Octoraro Creek
3. New Bridge Road to Moore Road, Richardsmere(Lower Octoraro)
| Difficulty | II |
| Length | 6.2 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 15 fpm |
| Gauge | Octoraro Creek Near Richardsmere, Md |
| Flow Rate as of 22 minutes | 68 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | September 25, 2021 |
River Description
Nice little section with some trashy and scenic surroundings. This is a kind of a forgotten corner of MD, but it's worth visiting and the river is worth running. It's kind of like the Brandywine without any dams.
The first 2.6 miles are pretty mellow, but things start to get going after the Rt. 1 bridge. Fun Class II rapids result as the Octoraro (which is Native American for 'rushing waters') drops down to the Susquehanna below Conowingo Dam. Take out on a small side road before the Rt. 222 bridge in the historic mill town of Richardsmere.
The Upper Octoraro is categorized as a Pennsylvania stream.
River Features
Horseshoe Road Bridge Put-in
On weekends, it seems to be OK to park in the bus turnaround area on the downstream River right side of the bridge. But there's only room for 2 or 3 cars here, so try to leave as few cars here as possible. On weekdays, the bus turnaround is needed for school buses to turn around so however inviting it might seem, this area must be kept clear. Look around, there may be other options.
Moore Rd. Richardsmere Take-out
Take out on Moore Road on River right above the US 222 bridge in the historic mill town of Richardsmere.
Ballfield Take-out
If you have a large group, there is more parking at the Ballfield at River left just below the US 222 bridge
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportRan 8/21/18 @ 3.6 ft on gauge. No portages required, no stream-wide strainers, and only one shallow spot. Fun riffles and boulder gardens with a single 1 ft drop about half way. Scenery is great, very little hints of civilization. It only took us about 1.5 hours to travel the 6 miles.
Gauge switched to Octoraro at Richardsmere
Could someone please explain why the gauge used for this run is 'Brandywine Creek at Chadds Ford, PA.' I looked on Google earth but never found a any connection to the Octoraro Creek. There is a gauge found on the USGS site for Octoraro Creek:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/md/nwis/uv/site\_no=01578475&PARAmeter\_cd=00065,00060,62619,62620,00062,00054
Shouldn't we use this one instead since it is on Octoraro Creek?
Ran this stream on April 17, 2009, gauge at 3.0, a little low, but not terrible as my group are novices and this made for a great training run. The description is accurate, the most fun is in the small gorge section below the Rte. 1 bridge which had just enough water in it that day. I figure that about 3.3 on the gauge and up will please most paddlers. LK
usgs has a station on (octoraro: #01578475) new bridge road. there has been a lot of vandalism at this site. if you see vandalism in progress or damage to our gage please call usgs@ 717-730-6987 thanks
The New River Ranch Dam was removed in 2005.
The following article talks about the removal and has pictures: http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=2652. The Dam got it's name from the 'New River Ranch' country music park on the east side of the river just north of the dam. It was open through the 1950's and early 60's. If you are curious some good info on the park is at this link:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1280910
can anyone give me some info on this creek please
This dam can form a great hole at high levels, and a big wave at flood stage. It is located 200 yards above the Route 1 bridge in Cecil County.