Gwynns Falls
2) Purnell Dr. off Forest Park Ave. to Washington Blvd. (Alt. US 1)
| Difficulty | II-III(IV) |
| Length | 6.4 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 45 fpm |
| Gauge | Gwynns Falls at Villa Nova, Md |
| Flow Rate as of 39 minutes | 12 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 6, 2022 |
River Description
This long and challenging trip would be outstanding were it not for the water quality and the visible trash (including plastic growing on the trees), which undermines the otherwise pleasant parkland scenery. The first mile, to Forest Park Avenue, starts off class II-, but gradually steepens to class III-. This section can be scouted from Purnell Drive on the north (where you can park to put in) and Cedar and Pickwick Drives on the south. Below Forest Park Avenue, by the restored mill town of Dickeysville, a 10-foot dam must be portaged. The class II-III rapids then resume, and two-thirds of a mile after the dam comes a tricky class III at the bottom of a long rock garden. This section can be scouted from Wetheredsville Road. Dead Run enters from the right midway through the trip, marked by a pair of small ledges. Three-fourths of a mile later, at Hilton Street, some apparently untreated sewerage seeps in from the left. Shortly below, the creek braids; the left channel has a class III- ending.
In another half mile, the stream flows below Edmondson Avenue (US 40), and you need to be alert. First, there is an iron pipe across the creek, at the end of a short straight section. Scout from the eddy on the right. In very low water you can slip beneath it; otherwise, portage on the right. Then, 200 yards below, is Gwynns Falls, a five-foot drop. In low water, you can scout from the rock ledge in the middle. The right channel is precipitous, with unseen shallow rocks just below that make this short drop a class IV-, while the left chute is a very narrow and twisty class IV. A short portage over the middle ledge is often the best alternative, especially given the water quality. This is followed immediately by a delightful class III rock garden, and soon thereafter by a four-foot, class III ledge (easiest on the right, in low water), followed by a long class II rock garden that continues down to W. Baltimore St. Below, the gradient eases up, although there are still s
...River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportAs of February 2019, the whole creek is blocked by construction just above the main rapid. The whole river goes into some impassable culverts that go under a construction bridge. It was fairly easy to spot in advance and a relatively easy portage. The iron pipe above the main falls (mentioned in the description above) seems to be gone as part of the construction.
As of May 21, 2012 at 2pm.......There is a river-wide strainer at the steel pipes, which are located just below MD-40. The root base of the fallen tree is still attached to the bank on river left, so it looks like this strainer is here to stay for a while. You may be able to sneak through on river right at low water. Easy portage is on river right directly under the huge arches of the MD-40 bridge. Take out amongst a knee high pile of garbage, then climb an easy staircase of broken discarded concrete, up to the railroad tracks. You can make a steep descent to put in immediately below the pipes, or continue 100yds further down the RR tracks to where you can easily (and safely) get down to the water's edge to scout the falls and the ledges just below. The eddys are easy to find, they are the areas filled with floating, swirling garbage. It's a damn shame this wonderful river is painted with garbage.
Gwynn Falls ledges just below the falls. Low water, 23 cfs, .98 ft stage.
The Falls on Gwynn Falls. Low Water, 23cfs, .98ft stage.
We've been having some intense isolated thunderstorms lately, with hard rain down by the harbor, so I thought I'd check out Gwynns. I drove to check the gauge at Washington Blvd, and it was at 7.0! I drove up via Dead Run, and it was raging-----scary-high! I got to the put-in at Dickeyville, and the water was barely above the minimum. Long story short, most of the water was coming in from Dead Run and points downstream----Dead Run almost doubled the volume!! From Dead Run downstream, the level was nice (4.0), above that, it was rocky and abusive. Fun fact! FYI.
I caught this 7/12/10 at about 3.9 ft. (at Wash. Blvd) The rainfall pattern on this day is kind of illustrative of a semi-typical summer pattern: The rain started falling pretty hard (2+ inches in @2.5 hours upstream) after a dry spell at around 2:00 p.m.; at about 4:20, it peaked at 9.3/4600 (Villa Nova peaked at 4.5/800), and by the time when I finished the run (7:38 p.m. at Wash. Blvd.) after putting on at 6:30, it had dropped to around 3.8---still good, but getting low. Hence, there was only about a 3.5-hour window of runnability, less if you're not willing to paddle crazy-high water. Also, the log that was on the right side of the first left bend is now about 1/2 mile downstream on the left. You can get by it, but it is hazardous, so watch out! I paddled from Dickeyville to Swann Park, near Hanover St. in 1:58, not rushing. It took only 41 minutes to get from Dickeyville to below the Route 40 ledges, including a portage around the pipelines. A pretty enjoyable afternoon!
The Washington Blvd gauge can be read online at:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?01589352.
For those of us who like to paddle down to the harbor sometimes, Swann Park has now been reopened, just off Hanover St., next to I-95; it makes a good takeout, especially for me, since it's an easy walk to my house from there.
Robert Farmer---It is probably safest to run the last ledge on the left at high water; you have to zig and zag a bit. Beware of the next-to-last ledge at all levels---the middle part is a keeper, and the right side has an extremely narrow line---safest to go left, for sure! Also, watch out for the piton rock on the right side of The Falls, and there is a barely-submerged rock just downstream of the landing zone that also should be considered. Watch out for the ledge hydraulic---it is very grabby at times. Hey, who ran this without me? If anyone wants to run this sometime, call me at 410-624-6421. I'm glad to see that someone else is finally enjoying MY favorite local creek! I missed it that day. . .
Ran this section on 10-28-09 with relatively high water conditions (400cfs). I'd recommend advanced boaters to put in just below the dam at Dickeysville as this eliminates all but one portage (the low pipe below Edmondson Ave) and features the heaviest whitewater section. At this level the right slot of upper Gwynn's Falls is a safer drop than the left option, just manuver to the left of the roostertail. The final big riverwide ledge about 1/2 mile further downstream should also be run on the right about 5-8 feet left of the protruding rock just before the drop itself. You can take out on Frederick Avenue on the right if you want to avoid the remaining flatwater and don't mind a more strenuous climb vs. the remaining. takeouts.
Robert Farmer---Gwynns was running all weekend 10/17 and 10/18. On 10/18 (Sunday) it was up around 2000 cfs at Washington Blvd and was quite enjoyable. I portaged the double pipeline on the left, which seems to be the best way---not the right side, as mentioned on the main page. I put back in on top of the concrete block that forms the end of the pipeline. Even though I spent about 24 minutes scouting and portaging, the whole trip took only 1:25, so I spent about an hour actually on the water. It was really very good.