Long Green Creek
Glen Arm Rd. to Gunpowder Falls
| Difficulty | IV |
| Length | 3.2 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Long Green Creek at Glen Arm, Md |
| Flow Rate as of 56 minutes | 4 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | June 17, 2019 |
River Description
The Long Green offers one of the best runs in Maryland to the lucky paddlers who catch it when it is running, which is very seldom. A long, heavy rain is required to make this creek runable. Both times that I have caught it, it had rained all night long and most of the morning (I think it was about 3-5 inches of rain total). There is a stick gage for the creek; it is located right above the second drop and is visible from the road. The first time I ran it, the level was about 1 inch below the top of the gage and was a great run. The second time I ran it, the gage was underwater and it was still rising - the water was VERY pushy on that run. I am guessing that it is runable down to 4 inches below the top of the gage. Any lower and it would be very bony I think.
Put-in is where Glen Arm crosses over the creek
The Long Green dumps into the GunPowder River, so the best take-out is Jones Road on the Lower GunPowder River, because if The Long Green is up, The GunPowder will be kicking! You can also take-out at the US1/Belair Road bridge if you don't want to run the Lower GunPowder
THE DROPS
The first two drops can be scouted from the road that runs beside the creek. You can easily eddie-out above the rest of the drops to scout. Be sure to scout every rapid - strainers get stuck in the drops frequently!! Also be sure to watch out for low hanging vines that like to snag unsuspecting paddlers!!
(If anyone knows any other names for these, let me know)
Pinball - this is the first drop, which is only about 10 yards downstream from the put-in. This is about a 15 foot drop in total, follow the tongue down on river right and then the water bounce you down the rest of the way.0
Pillow - this is the second drop, which can be seen from the road. It is basically a 10 foot waterfall that has a really nice soft pillowy landing. Run just to the right of the rock in the center at the top.
Boof Rock - (AKA 'Baltimore's Best Boof') This is
...River Features
Put In
Pinball
Pillow (drop 2)
Pillow (another angle)
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportI scouted this a few weeks ago and have 1 question: when this would be at a runnable level, do you portage Harford Rd.? Is there a reliable eddy to pull out in? The rest of this looks fantastic!
3-4 ledge rapid half way down run. Run river left and boof the angled ledge.
Sambino at Pinball
Just ran Long Green two days ago at 2.6 I would say anything above 2.5 is runable. The flow came completly from snow melt so you don't always need rain for it to run.
Check the gauge at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/md/nwis/uv?01584050.
A reasonable minimum is around 2.5-2.6, although this is an estimate. More info is needed.
It's worth noting that the drop called Pillow (above) forms a very powerful hydraulic at higher levels that most people seem to underestimate. A person could easily drown here, so be careful--it is very sticky at high levels.
Also, the last rapid down by the Gunpowder has a very serious hole, too. Failure to ace the rapids above it could also have fatal consequences. Once, when I had to lie flat on my boat to get under the first concrete bridge above the first drop, I carried the entire final section of rapids with no regrets. Yes, this creek does sometimes get too high! Be careful!
Pinball Rapid at a high level.
Pillow at high water is one of the few rapids on Long Green that actually becomes easier.
looking from bridge
small drop below pillow
Pillow at low water online guage was at 2'
3-5' ledge drop halfway down run. Scout river right. Run river left boofing off angled ledge.