Rock Creek
Rock Creek Park [a subsection of 2. Beach Dr. below East-West Hwy. to the Potomac](Beach Dr. above Military Road to Pierce Mill Dam)
| Difficulty | II-III(IV) |
| Length | 2.1 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 40 fpm |
| Gauge | Rock Creek at Sherrill Drive Washington, Dc |
| Reach Info Last Updated | December 14, 2018 |
River Description
Runs after heavy thunderstorms, the hardest rapids are near the Park Police Headquarters on Beach Drive. Be alert and take out above the lowhead dam at Pierce Mill even though it is occasionally runnable on far river right (river left is a very bad keeper and very dangerous at most runnable levels).
Class: III (IV)
Put in: There is a large parking area on Beach Drive NW, just upstream of the Military Road bridge. The main whitewater starts just downstream of Military Road. There are numerous alternative put in locations, accessing easier paddling upstream of this point.
Take out: There is a large parking area on Beach Drive NW just upstream of Pierce Mill.
In 1999 several boaters were escorted off the creek by Park Service Police. American Whitewater successfully resolved the conflict over access, and it is now legal to boat on Rock Creek. However, it is not legal to swim, wade, or fish in the creek. The swimming restriction is based on the fact that the water quality is low and storm sewers dump directly into this beautiful urban waterway. Stay upright, don't drink the water, and watch out for the dam at Pierce Mill.
Rock Creek Park (DC): Access Secured!
January 17, 2000
By Jason Robertson
Great news! Rock Creek Park Police stated today that they will not prevent kayakers or canoeists from boating on the creek in the future. These statements come in response to American Whitewater's discussions with the Park's administrators after two pairs of boaters were prevented from boating on the creek when it was moderately swollen by Hurricane Dennis in September 1999.
In a discussion this morning, Park Police Lieutenant Kass reported that his research confirmed that there is a CFR rule banning recreation in the creek. However, the Lieutenant's research also confirmed that former Superintendent Shields waived this regulation for kayakers and canoeists more than 20 years
...River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportRan it today at 2.75 on the Military Rd gauge. It was fun and not too scrapy, but I would not go too much lower (this is my first time, but 2.5 sounds like a good lower bound given our experiences).
Correlation point: When we returned from our takeout shuttle the bridge gauge was down to about 2.65. Checking online, the online gauge at Sherrill Rd read 3.29 at that time.
The Rock Creek Park website states (in the FAQ) that boating is allowed when the level is greater than 2 ft.
Today, the level was exactly 2 ft and with the exception of two fallen trees completely blocking the creek and a few shallow spots, it was a good ride.
There is a USGS stick gauge on Rock Creek. It is located at on the southwest side of a smaller bridge on Joyce Road that crosses the creek near the intersection of Beach Drive and Joyce (Joyce provides access via ramps to Military Road, which has a larger and higher bridge just to the north).
A reading of 2.5 feet on this gauge is a good paddling zero.
I have found Rock Creek to be running numerous times when Difficult Run is up. While I can't offer an exact correlation, I will say Rock Creek is worth looking at whenever the Difficult Run gauge spikes.
There appears to be a new USGS stick gauge on Rock Creek. It is located at on the southwest side of a smaller bridge on Joyce Road that crosses the creek near the intersection of Beach Drive and Joyce (Joyce provides access via ramps to Military Road, which has a larger and higher bridge just to the north).
A reading of 2.5 feet on this gauge is probably a good paddling zero.
While the water quality is unquestionably questionable, the combined sewer overflows on Rock Creek are located south of the commonly-run whitewater section. The first overflows are on Piney Branch Creek and there are almost 30 from here to the mouth of the Potomac River. D.C. health warnings and decisions to boat this creek should be taken in that context. North of Piney Branch, Rock Creek is subject to more routine urban surface runoff ills, park service officials say.
There is another gauge located on a footbridge near the bottom of the whitewater section and accessible from Beach Drive. One to three feet is good on this gauge.