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TRIPS - DETAILS PAGE
 
ANTIETAM CREEK TRIPS:
[see livery details for costs and fees]
A. our most asked for trip - DEVIL'S BACKBONE THROUGH ANTIETAM BATTLEFIELD TO
BURNSIDE BRIDGE TAKE-OUT. [8 miles 4 hours+/-] Guided or unguided Trip.
[see map of "lower
section"] can
be run at levels down to 2.6 feet, appropriate for Rec & River Kayaks and Canoes
at 2.5-3.5 feet.
- Arrive at Devil's Backbone at 10AM. Fill out
waivers, Discuss waivers, pay fees not pre paid
with reservation , draw your boat, paddles, life jackets and gear.
[Check what to
bring here]
- Unload all the gear you want to take on the trip. [make
sure your car keys are safe] Ask the guide for stuff you forgot or need. [If
you want or need your car at the take-out at trips end we run a shuttle here. It
takes about 30 minutes...mind your car keys]
- Carry your boat and gear to the
creek [about 30 feet] for an orientation talk, instruction and demo. [takes about 10 - 20
minutes or as long or short as the group can tolerate]
- 4. Put on the creek at about 11 AM , and off you go
on the first leg through small rapids, riffles, ledges, bends and unspoiled
country on perfect cold, clear water. Pass Beaver Creek, German stone on stone
Farm houses and Barns, under stone arched bridges .... all in the one plus hour paddle to your lunch stop at
"Two goose Island" or the long abandoned narrow gauge railroad grade on
River left.
[you provide the lunch unless you have made arrangements with us to do so].
- After lunch, paddle about 1 1/2 hours to the take out a
little below Burnside Bridge. On this leg we go Under the three arch stone
Keedysville Bridge [Upper Bridge in Civil War concept, Hitt's Bridge by name] pass Little Antietam
Creek where, if the water is right, we can padd
 le up to a beautiful 5 story
mill that's worth the trip; pass the water fall on river right [photo op] that
marks the battlefield and McClellan's headquarters on river left [far from the
actual battle] Then under the Middle Bridge and lastly
 Burnside
Bridge...... Go softly here. "Take a minute..... Sense the ferment of a place
where, one Wednesday morning six hundred people died trying to cross that
little stone arch. And where, by Wednesday evening, their souls were numbered
small among the twenty three thousand casualties for which Antietam is so
awfully known. It's a bit like boating the ruins of some myth cast cathedral
whose last requiem plain song won't go away." Take a deep breath. Then paddle
down through
Molly's
hole [EEEK! opportunity]. The Take out is just 75 yards beyond on River left.
- Take out, load boats, board the "Discover Bus"
, Old tan Truck [semi-retired and replaced with a Suburban for 2008] or your own cars for the
15 minute trip back to Devil's Backbone with a soft drink and snack.
It's about 3 or 3:30PM .
NOW THERE'S A TRIP !!!
[see livery details for costs and fees]
Generally Unguided Trip, Tandem canoe $35 per person , Kayak solo
$40.
Guided adds $150 - $200 per guide to the cost of the whole group.
Each of these trips is designed specifically for your group.
[all fees for scouts, members and charities are included in the specific trip quote]
B. Devils Backbone to the Potomac
12 miles about 6 hours [see lower map] suitable for
canoes and rec or river kayaks. run at levels
2.6 and up - see About the Creek:
Creek Maps
lower
- This trip's first 8 miles are trip A above 1 through 5
[Devil's Backbo
 ne to Burnside Bridge
(BSB)]. and runs from about 11AM to 3PM.
For the Potomac
trip, you just paddle on past the BSB take out and continue the 4
more miles of super paddling. [1 1/2 - 2 hours]. The scenery is similar but
the Creek steepens a bit here and moves a little faster.
- The big event on this section is Furnace Rapids. The
last and longest rapid on Antietam Creek. The Creek starts dropping as
it gets closer to the Big River. As you round a bend, you can hear the creek
grumbling some and see off and down in the distance the 4 arch Harper's Ferry
Road Bridge with a long bouncy and fun rapid between. Decision Time !!! We
always scout this for strainers and difficulty, before we run it. Furnace can
range from an easy fun class I to a difficult and dangerous class II rapid
that needs attention and respect. You can walk
it on River right.
- After Furnace and under the bridge, you have a fast
paddle down to and beneath the C&O Canal aqueduct, a short paddle up the
Potomac to the mud bank take out on your right [which is river left] The NPS
constructed, a bus and loading zone circle near the take out , which is a nice improvement . The
mud bank take out still needs some serious help.
- Carry boats and gear to the waiting trailer, load and
ride the Discover Bus or co-op shuttle on the scenic 20 minute trip back to Devil's Backbone.
The whole trip takes about 5 1/2 to 6 hours. You finish up around 5PM.
C. Trip from Burnside Bridge to
the Potomac, a tubing trip in the summer and short fun canoe/kayak trip. A great
cold water winter trip. 4 miles about 1.5 to 3hours for hard boats.
run at levels 2.3 and up
- Arrive at Devil's Backbone at 10AM. [we also can pick
you up at your camp site, or simply meet you at Burnside Bridge put - in] Pay
fees, fill out waivers, draw paddles, life jackets and gear.
[Check what to
bring here]
- Unload all the gear you want to take on the trip. [make
sure your car keys are safe] Ask the guide for stuff you forgot or need.
- Climb on the Adventure Bus for the 15 minute trip to
Burnside Bridge.
- On arrival, around 11AM, unload boats or tubes and put on
the creek after a brief orientation.
- The Trip is as described above in trip B minus the
first 8 miles. and takes
about 2-4+ hours for paddlers and 4+ hours for tubers] . Finish up back at Devil's Backbone at
about 2-3 PM.
The cost of a tubing trip ranges
from $20 to $30 per person. The variable is the support necessary. Guides
etc. We run a very short tubing trip from the Route 34 bridge to Burnside
Bridge [about 2+ hours] Great for little kids who may find a 4+ hour trip
outside their attention span. We also run a low water paddling trip from
Rt.34 to the Potomac which works at 2.3 on the gauge. That first rapid is
real bumpy! And the put-in is kind-a-crummy.
D. Trip from Funkstown Fire House/American
Legion
to Devils Backbone [see
upper section map] 10 miles about 5 hours
- can be run at
levels above 3.2, generally paddlers without sound moving water experience should
be prepared to walk several rapids or avoid this trip.
- Arrive at Devil's Backbone at 10AM. Pay
fees, fill out waivers, draw paddles, life jackets and gear.
[Check what to
bring here]
- Unload all the gear you want to take on the trip. [make
sure your car keys are safe] Ask the guide for stuff you forgot or need.
- Climb on the Adventure Bus or your loaded vehicles for the 15 minute trip to
the Funkstown Fire House. Scout Wagaman Road and Poffenberger Road Rapids for
strainers on
the way up. [These are class ll-ish rapids that paddlers should see and
understand before running. Each rapid requires practiced water reading and
boat control]
- On arrival at the put in, unload boats and run through a
brief orientation.
- Put on the creek at about 11 AM ; off you go on the first leg
through Funkstown flats, past Mitzie's Strip Joint and on to small rapids,
riffles, ledges, bends and unspoiled country on perfect cold, clear water.
German stone on stone Farm houses and Barns, under stone arched bridges ....
The first 2 rapids are short but exciting [we scouted them on the way to the
put in] Poffenberger Bridge, and Wagaman Road Bridge Rapid. Lunch is right in
here somewhere. Then triple drop rapid and lastly Roxbury Road Rapid. We end
the trip on the flat coming into Devil's Backbone County Park, and take out
above the 7' Waterfall there,
 right
across the street from the initial meeting spot, About 4PM. [...and no we
don't run the falls. They are fragile and don't need our help to ruin]. You
can put back in below the falls and paddle several hundred yards right down to the parking lot. It's
a fast run with gentle play spots just under the bridge on river left and an
eddy turn into our back yard on river right.
[see livery details for costs and fees]
POTOMAC RIVER TRIPS
- SENECA MD -
WASHINGTON, D.C. Waterfront Trip
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