Brandywine Creek, Delaware, US
|
|
Thompson Bridge Road to Market Street
| Usual Difficulty |
III (for normal flows) |
| Length |
8 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient |
20 fpm |
Brandywine Creek @ Brecks Mill
Brandywine Creek @ Brecks MillPhoto of Breck's Mill 13' by Bill Theilacker @ 13'
Gauge Information
River Description
The Brandywine drops over the fall line on this very historic stretch. Unfortunately, the vibe is
spoiled by 12 dams, many of which need to be portaged.
Put in at the
Brandywine State Park access
on Rockland Rd. The first 1.5 miles are attractive flatwater with the Brandywine State Park on your
right and Woodlawn Conservancy property on your left.
As you approach Rockland, there is a jagged sloping dam which can be run. I'd say it's about a 5
foot drop. There used to be a polluted paper mill here that has been rehabilitated into condos. You
can also put in here.
After Rockland, you enter the
Hagley Museum
property, birthplace of the Dupont company. An incredible display of 19th century hydropower
surrounds you, including dams, spillways, canals, the remains of gunpowder mills, and waterwheels
and turbines that are still operational. Unfortunately the Hagley people are pretty paranoid so
pull over in these beautiful surroundings at your own risk.
Continue into Wilmington and take out at Market St. downtown. About half of the dams on this
section are sloping and runnable, the rest are vertical and dangerous.
Maryland and Delaware
Canoe Trails, Ed Gertler can give you further information about this reach.
StreamTeam Status: Verified
Last Updated: 2005-12-12 22:50:21
No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
User Comments
wave was very sticky and unpredictable. As a fellow kayaker, I ran most of the dams and have no
intention of running the dams at any level in the future. Trashy, full of rebar , and very
dangerous to say the least. If you do decide to run them, scout them first and be ready for the
unexpected. Edit
like. Normally the water level is not even high enough to run the dams. A word of caution, some of
us WTC folks ran the Brandywine dams November 2008, even at just 2.75, some of the bigger dams'
boil lines were out 4+ feet, making them pretty dangerous. I would not recommend running the dams
without someone who has been through them, and strongly suggest foot scoutting the bigger dams from
shore first.
level for a run. The main Theme is the numerous dams: all of which are runnable at 3 ft. if you
know how to run them. Not a major destination but fun for locals. Ed. R. Edit
We ran all of the dams but three at this level. One more might have gone, but piton potential was
pretty high. Between the dams are perhaps 4 class 2 rock gardens. Scenery is a mix of pretty &
urban industrial. We took out at the zoo just above the listed takeout. This cut out one last dam
and another class 2 boulder garden. Many of the dams are pretty shallow - a flip would rip your
head off. Having done the run once, I'm in no hurry to do it again.<br>
Brad.