You need to kayak Part 2 of 3
This 2022 series was updated in the spring of 2023.
In the first part of this three-part series about kayaking on the Mon, we shared tips for gearing up. Now you need to know where and how to get your boat out on the river. Morgantown Area Paddlers makes the “where” easy with an up-to-date Guide to Flatwater Paddling map of access points. We talked with MAP organizer Mary Wimmer to get some details about the “how.”
Where to Get on the Upper Mon: Public Access Points
In its natural state, our upper reaches of the Monongahela River were too shallow for navigation with commercial boats. So nine locks and dams between the river’s mouth at Pittsburgh and its source at Fairmont keep the river deep and navigable. Each “pool” is named for the dam that forms it—so Granville, Star City, and most of Morgantown and Westover lie on the Point Marion pool, named for the dam downriver in Pennsylvania. The Morgantown dam, near the Waterfront Marriott, holds the Morgantown pool, and south of that are the Hildebrand and Opekiska dams and pools.
You might not guess it from our urbanized vantage point but, just away from our quad-city area, the river pools are serene and wild, so a retreat to nature is just a few paddle strokes away.
In the four pools on the Upper Mon—Point Marion, Morgantown, Hildebrand, and Opekiska—there are 11 developed public places to get a non-motorized boat in the water. You can see them all on MAP’s online Guide to Flatwater Paddling map. The dams are the red pins numbered 27, 28, 29, and 30 north to south. The public access points, in blue on the map, are common in the populated Point Marion pool, where there are six. You can see one in the Morgantown pool, one in the Hildebrand pool, and four in the Opekiska pool, where the towns of Rivesville and Fairmont are located. If you stop by an access point and see a kiosk, look for another resource that’s really useful for paddlers: the printed Upper Mon River Water Trail map.
So there are lots of places that are set up to park your car and get your kayak or canoe on the Upper Mon. Most paddling trips proceed out and back, since the Mon’s current is generally mild; for longer, one-way trips, paddlers set-up carpool shuttles.
How to Get on the Upper Mon: Using a Launch Structure
While kayaking or canoeing on flatwater is generally a low-risk activity, some boats are more stable than others. Most falls occur when a paddler is getting into or out of a boat, as it’s bobbing around in the water.
But now, at six of the developed access points on the Upper Mon, you’ll find roller-lined EZ Dock EZ Launch chutes that make putting in and taking out easier for people who have less mobility—and, really, for everyone.
The structures are almost self-explanatory, but not quite, so we asked Wimmer at Morgantown Area Paddlers about them. “A launch makes it so, when you get in your boat, the boat is out of the water on the launch and stable, so it’s very safe,” she says. She sent us photos of the launches in action to illustrate. “You can use the railings to help you get down into your boat and, once you’re settled in, you pull yourself into the water as slow or fast as you want—you have total control, and it’s a very smooth entry.”
The launches help with taking out, too, she says. “The rails extend into the water so, when you come back up, you get between them and pull up onto the wheels and out of the water.”
North to south from Point Marion, the six EZ Launches are located at Van Voorhis Landing, number 1 on the MAP guide; Edith Barill Park in Star City, number 2; Walnut Street Landing, which is handicapped-accessible, number 3; the Wharf District Dock, number 26; Rivesville, a smaller launch that is not roller-lined, number 20; and Palatine Park in Fairmont, also handicapped-accessible, number 12.
Boating with MAP
An easy and fun way to become familiar with the access points and launch structures is to join a MAP excursion. Trips are scheduled through the season for places on the Upper Mon and beyond. Paddling trips are posted on MAP’s Facebook page and via MAP’s email list, usually about a week in advance, Wimmer says, when the weather forecast is fairly reliable, and everyone is welcome free of charge.
And whether you’re thinking of paddling with MAP or striking out on your own, a really useful resource is the organization’s well-organized and -identified Facebook photo albums, where you can see what a given stretch of water is like at a given time of year.
Still researching gear? Visit Part 1: Gearing Up. To get ready for the ultimate Mon River paddling experience, visit Part 3: How To Do a Lockage.
READ MORE ARTICLES FROM MORGANTOWN LOWDOWN