Savage
2. Savage Dam to North Branch Potomac River(Site of 1989 World Championships)
| Difficulty | III-IV |
| Length | 4.4 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 75 fpm |
| Gauge | Savage Riv Bl Savage Riv Dam Near Bloomington, Md |
| Flow Rate as of 24 minutes | 58 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | June 1, 2024 |
River Description
The Savage is THE whitewater rocket ride! With an average gradient of 75 feet per mile (with sections exceeding 100 fpm) the action is fast and continuous. The Savage's overall difficulty rating below 800 cfs is Class III-IV. At 800 - 1,200 cfs it is Class IV. Above 1,200 cfs the Savage is the longest Class IV-V rapid in Maryland!! Due to the steep, narrow and unrelenting nature of this run paddlers should be: 1) Well insulated (water temp 46), 2) Adept at fast self-rescue and wave-crest scouting, and 3) In possession of paddling skills commensurate with water levels: below 800 cfs - intermediate to advanced, 800 - 1,200 cfs - advanced to expert, above 1,200 cfs - expert only.
SOURCE: William Nealy's Whitewater Home Companion, Southern Rivers Volume I, which has more on this run. Text used with permission.
Savage River Road follows along the entire 4.25 mile run. At approximately mile 1.5, and just before the swinging bridge that marks the end of the slalom course, a large undercut rock (House Rock) is located on river left.
The take-out is on the North Branch of the Potomac just upstream of the confluence. Please respect the locals and refrain from drinking or changing clothes in the open, here. The put-in is just minutes up the road and its relative remoteness lends itself to these activities.
Whitewater Releases:
American Whitewater and others worked to obtain regularly scheduled recreational whitewater releases (600 - 1000 cfs) on three weekend days annually, June through September. You can see the upcoming scheduled releases, and unscheduled releases on the dam owners' website. American Whitewater volunteers meet with other stakeholders twice each year to coordinate the releases.
Another good source of information about this run is Ed Gertler's Maryland and Delaware Canoe Trails.
River Features
Upper put-in
Instead of crossing the bridge over the savage, you can hike up the river left side. Go past the gate, then through the field. Stay to the left at the top of the field. This puts you below the spillway on the river left channel a little upstream of the joining of the two channels. Provides you some bonus class 3 boogie. Generally considered not worth the hike.
Bridge Put-in
Typical put in location, just upstream of the Savage River Rd bridge (second when going upstream) by the camping and parking area. USGS gauge is located at the end of rapid below the putin and above the bridge
Metal Bridge
As things calm down you come to the first (when driving upstream) bridge (metal bridge). Right above this is a very small low head dam type feature. Easy to run river left as it has been broken down on that side. On river right it is retentive and potentially makes a surf spot depending on levels. Small amount of parking here, can potentially be used as a take out. Aaron run comes in from river left just below the bridge. There is a large strip mine upstream in the Aaron run watershed, which results in a great deal of erosion and fallen trees in the Savage below the confluence with the creek.
Release Takeout
Just upstream of the bridge over the Savage at MD-135, on river left, immediately above the NB Potomac confluence is the takeout parking area. During releases, paddle under the bridge and down the right channel and then slightly upstream to take out by the abandoned bridge on the North Branch.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportRan this reach during the release on 05/29/15. Log mentioned by the previous commenter at memorial rock had been removed by the ASCI crew prior to the event. Great run even though the release was 600CFS less than last year. The shuttle lines were extremely long and the release was only 4 hours, so you had to get on early to get two or more runs in.
Full-length video of our first run can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr1kkONLEVo
Memorial rock at around 850-900cfs
They insisted on running the old piedmont dam. What a great thing to share with your family.
Spring 73 I think
Piedmont Dam, unknown paddler
Savage dam release 7-2-11
Insane and cold run, but worth it!!!
BIG HOLE AT CENTER
Savage dam release 7-2-11 Brian Hall on middle chute @ memorial rock
dead center most fun
Right now its up to 400cfs...I've run it between 350 and 450 cfs back in June...most of the run is clean (the dam looks sketchy), its not til the last third when the river braids a bit that it gets scrapy at all.
At 250cfs it'd probably be turning into a rock fest...but at 350 we did multiple laps and it was worth it
With the construction stalling releases can anyone local or with experience give us a description around ~250? AW now shows it as green. Are we talking a fun ELF or ass scraping level 2? I've run the Savage once during a release weekend and it's a hell of a ride. What's it like at lower levels?