DC area whitewater

TNbound · Post by **TNbound** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 3:20 pm

I'm making a trip down to DC (hyattsville, in specific) in the middle of April and wondering if there is any whitewater really close by, say less than an hours drive. Maybe just a play wave or some easy class III?

Just trying to decide if it is worth it to bring a boat and if it should be a playboat or my Option.

Shep · Post by **Shep** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 3:31 pm

Never run anything that way, but I know the Potomac has multiple options: http://www.americanwhitewater.org/conte ... /state/MD/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TNbound · Post by **TNbound** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 2:33 pm

That is about all I have found as well, at least for very close boating. Looks like I'll be taking my playboat (with new knee straps!) and looking for some locals to follow around.

Walsh · Post by **Walsh** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 3:45 pm

Anthony,

If you're by yourself with your playboat, put in at Angler's Inn and paddle upriver to the Maryland and Virginia chutes. Both playspots should be in, and you ought to run into paddlers in the parking lot. I haven't been there in a while, but there are reportely parking issues due to construction around the parking lot. Might want to check the Monocacy Canoe Club board for details. (If you post, do so knowing that a subset of people who use that board are mean as heck - I don't know why.)

Little Falls is a great run, if you can find someone else to run with. If the C&O canal is full, you don't need to set shuttle. Little Falls proper is a unique rapid because it is dependent on both river discharge and tide level. http://www.americanwhitewater.org/conte ... 20Remember

Mather Gorge is great to see, but shuttles and river access can be tough if you're unfamiliar with the area. http://www.americanwhitewater.org/conte ... ail_id_742 It's a two mile gorge downstream of Great Falls, with a distinct big-water feel - big waves and crazy eddy lines.

Good luck - the Potomac around DC is a really neat place.

TNbound · Post by **TNbound** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:59 pm

Walsh,

The Maryland and Virginia chutes look like exactly what I am looking for! Thanks for the beta.
I'll also give that message board a browse to see what the access/parking situation looks like, despite the meanies that may lurk there.

I also want to check out Potomac paddles sports while I'm down there. I'm sure some one there will have more useful info.

Walsh · Post by **Walsh** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 9:05 pm

Potomac Paddlesports will definitely have the inside scoop on access at Angler's - they have a gear trailer parked there on a semi-permanent basis for weeknight classes.

youngwillyd · Post by **youngwillyd** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 2:10 am

I have paddled with several OC1 paddlers from the Monocacy Canoe Club in the early spring in West Virginia. They were all quite nice. Hopefully you will bump into them instead of any meanies.

icyone · Post by **icyone** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 4:49 pm

Re: MCC Board... We are not all that mean -- surely not to newcomers! There a a few posters who like to jerk certain other posters around -- often over "insider stuff" & frequently going back to the hoary past, over comments/encounters in ancient history. The DC boater community is very large and in constant flux due to the transient nature of segments of the younger population in particular: enqueries from reasonably polite outsiders/newbies will elicit a warm welcome.

(Warning -- just don't tell us that East Coast Class V = Western Class 2 ... ;-)...)

icyone (Yes, I do C-1)

icyone · Post by **icyone** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 4:54 pm

Oops -- didn't realize the url had not been posted.

By all means -- check out and post:

http://www.monocacyboard.org/mboard/mboard.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And welcome to God's own chosen river: the "Po"

KNeal · Post by **KNeal** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 11:44 am

icyone wrote:And welcome to God's own chosen river: the "Po"

You do realize that there is a river in Virginia called the Po, don't you? Just south of Fredricksburg.

Not Elvis · Post by **Not Elvis** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 12:36 pm

I am not a "DC boater," but I paddle on the Shenandoah Staircase near Harpers Ferry and local creeks that might run like Marsh Creek in Gettysburg or Gaither Gorge in Sykesville, MD. I mention this because these are on the fringe of your "hour away" caveat, and are likely to have water, lots of play, and are class II-III (III.5 east coast rating

) I spend the spring running these on the weekends and occasional weekday nights and would be willing to lead you down them.

Cellphone 240 three seven five 9 zero 4 zero

J. Robbins

icyone · Post by **icyone** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 1:40 pm

Yes, I know. Hence the quotes: "Po".... a local name of affection.

And as a kid we had to memorize/recite "The Four Rivers of Europe:
The Rhine, the Rhone, the Danube, and the Po..."

Po's are everywhere :-) Maybe not clear from my post tho.

KNeal · Post by **KNeal** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 2:00 pm

icyone wrote:Po's are everywhere Maybe not clear from my post tho.

icyone · Post by **icyone** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 4:31 pm

OK, Re-Try:

Yes, there are actually rivers named Po: a Po in VA, and also a Po in Europe, perhaps even more elsewhere that I don't know of.

But (to my knowledge) there is only one Potomac, affectionately known to locals as " The "Po" ", as in "I'm heading to the "Po". "

Just a gentle intro to DC-speak, Truce!

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