It's a major update of Quiet Water NJ, and now includes lots of spots in eastern PA, and includes GPS coordinates. The most exciting PA spot for is is Lake Conowingo, which is over 15,000 acres and has lots of little islands. I so want to check it out this year. I don't know how far away it is for you NJers, or even for us PAers, but this is definitely something I want to plan. If this isn't made into an official trip, I'll suggest it sometime later this year.

The author, Kathy Kenley, is a friend of mine. She worked very hard on this latest book. Lake Conowingo is less than 2 hours from Philly. It is a very neat place to paddle but definitely bring a plastic boat b/c there are lots of rocks that are just under the surface of the water and are very hard to see until you are right on top of them.

Jeff P.

I believe it is also called locally the "Conowingo Pond" and it's the Susquehana River just before it goes over the dam. It's straight down Route 1, but, you have to go into Maryland and then back into Pa and put in there. There is a small put in at Cold Cabin park in Pa. I've been out on it and longer boats are recommended and you have to go "up river" and stay away from the dam. Right now (drove over dam yesterday) there is a lot of floating timber. Great paddle opportunity!

Conowingo Lake is less than 5 miles from my house in Maryland, so I can give you guys the ins and the outs from a local perspective. I lived there for 15 years and only ever heard it referred to as Conowingo Lake by any of the locals. (It's 14 miles long, so a bit big for a pond.) A great deal of info on the area can be found on the Conowingo Lake website

Scott is right...it is just above the dam and that you have to paddle up river to stay safe. There are drownings there every year. There is some great flatwater paddling up that way. There is also some good whitewater paddling up north closer toward Holtwood Dam on the PA side. (I'm not a whitewater paddler, but I know that when the river is running it is full of whitewater boats up toward Holtwood.)

Again, I cannot stress enough that folks should stay away from the south end of the lake because of the risk. With the volume of water that comes down that river in the springtime, it can be a pretty dangerous place to paddle if you're down near the south end.

Also, post 9/11 there are serious restrictions and consequences for venturing too close to the dam. There is a 400 yard boat exclusion zone on each side of the dam. They don't mess around with this. Boats entering this restricted area above and below the dam are subject to seizure and the occupants to arrest. The line is marked by two large signs on either bank and a series of buoys across the lake. They take this VERY seriously. Glen Cove Marina is about as close as you should get to the dam. Plus, even if there was not the restriction, it is unsafe to venture closer as it is a HUGE dam and there is often lots of floating debris behind the dam. Huge logs, etc.

The good news is that one needn't go clear up to Cold Cabin to put in. There are two places that are much closer and, actually, much less rocky without driving clear up to Cold Cabin. The closest place to launch would be at Glen Cove Marina, just across the dam on the Maryland side. I've never put in there (because I could go a few miles up the road to Broad Creek and put in for free and be a little further away from the dam) , but it is an option.

The next closest place (and, actually, a great place to launch kayaks -- and it is free) is at Broad Creek Landing. You can paddle to the Lake from Broad Creek. It is a pretty little paddle, a free launch spot, and not as much boat traffic as you would find at Glen Cove. Plus, it's further north and away from the dam. A nice paddle is from Broad Creek, out onto the lake and up to Muddy Creek.

I'm certainly partial to the area, as the Susquehanna was my home river until I moved to Virginia, but it is really pretty up that way. If you are in the area and looking for more paddling, just drive down to Havre de Grace and put in at the kayak launch just below the railroad trestle. From there, one can paddle up to Port Deposit and points north, then back down the other side and around Garrett's Island or out into the bay.