Susquehanna River
1.) Saginaw Railroad Bridge(The Wave)
| Difficulty | III |
| Length | 0.92 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 5 fpm |
| Gauge | Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pa |
| Flow Rate as of 58 minutes | 5.17 ftabove recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 25, 2026 |
River Description
The 'Wave' is a 4 to 5 ft high wave that is 30 feet across. A pillow hole forms in the middle that allows for 360 spins and the river right edge of the wave is good for blunts. There is a huge eddy on the river right side of the wave behind the railroad bridge concrete truss. Washing off the wave to far down stream requires alot of work to get back to the eddy. The trick is to enjoy your surf and then to slide back into the eddy, without getting washed off.
You can easily spend anywhere from 2 -6 hours at the Wave.
Put In and Take out are the same place
Follow the same directions as to the Codorus Creek Takeout. See Codorus Creek. Instead of turning right when you cross over the Codorus Creek at the takeout, turn left onto River Farm Road. Follow this gravel road for about 1/2 mile, until the road starts to curve to the right and gets away from the Codorus Creek. There is limited parking on the left side of River Farm Road.
Put In on the Codorus Creek, you have to paddle approximately 1/2 mile on the Codorus to reach the Susquehanna River. Paddle and Ferry straight across the river, you'll see a Railroad Bridge downstream of you. You must be about 3/4 of the way across the width of the river before you cross under the Railroad bridge. As you are looking at the railroad bridge, you will notice old stone trusses and new concrete trusses, you want to go between the old stone truss and the new concrete truss, on the river left side of the new concrete truss. 50 yards before you pass under the railroad bridge is a micro eddy and a nice cartwheel ledge/hole. When you pass under the bridge catch the huge river right eddy, behind the large concrete truss. The wave is now towards river left. Please be aware that the current is swift below the wave. A swim here will end up with the boater and rescuer a 1/4 to 1 mile below the wave, and on the wrong
...River Features
Put In - River Farm Road
Put In - River Farm Road - just above Codorus confluence with the Susquehanna River.
Take Out - River Farm Road
Take-out - River Farm Road - just above Codorus confluence with the Susquehanna River.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportThis can also be a run - starting on the eastern side at the town of Bainbridge. Called the Haldeman Riffles, there are 5 class 2 ledges, and some nice surfing at one well before the bridge. The Wave can easily be avoided by taking any of the other river chutes making a nice class 2 run for beginners, but just about anyone should be able to go straight through it, as long as you do not have an open deck boat.
The Wave is located in the bridge chute left of the largest abutment on the river left (seventh tunnel from the river left edge). The island on its left is a nice spot for a break.
Take out on river left at - River Front Park. The last mile is flat water. The river flow really slows after the bridge all the way to Chickies Rock (another 4 miles downstream/lake).
At levels above 4.1 or so, you have to start from the eddy on river left of the wave to catch it...which means you have to basically walk up the island beside that eddy and ferry out into it...surf the wave, and try to slip back into the eddy.
Anything below 4.0 is easy to catch though
The wave is very hard to catch in a short, spud boat @ 4.1. It's difficult to get across the eddy line and over the green on river right and into the pile without getting flushed. The word is that at 3.9 it's a little easier to catch in a short boat. Bob's S8 did well @ 4.1 so bring your fast boat.
Bob surfing 'the Wave.'
Tom surfing the wave.
Not much of a break at this level but still surfable if you can catch it!