The Park Service has scheduled a public meeting on August 7th, from 7pm to 9pm at the Cliffside Inn, Harpers Ferry, WV. The meeting will be held in Parlor A. The purpose of the meeting is to review the issues and options for Lock 34.
American Whitewater is seeking a volunteer (private boater) to attend the meeting and report back to us. If you can attend, please contact AW’s Access Director Jason Robertson at 301-589-9453 to learn more about volunteering.
Lock 34, the access to the Potomac River for “the Needles” section, is being closed by the C&O Canal National Park.
This section of the river is a perfect beginner kayak run and many people from the DC and surrounding areas travel to Harpers Ferry for this section of the river. It is also a good intermediate play run and squirt section as well.
Matt Knott, owner of River Runner outfitters reported that “the outfitters in Harpers Ferry have negotiated with the park service since 1998, but have not asked for help from others in the boating community because we have been able to keep lock 34 open on our own. We are starting to run into stiffer resistance from members of the park service and are asking for support from the rest of the boating community. It will be a sad day for all boaters if the access is closed. It will either eliminate access to the section all together or people will have to paddle 2 miles of flat water behind dam 3 to access the section. The park service is stating the access is being closed because of safety reasons, but they have no reported accidents at the site. Granted the road is small and windy, but compared to many river access roads, it is easy.“