Brandywine Creek
3. Rockland Road to Market Street
| Difficulty | III |
| Length | 5.2 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 20 fpm |
| Gauge | Brandywine Creek at Chadds Ford, Pa |
| Flow Rate as of 31 minutes | 1.72 ftbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | June 30, 2025 |
River Description
The Brandywine drops over the fall line on this historic stretch. 10 dams separate a handful of class 2-3 rock gardens. Most of the dams are sloping and easily runnable but 3 of them are vertical and extremely dangerous at higher flows. Only run the vertical drops if you are 100% sure of the lines and water levels.
Put in at the Brandywine State Park access on Rockland Rd.
this section starts with a blown out dam that forms a short fun class 3 rapid. you can put in below the dam if you choose not to run it
After Rockland, (and about a mile of flat water) you'll reach the second dam which marks the entance of the Hagley Museum property, birthplace of the Dupont company. An incredible display of 19th century hydropower surrounds you, including spillways, canals, the remains of gunpowder mills, and waterwheels and turbines that are still operational. Unfortunately the Hagley people are pretty paranoid so pull over in these beautiful surroundings at your own risk.
There are 3 dams in total through Hagley. The first (hagley entrance) is a wooden slope, about 4-5ft tall, runnable within the recommended water levels for this section. This dam should probably be portaged if above 5ft at chads ford.
The second is a concrete slope easy to boat scout on river right. Wood likes to collect here in the middle and on the right... usually runnable right of center at low water (below 3 ft) and more options open up on the left above 3 ft including a nice boof and a decent surf wave at the bottom. Eddy river left to catch it.
before the next dam there is a nice class 2+ rock garden with a few good play spots, small boofs, and splat rocks. The most memorable spot 'wheel wave' is on river right just after the start of the rock garden. (Best caught between 3-4ft)
The third dam just before you exit hagley property is a nasty vertical 7
...River Features
Rockland dam put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportWe have ran rockland between 2.2 and 4.7 on the chadds ford guage. Above 3ft some nice surf waves form at the top and bottom of the rapid. This was 4.7 in august of 2024
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Another paddler lost his kayak minutes after this picture was taken. The wave-hole behind the big wave was very sticky and unpredictable. As a fellow kayaker, I ran most of the dams and have no intention of running the dams at any level in the future. Trashy, full of rebar , and very dangerous to say the least. If you do decide to run them, scout them first and be ready for the unexpected.
The surf wave featured on the front page is NOT a realistic photo of what this creek is typically like. Normally the water level is not even high enough to run the dams.
A word of caution, some of us WTC folks ran the Brandywine dams November 2008, even at just 2.75, some of the bigger dams' boil lines were out 4+ feet, making them pretty dangerous. I would not recommend running the dams without someone who has been through them, and strongly suggest foot scoutting the bigger dams from shore first.
Tom Halladay running a 7 foot drop. I actually got stuck in the recirculation, but was able to push off the dam wall with my paddle. Ed dropped in behind me and also got stuck.
Ed Rohrbach running one of the 11 dams on the Brandywine
That looks like an epic surf wave! Can somebody tell me about it?
This river is in my backyard, and I have run it numerous times.
3 ft. note Chadds Ford is a good level for a run. The main
Theme is the numerous dams: all of which are runnable at 3 ft. if
you know how to run them. Not a major destination but fun for locals. Ed. R.
Ran this on Saturday March 26, 2005. Level was 2.6. This run is pretty much flatwater & dams. We ran all of the dams but three at this level. One more might have gone, but piton potential was pretty high. Between the dams are perhaps 4 class 2 rock gardens. Scenery is a mix of pretty & urban industrial. We took out at the zoo just above the listed takeout. This cut out one last dam and another class 2 boulder garden. Many of the dams are pretty shallow - a flip would rip your head off. Having done the run once, I'm in no hurry to do it again.
Brad.
Jake!