Octoraro Creek,
|
|
New Bridge Road to Richardsmere (Lower Octoraro)
| Usual Difficulty |
II (may vary with level) |
| Length |
6 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient |
15 fpm |
| Max Gradient |
30 fpm |
New River Ranch Falls
New River Ranch FallsPhoto of Falls by Walt Shank taken 7/13/2001 @ Loowwwwww!
Gauge Information
River Description
Nice little section with some trashy and scenic surroundings. This is a kind of a forgotten corner
of MD, but it's worth visiting and the river is worth running. It's kind of like the Brandywine
without any dams.
The first 3 miles are pretty mellow, but things start to get going after the Rt. 1 bridge. Fun
Class II rapids result as the Octoraro (which is Native American for "rushing waters") drops down
to the Conowingo. Take out on a small side road before the Rt. 222 bridge in the historic mill town
of Richardsmere.
The
Upper Octoraro is categorized
as a Pennsylvania stream.
StreamTeam Status: Verified
Last Updated: 2002-01-20 06:17:18
No guide books for this stream. If you know of a book that describes this stream please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
User Comments
novices and this made for a great training run. The description is accurate, the most fun is in the
small gorge section below the Rte. 1 bridge which had just enough water in it that day. I figure
that about 3.3 on the gauge and up will please most paddlers. LK Edit
the rocks. I put in at Freemont Rd. and King pen Rd. and get out at new bridge road. The first leg
is flat water with an occational rapid. A tree is across the creek right after the first bend. The
second leg (the back side of Cedar Hill quarry) has a few more rapids and can be technicnal if the
water is up. Water guages are at Lee's bridge rd on the south bridge support and the new bridge rd
guage is located about 50' south of the bridge. If you decide to run it out to the Susquehanna
River and the water is NOT up you'll be walking and pulling your boat in ankle deep water. Check te
Lee's bridge water guage first! It should be over 2.5 feet at a minimum. Edit
this site. if you see vandalism in progress or damage to our gage please call usgs@ 717-730-6987
thanks Edit
pictures: http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=2652. The Dam got it's name from the "New
River Ranch" country music park on the east side of the river just north of the dam. It was open
through the 1950's and early 60's. If you are curious some good info on the park is at this link:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1280910