Blackwater
0.1. Beall Lane, Cortland to Camp 70 Rd river access ramp & dock(Canaan Valley National Wildlife Preserve)
| Difficulty | I(II) |
| Length | 9.3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Blackwater River at Davis, Wv |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 57 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | February 6, 2025 |
River Description
This is one of the most beautiful stretches of stream anywhere! From the moment you puton until the time you reach the Camp 70 river access near Davis, you are almost in complete solitude. There are some traces of human influence occassionally but the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. The creek is mostly flat but remains swift with occassional Class 1 riffles and good current throughout. The scenery is breathtaking! Since it flows through a wildlife preserve, you are likely to see lots of animals on your float.
River Features
Put-in - Beall Lane, Cortland
Put-in - Beall Lane, Cortland
Take-out - Camp 70 Rd river access ramp & dock
Take-out - Camp 70 Rd river access ramp & dock near Davis, WV
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportThis was about a 6 hr float at the medium runnable level. As described, some of the most beautiful scenery in WV. The first mile is shallow and rocky, the river slowly increases in depth and the flow remains good. At times the river is wide but sometimes only a boat length in width. We encountered multiple strainers, many could be ran and a few required gettting out and lifting kayaks over, to portage around the strainers would be more difficult. Suprisingly there is also several sections of the river where the canopy totally chokes off the river and requires you stow your padle and pull your way thru the brush by hand (hint, the lead paddler should not be scared of spiders, Lol)