Harpers Ferry: Put-in and Takeout Deals, with Restrictions
By David (Cotton) Cottingham
Private boater river access on the Shenandoah Staircase and Potomac Needles sections has been challenging for many years. As rafting and tubing have become more popular on both the Shenandoah and Potomac around Harpers Ferry, private companies have purchased river frontage land in Millville on the Shenandoah, the Bakerton area on the Potomac, and near the most widely used takeout on the Potomac below White Horse rapid. These companies need to provide their paying customers with safe, easy access to the rivers. This has left private boaters in something of a quandary as we look for good river access to two of the area's most popular canoeing and kayaking rivers.
Putting In
River Riders and the Harper's Ferry Adventure Center (HFAC) have agreed to let private boaters launch from their facilities under specified circumstances.
Needles. CCA and River Riders have an arrangement for the Bakerton campground/put-in. CCA pays River Riders for this privilege; it's a benefit for CCA members. You need to print a copy of the parking permit and display it on your vehicle windshield. The 2024 pass will be available soon on the CCA website—log in and click on Members Only > Parking Permits. (If the 2024 pass is not there yet, you probably can get by with the 2023 pass.) Be sure to consult the River Riders Parking Policy document posted on that webpage too, because special restrictions apply on the weekend and with regard to the ramp. Please minimize the number of vehicles parked at the River Riders facility. The campground/put-in area is very nice. Keep it that way by putting all your trash in cans there, and be polite to River Riders staff and customers.
Staircase. Millville is the only popular location to put in to run the Shenandoah Staircase (although there is an unpopular put-in upstream). Harpers Ferry Adventure Center (HFAC) and River and Trails Outfitters (RTO) own river front property in Millville. HFAC is allowing private boaters to park in their lot and launch from there Mondays through Thursdays only (no holiday Mondays or 4th of July) for $10/car. The HFAC lot is regularly open between 9:30am and 3:30pm. When they don't have reservations, they may close the lot early. When you check in and pay the attendant, check on the time they expect to close the gate. They ask that we bring credit card to pay and complete the HFAC waiver online.
As for RTO, although at various times in the past summer parking for a fee has been possible, RTO's policy now is no private boater parking and putting in at their Millville facility between Memorial Day and Labor Day. That includes no use on weekdays. Before Memorial Day and after Labor Day, paddlers can put in there free, parking in their lot if the gate is open.
Taking Out
Needles or Staircase. For taking out on the Potomac below White Horse rapid, for many years the most popular takeout after either run was at Potoma Wayside Park off Route 340. (Taking out below White Horse on river left (Sandy Hook) hasn't been possible for many years due to heavily enforced railroad restrictions.) People used to park all along the Wayside pullout. As commercial rafting and tubing increased, though, the Wayside became a prime spot for commercial outfitters to pick up their customers. NPS and Loudoun County, in turn, have limited parking to three or, if carefully parked, four vehicle spaces. The other spots where paddlers often parked are now heavily posted to the contrary.
This remains the closest public access below the whitewater sections of the Potomac/Shenandoah in the area. Taking out requires carrying your boat up a steep hill to the pullout. For alternatives, boaters can add a flatwater paddle downstream to Israel Creek on river left (about 1½ miles) and then carry (about one-third mile, but including an obscure trail through the woods) to Weverton along the C&O Canal, or still farther downstream to Brunswick (about 4½ miles) to a takeout with a boat ramp.
Several years ago, the Harpers Ferry Adventure Center (HFAC) purchased property along the Virginia shore of the Potomac. HFAC operates an active adventure facility with tubing, rafting, a ropes course, and camping as well as a great brewery. They have a nice boat ramp for launching or taking out small craft at the bottom of a very steep driveway of a few hundred yards. The area beside the river is their campground and serves as the takeout for their tubing and rafting clients. Parking there is quite limited, as they need space to maneuver their vehicles and for campers to park.
HFAC has indicated it will allow private boaters to leave one or two cars at the bottom of the hill Monday through Thursday during the summer as long as the campground is not full. This does NOT apply to holiday Mondays or the 4th of July (a Thursday in 2024). Parking fee is $10/car for each car parked at the bottom of the hill. Please have exact change if paying with cash. Also please minimize the number of cars parked in the HFAC upper parking lot.
Large HFAC trucks go up and down the narrow, winding takeout drive with limited sight lines, so paddlers must call the HFAC office for clearance before driving up the steep hill leaving the takeout. In addition, we've been advised to sound the horn when proceeding up or down. For loading to go home, HFAC has been allowing drivers to go down the hill to retrieve boats. Obvious but worth stating: As part of your shuttle planning, make sure someone at the takeout will have a mobile phone.
Parking at HFAC is a privilege. Please don't abuse this: carry out all trash and, here too, be polite to HFAC staff and customers.