smell of the runoff. Soon after, it becomes wild again, and plunges through some dense woods, with an occasional mill or other forgotten structure sticking out.
Shortly after re-entering the treeline, the first real rapid comes up. It's really only a class 2+, but has a rock in it that seems to love eating canoes, be they fiberglass or aluminum. Rescue here for someone broached is a PIA because of the fast moving water and nasty foot entrapment potential. The river now takes a hard left, and after a few riffles, goes directly under the expressway. Say goodbye to the sunlight for a few minutes of shallow paddling that features a few surfing waves and a weird reaction wave off the wall a
...River Features
Put In
Put-in - The best put in is just below Lake Roland in Lake Roland Park, a hidden left turn, just after crossing the Jones' Falls bridge at the top of Falls Road. If you see Pepe's Pizza,you've gone too far.
Meadow Mills Access
There is a convenient place to abandon the river at the Meadow Mills river access on river right, just after passing under a small bridge. Novices, open boaters without flotation, and anyone especially susceptible to disease should get out here because this ends the Class I moving water stretch and is the beginning of the Class III stretch. This take-out/put-in can be accessed by taking a right on Union Ave off of Falls Road and making a left just after the bridge and just before the railroad tracks. A small access road will take you down behind the buildings. Signs are usually posted on scheduled releases for the unwary. Those who want to avoid the flatwater stretch can put in here.
Round Falls
'Round Falls,' AKA 'Hampden Falls,' AKA 'Timanus Grist Mill dam.' - You can actually boat scout the falls by going all the way around to the right and looking back upriver at the falls itself, since the falls is, well, round. In past years, it has been about a 7-8 foot drop, where your bow was in the water at the bottom while your stern is still wet at the top. The clearing ofseveral downstream obstructions has lowered the pool substantially, making the drop a touch more formidable (somewhere between 11' & 13'). Either way, it's a good drop. Center is the best path, or a little to the right of center to avoid the frothier parts of the hole below. The left side is to be avoided since a paddler got pinned there and was in a coma at Shock Trauma for several weeks. 'Round Falls' can hold a flipped boater under the falls, making a roll difficult. It's not a terribly violent drop, and its a lot of fun even for less experienced boaters as long as lines are set, and they can overcome the pucker factor. A new platform has been constructed here for viewing the wildlife, the waterfall, and the carnage.
Take Out
Take-out - It's best to take out just after the falls on river left (a short, steep hike up to FallsRoad) because not far below this, the river plunges underground for the rest of its way into Baltimore Harbor. I have heard tell of two paddlers unintentionally passing into this tunnel of lightless horror and coming out alive in the Harbor, but the journey is definitely to be avoided by kayakers, canoeists, spelunkers, and probably even by the rats, gargantuan insects and morlocks that you'd likely encounter.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportAnyone know how to find out when they release the dam water?
About 25 of us ran this on 11/2/13 during a Dam Demonstration. It was definitely an interesting paddle that I highly recommend. The river was clear of strainers once out of the park itself, though one river wide tree has the potential to be life threatening. Don't even try. Portaging is paddling, too.
We all went eyeball deep in the flume and none of us are sick. I would guess to say water quality has improved since this review was written.
About 100 feet above the 'flume,' there is a large strainer in the water. Last time I was out on this run, some of the less experienced members of our group nearly got into some trouble with it. However, my advice would be to either go far left and possibly slide over some of the shallow rocks. Or, if you are paddling a long boat, you can go river right and catch the eddy there, and then ferry across on the wave. Either way, watch out because there is and undercut looking rock right behind the log.
Happy Paddling
Get ready for the 6th Annaul GBCC Jones Falls Down River Race on September 9, 2006. Check the GBCC web site for more details..
Right down the middle, but ended up just fine!
With trees blocking the outflow channel downstream, the height was about 9-10'. The prior month was about 13'.
This great write-up really sums up the Jones Falls experience well. Run the whole thing once to say you did it, run the last part for the Class III stuff, and take a thorough shower afterwords.
I ran the left chute in my open boat and I didn't think it was so bad.
Two topo duos caught sounding in the
beauty of their own habitat...
Believe it or not, there are four people
in this picture.
A good look at the drop about one second
past the point of no return..
A really fun run--especially the second
half after the Meadow Mills takeout (I'd
suggest starting here). Round Falls is
great practice for boofing off of large
drops, and you can easily portage back
up to the top of the falls and run them
several times. The dam is released
about once a month during the
summer check it out at
This is the rocky, shallow center chute
of the large drop on the Jones Falls.
Probably runnable, but doesn't look like
much fun (comparatively speaking)...
Not a particularly brilliant line,
though this is where you most often end
up. A harder launch further on river
right can keep you from disappearing in
the froth...
Surfing out of the sunlight underneath
the expressway on the Jones Falls...
This is the bottom of the irregular,
turbulent, left chute on the Jones
Falls. It's runnable, but has a weird
hole at the bottom and isn't the
cleanest route..
Round falls somewhere around 13'. This
is just before the finish at the annual
Jones Falls Race held in August...