Western Maryland Boating

1.6 miles 360 feet of drop

7 major rapids/drops

Rating: IV+/V- ( V in high water)

Runnable Levels: N. Branch 5 ft and rising or over 6.5 ft. It may run at lower levels when there is a difference of 300 cfs between Steyer and Kitzmiller minus the flow from theStony
River in WV. This accounts for the addition of 4 tributaries between the two gauges

How to get there:

From Loch Lynn, MD (just east of Oakland) Turn at light go across RR and turn Left at the stop sign going South toward Gormania. A few miles down the Road   turn left onto

Overview of Run Laurel Run is a small micro creek tributary to the N. Branch of the
Potomac. This seldom run creek is located in Potomac State Forest with the unique benefit of roadside access that was established by the replacement of a bridge in 2002. The last three rapids/drops where run prior to 2000 by at least a few paddlers who had seen the drops from the N. Branch of the Potomac at high water and walked up to run them. However the full first decent was completed in May of 2000, by Shannon Mullen and Nathan

Blatchley. Since then it has been run only a couple other times but some observations of water levels has resulted in a rough correlation to predict when it would be runnable when the N. Branch is over 5 ft and rising or over 6.5 ft regardless of direction.

The run is very small, so groups of more than 4 boats are strongly discouraged (three is better). Also there is frequently wood on the run so take the time to drive along river and identify potential problems. It is a good time to look at some of the major drops including Slip-and-Slide (IV+), Hole (IV), Amphitheatre (III+), Appletree Falls (IV), Rooster Tail (IV), and Bear Left (IV+).

As you drive down the gravel access road,
Laurel starts as a little trickle until you get to the lean-to camping area. The usual put in is at the bridge. If there is enough water to put in and run the two rapids above the bridge the creek is running high. The first decent was made at minimum level where there was barely enough water to float the boat and the top half included a lot of ELF (Extremely Low Volume) bump and grind. After about .75  miles of Class III bump and grind at 100 ft per mile,  the creek starts to get steeper and a shallow slide with several surfing holes  and the riprap left bank with chicken wire are the warning you need to get out and scout. You have arrived at Slip-and-Slide. At low water there is a river left eddy just about the first part of the drop which allows you to scout from the left. At high water get out on the river right bank and work your way down to the drop.

 Slip-and-Slide is a slide that drops between 20-25 feet over 60+ feet. At low water the drop involves an S- move including banking off the 3ft high pillowed rock on the left before dropping down the main slide and launching off the 4ft ski jump 3/4s of the way down. 

The rapid begins with a 2ft ledge run on river right followed by a sloped ledge which slopes from left to right into an undercut bank with exposed roots of a tree reaching out to greet you  about a boat length down stream. The current then changes directions heading back to river left before making a 90 degree turn off a rock shelf and dropping the final 15+ feet to the pool below along the quickly narrowing 15 degree slide. About 10 feet down the slide is rock shelf which is sloped up in such a way to launch you into the air for about a boat length before you finish your ride. At high water the drop looks much worse but the line is more straight down the center before bearing left and riding the slide out.

The very next drop is Hole, this ledge is a 6 foot drop into a substantially meaty hole. It would appear to be a simple boof over a drop except for the fact the shape of the ledge means the only option is to punch it after dropping into it at almost 90 degrees. The high water sneak is a boof far left.     After an extended period of tight drop-pool class IV rock dodging, the river leaves the road and the river narrows and drops through several tight rapids which include limited eddies, blind boofs and narrow slots.   As the stream returns to the road, Amphitheater appears. Named for the way the stream has worn through the rocks to create straight forward 6 foot slide, this drop is a simple run except for the extremely undercut bank the main flow hits about 20 feet after the drop.

The river continues until you get to the final three drops (you park your car just below the first of these). Think Trice is a U-shaped 10ft vertical drop into a deep pool. The obvious line is hard river left hitting the clear launch pad for a boof. Don’t do this at anything but low water. Due to the shape of the hole a strong boil forms just to the right of your landing pad. This boil strongly pushes boaters under the undercut left bank. Instead the best line is river right which can be cleanly run with or without a paddle, front or backwards.

After the pool, the stream crosses what use to be a low water crossing and than drops down a 4 ft slide into surprisingly sticky hole. Next is Rooster Tail, this is a 12 ft vertical drop with no pool requiring a boof off the right-hand upturned lip that gives the drop its name. The boof is required as you are landing on a shelf which can piton you if you run the left side.  The run out from the drop is interesting   with a 20 foot pool before you get to Bear Left.

Bear Left is a slide which slops left to right depositing you into the right back at high speeds (causing a very unceremonious halt to your momentum) if you just ride out the drop. Instead as you move from left to right over the first half of the slide slowly turn your boat to the left so you can bear left at the bottom of the drop. You can see the Potomac from the top of the last drop less than 100 feet down stream. 

Laurel Run drops 45-50 feet in the last three drops.  Despite some undercuts in bad spots, one of the nice things about Laurel run is that almost all of the rocks and ledges point downstream. If even one quarter of the key rocks pointed upstream this would be a solid V run. But with guaranteed wood in places where it makes things dicey this run is V- at any level above minimum.    

Top of Slip and Slide