Middle Creek (Catoctin Creek trib.)
Wolfsville to Myersville(Upper Catoctin creek)
| Difficulty | II-III(V) |
| Length | 6.8 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 56 fpm |
| Gauge | Catoctin Creek Near Middletown, Md |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 1.68 ftbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | November 18, 2020 |
River Description
access points
Mile 0.0-----You can put-in right at the rt.17 bridge or just upstream along spruce run rd. note:Only the very experienced should attempt the first 2 miles!
Mile 2.0----river gauge on downstream left bridge abutment(rt.17)
mile 2.3--Grossnickle church may be used to take-out for the canyon or put-in for the lower 50+ f.p.m. section.
Mile 5.0--Take-out on bidle rd at the rt.17 bridge. note:there are fences and a low-water bridge below this point.
Mile6.0--take-out just upstream of rt.40 along rt.17
Mile 6.3--Middle creek becomes Catoctin creek,where a small stream enters on the right..
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportA good take out for this stretch is Doubs Meadow Park in Myersville. No need to continue further to Bretheren Church Road and Catoctin Creek as some of the guidebooks suggest -you wont miss any whitewater and the carry off is easier.
SBC. its meltin in west .m.d
see link below for a video of the lower class 2-3 section.........
Robert Farmer---When we did this, we took out at the bridge near Highland School Road, to cherry-pick the best (i.e. hardest) section. The class 2-3 sections referred to earlier are most-likely downstream of this bridge. Upstream of the bridge are some surprisingly righteous rapids! This was the last of our trilogy, having done Hunting Creek and Owens Creek earlier in the day---a brilliant day, for sure!
March 2, 2007
This creek is not for Class 3 paddlers--at least not the upstream part. There is a Class 4-5 drop upstream of the Spruce Run confluence near the road, which my two competent partners portaged, and where I flipped (there was a small tree in the way). Below this were three more Class 4-5 rapids that needed scouting, with constant action in between. The gauge was at around 4.3. This run was better than expected!!! Fun, but rocky and challenging. Oh, and two low-water bridges; one was a mandatory portage.
This is a fun little creek but IMO the rating is a bit off- it's not that technically demanding (hence the II-III rating) but wood is a serious problem and eddies can be small and difficult to catch (which they would be for a class II-III paddler) Two of the drops are soild class IV rapids and both are pretty junky leaving the impression that they are largely made of wood. Have fun but be very aware of following distances and the location of eddies. Hit Hunting creek if it's running since it's only 10 minutes away.
This is right at the put-in where spruce run joins middle creek