Monocacy River in Maryland

Trip Overview

It was a nice fall day and 6 of us decided to take a short trip on the Monocacy River, which none of us had ever paddled before. We paddled the section of the river between the bridges at Creagerstown Road (Rt 550) and Devilbiss Bridge Road. There is ample parking and good access to the river at both of these places.

This section is only about 5.5 miles, but is full of scenery, easy riffles, and lots of quiet. The river was on the low side (1.6ft at Monocacy Blvd USGS gauge), but I would not expect it to be much more challenging than the day we went. There were a few places where we scraped over gravel bars which would benefited from a bit more flow.

This is a good paddle for anyone looking for an easy day on the water. At our leisurely pace, we took about 2.5 hours to paddle this section. The trip can be roughly doubled by continuing down to the Monacacy Blvd bridge in Frederick.

This trip is practically in Frederick and an easy drive from the Baltimore and Washington areas. Combine a paddle with a half day exploring the historic section of Frederick to make a full day of it.

Accommodations:

Good, clean, and safe parking - bushes.

Fees:

None

Directions:

Creagerstown Road - Rt 550 Bridge parking on West bank of the river in a access area with a ramp. Use Dublin road to run the shuttle to the bridge at Devilbiss Bridge Road, where parking is in a good sized parking lot under the bridge on the West bank. Take out 39 30'26"N 77 22' 40"W, put in 39 33' 50"N 77 21' 06"W

Resources:

Google Earth, Yahoo or Google maps, and Gertlers bible - Maryland and Delaware Canoe Trails.