Brandywine Creek

Ran this a few times. Mostly flat water. I do not recommend running this below 2.3 ft.

There is one mandatory portage at a very rocky waterfall, around halfway through the trip, which is most easily accomplished from the left. The depth varies widely, spanning from 10 ft to a couple inches in several spots, which are aggravating. There's a couple nice riffles and some rocks to dodge, but the slow moving water from the 4 fpm gradient makes these a non issue to anyone but a total beginner. The only real fast moving water is located at a bridge just upstream of the museum, with a huge rock (sleeper) on the immediate left which is pretty hard to dodge. The water right after it is very deep too. We learned the hard way our first trip!

We like to put in at Shaw's Bridge Park. A bit south of this is the tempting Brandywine Picnic Park, which is a no go. The owners are super paranoid because a low head dam on their property caused several fatalities. It has since been completely removed. You can travel as far as Rockland Falls, where parking is available nearby on the left. Just make sure you don't go over the waterfall, which is around a level III.

Paddled from Rt 926 (Street Rd. & Creek Rd.) to Thompson Bridge Rd. (approx 9 miles) on 10/6/2011. Water height approx 2.9 FT. Great run. No obstructions. Can't wait to do it again!

10/8/10 - water level at 2.25 feet. We ran the entire run from Lenape to Thompson Bridge. Exhausting - - about 4+ hours at a pretty good pace. We are novice paddlers, but I would not want to do this run if the water level were any lower. We were scraping bottom several times. Two dams required portage. A few decent rapids. Beautiful and relaxing.