Potomac
0.8 Potoma Wayside, VA or Weverton, MD to Point of Rocks MD
| Difficulty | I-II |
| Length | 12 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Potomac River at Point of Rocks, Md |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 1.43 ftlow runnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | August 11, 2024 |
Projects
American Whitewater worked with local paddlers and agency planners in 2014-2016 to create a river access plan for the Harpers Ferry, WV area. Two popular and scenic class III whitewater runs on the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers converge in Harper’s Ferry, yet there are only 3 public parking spaces [...]Read More
River Description
The putin is at Potoma Wayside, located on the Virginia side of the Potomac Rt. 340 bridge. This popular access point is very busy. This is a mild whitewater section of the Potomac that can be combined with either the Needles section of the Potomac or the Millville/Bull Falls/Staircase sections of the Shenandoah for a longer run. The Brunswick river access on the Maryland side has considerable parking and is 5 miles down from Potomac Wayside. The next landing is at Lander Road, roughly 4 miles below Brunswick and 9 miles below Potomac Wayside which is also the mouth of the Maryland Catoctin Creek. About 1/3 mile below Lander Road (9.3 miles below Potoma Wayside), is the Bald Eagle Island C&O hiker/biker campground. The take-out of this section is at Point of Rocks, MD, 12 miles below Potoma Wayside.
River Features
Put In - Potomac Wayside
Potoma Wayside, located on the Virginia side of the Potomac Rt. 340 bridge.
Weverton river access
'Weverton' is roughly 2 miles of flat and moving water downstream from the US 340 bridge on the Maryland side. This take-out is hard to see from the river and requires a long walk through the woods and down the tow-path, but it does have an authorized on foot at-grade railroad crossing.
Brunswick River Access
The Brunswick river access on the Maryland side (on the river side of the railroad tracks under the Brunswick Bridge) has considerable parking and is 5 miles down from Potomac Wayside.
Lander Road Access
The next landing is at Lander Road, roughly 4 miles below Brunswick and 9 miles below Potomac Wayside which is also just below the mouth of the Maryland Catoctin Creek.
Take Out - Point of Rocks
The take-out of this section is at Point of Rocks, MD, 12 miles below Potoma Wayside.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportA bunch of us good ol' boys from the eastern shore wanted to escape the 'beach'a holes for the memorial day weekend and for some crazy reason decided we would float from just below the dam to where we camp down in Brunswick. Never having done this before, we were looking for an adventure. We got what we were looking for....What a blast! We put in at the usual spot off of sandy hook rd. just across from Harpers Ferry @ about 12:30PM. We had 11 people in all, 2 in a raft w/provisions and 9 more in tubes. There were definitely some spills along the way, 2 got thrown out of their tubes, but we stayed in groups,worked the buddy system and had quite the ride. Once we got below the 340 bridge, there were only a few spots with a little whitewater. It took about 4.5 hrs to make it to the camp. We got out within 100 yards of our tents. My question is....where was everyone else? There were only a few in kayakers(?) just under the 340 bridge. Short of that all we saw were a few outboards running the river. Too much water for the outfitters?
The shot is the Potomac below the confluence. It's the first rapid you come to in the section above White Horse Rapid.
The pictures shown above are not from the section of the Potomac between Sandy Hook and Point of Rocks