Harpers Ferry - Dam #3 to Rt. 340 Bridge (Needles)Class II+
2.5 Miles
Avg Gradient 5 fpm
Max Gradient 5 fpm
Needles, Potomac
Needles, Potomac Photo of Erik by Bernie Lager taken 1969-12-31 Gauge Information
Potomac
River DescriptionShort popular whitewater section of the Potomac in the vicinity of Harpers Ferry.Two different putins are usually used. A short run can be had by proceeding up river from the Sandy Hook, MD takeout to Lock 34 where the road turns away from the river. This is a short run, and parking is very limited at this putin. To do the full run, follow Rt. 340 upstream to Bakerton Rd., where there is a flea market on your left. Turn right on Bakerton Rd. to where the road goes under a stone railroad bridge and make an immediate right. This puts you several hundred yards above Dam #3. Dam #3 is usually run from one of the middle chutes. Check to see they are clear. The section below the dam to the confluence of the Shenandoah is referred to as Needles. It's a Class II section of ledges under normal conditions. Caution should be used at higher water levels and colder times of year because the width of the river here can make a spill difficult to recover from. Harpers Ferry is located at the confluence of the Shenandoah and the Potomac. Putins and takeouts are not allowed here except in emergencies. After the confluence, there is a set of Class II waves called Mad Dog Rapids, followed by a Class II+ set of larger irregular waves known as White Horse Rapids. There are also popular playspots located among the rocks on river right. The first takeout on the MD side is 1/2 mile downstream from the confluence of the Shenndoah River on river left immediately before the US 340 bridge at Sandy Hook. To reach this takout from Rt. 340, take the last left as you approach the 340 bridge from the MD side, then take the first right to the bottom of the hill where the road approaches the railroad tracks. The takeout is on posted railroad property and involves crossing two sets of very active tracks. Despite its dubious legality, this takeout is very popular. You can also set your shuttle on the WV side of the 340 bridge. A popular short whitewater option is to run between this bridge and the 340 bridge across the Shenandoah about a mile upstream. This gives you access to the bottom of the Shenandoah Staircase Rapid as well as the playspots on the Potomac. Parking is very limited on the WV side of the 340 Potomac bridge and non-existent at the Shenandoah 340 bridge. An empty parking lot near the gas station is often utilized when it's not being used for fireworks sales and other intermittent activities. The whole parking and traffic situation on the WV side can be somewhat daunting because of the narrowness of the shoulder and the speed of the heavy two lane traffic. The same takeouts can also be used to run the Millville/Bull Falls/Staircase section of the Shenandoah. This is a longer and somewhat more interesting run, but it's up less frequently, especially in the summer. StreamTeam Status: verified
Last Updated: 2007-04-17 06:06:53
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Potomac R at Hancock, MD (R) [ MD ] |
Current Conditions
Station Graphs |
| Level Legend: | Running | Below Minimum Recommended Flow | Above Maximum Recommended Flow | Unknown |
| State | River Name/Section | Class | Level | Rel. Level | Updated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MD | Potomac— 1. Sandy Hook to Point of Rocks | I-II | 3.00 ft | med | 10/7 20:15 | |
| WV | Potomac— Harpers Ferry - Dam #3 to Rt. 340 Bridge | II+ | 3.00 ft | med | 10/7 20:15 |
| AW Gauge ID: | 555 |
| USGS Station: | 01613000 |
| HUC: | 02070004 |
| Latitude: | 39.6969 |
| Longitude: | -78.1775 |
| Class: | 4 |
User Comments |
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2008-05-27 11:11:10 (133 days ago)
A bunch of us good ol' boys from the eastern shore wanted to escape the "beach"a holes for the memorial day weekend and for some crazy reason decided we would float from just below the dam to where we camp down in Brunswick. Never having done this before, we were looking for an adventure. We got what we were looking for....What a blast! We put in at the usual spot off of sandy hook rd. just across from Harpers Ferry @ about 12:30PM. We had 11 people in all, 2 in a raft w/provisions and 9 more in tubes. There were definitely some spills along the way, 2 got thrown out of their tubes, but we stayed in groups,worked the buddy system and had quite the ride. Once we got below the 340 bridge, there were only a few spots with a little whitewater. It took about 4.5 hrs to make it to the camp. We got out within 100 yards of our tents. My question is....where was everyone else? There were only a few in kayakers(?) just under the 340 bridge. Short of that all we saw were a few outboards running the river. Too much water for the outfitters? Edit
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No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
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