Conowingo Creek
Pilot Town Rd., Oakwood, MD to Mt. Zoar Rd. at Susquehanna River
| Difficulty | IV-V |
| Length | 1.9 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Reach Info Last Updated | May 20, 2023 |
River Description
The following description is courtesy of Walt Shank:
Conowingo Creek drops significantly over it's nearly 2 mile run, before it empties into the Conowingo Reservoir on the lower Susquehanna River. It is a tight technical run, as you can probably gather from the low-water scout pics. The next time it has water in it, I will be down there with the camera to get some good pictures.
It takes a lot of rain to get this puppy up. We ran it on a Saturday morning at 9:00 after an 8' rainfall the night before and it was at minimal level. It had indeed been higher as the water line on the banks was much defined. Some guys told us they dropped by around 1:00 that day and could not run it. The point is, when it rains, get there quick! When the water is pouring over, I plan to get down there at the putin to paint that level on the bridge for future gauging.
There used to be a lot of rebar and big logs and strainers on this creek, but my buds and I cleaned most of them out. We cut ALL of the rebar that was sticking out of the concrete at the dam.
The dam is the first real drop on this run. From there it keeps dropping at a consistent rate.
Lat/longitude coords are approximate, from TopoZone.
River Features
Put In - Oakwood
Put-in is at Pilot Town Rd near Oakwood, MD
Take Out - Susquehanna River
Take-out is at Mt. Zoar Rd at the Conowingo Reservoir/Susquehanna River
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportjust enough water for the wingus
just enough water for the wingus
sorry bout the finger in the shots
sliding over the dam
In 2005, I ran this at about -0.75 on the gauge---the absolute minimum. The day before, the water had been about 12 feet higher, and was washing large tree stumps across the road and the guard railing. So it drops fast.
This is the beginning to the madness you will experience on this awesome creek in Cecil County, MD.
This is about 1 mile into the run.
This is a long stretch of tight turns and mini boofs.