Harrisburg Park and Play on the Susquehanna River

[Jonathan]

From a Rick Brown post.

There are three main areas for park and play on the Susquehanna River. All these areas can be accessed from the river road along the west shore side of the river at Marysville. Cross under the highway near BMO and come to the stop sign on the old river road.

Turn right to go downriver to get to the Rockville Bridge or the Rockville Ledge areas… or turn left to go upriver to get to the Narrows area. The Narrows can also be accessed from a put-in at Dauphin. Go to Dauphin and turn toward the river at the center of town at the square and go under the rail road bridge to the river. There is parking for a handful of cars there. The Narrows are downstream about a mile. Either set a shuttle or make sure the level allows you to attain back up… or get out on the east shore near the old bridge piers and portage back up a road along the east shore.

Levels listed below are my preferences for each section, others may prefer higher or lower water levels.

1)The “Rockville Bridge”(above the bridge) (best from 5.25’ down to 4’)

This is the easiest of the three section, has easy access and a short paddle upstream to the first features. There are many areas to practice ferrying, peeling out and eddying out, surfing and attainments. You can work the whole way across the river if you want but there are many features close to the put-in.

2)The “Narrows” upriver near Dauphin (best from 4.25’ down to 3.25’)

This is the next in line as far as difficulty, has less than desirable parking and put-in areas. The bottom of the Narrows is about a half mile from the west shore put-in but is a relatively easy paddle up the west shore to the first features. There are many, many features, surfing waves and attainment lines all over the Narrows and you can paddle from west to east shore and all the way up to the top of the rapids found here. It’s best to go with someone that knows the area for your first times out here and they will be able to show you the “easy” lines for the attainments and ferrys and point out the best features for surfing and playing.

The “Rockville Ledge”(below the bridge) (best around 5’)

This is the spot with the most current and bigger surfing waves and harder ferry moves due to the fast moving water. It also has easy access but the parking is limited to a few places to pull off the road and park right there at the Ledge. Again going with someone that is familiar with this area is your best bet at getting to the best features. You can work the whole way from west to east shore if you want but most stay on the west shore half.

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