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Maryland | Montgomery, Frederick, and Washington Counties / Central Maryland
Potomac River
Big Slackwater Boat Ramp to Taylors Landing Boat Ramp with Dam 4 portage
Route planning details, access notes, and local verification guidance.
Route location
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Need to know
Why this call
Conditions
Gauge history and hourly forecast
Use the gauge context and hourly forecast to verify local conditions before launching.
Gauge detail
Gauge history & hourly forecastDetailed view
Gauge
Recent trend
Checking preferred range.
Checking trend.
Gauge source
--Checking timestampMN DNR provides the current paddling level here, but not chart-ready recent samples.
Weather
Hourly forecast
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Next 8 hours
Short-route forecast
Checking the next several hours.
Route overview
Quick facts and what's next
Distance, difficulty, shuttle basics, and the near-term outlook before you commit to the drive.
Quick facts
Plan ahead
Upcoming outlook
These are early planning reads. Re-check live conditions before you commit to the drive.
Waiting on forecast.
Waiting on forecast.
Plan
Plan your trip
Launch points, shuttle details, distance, and access notes.
Route logistics
Access and shuttle
An advanced Big Slackwater-to-Taylors Landing Potomac reach bounded by two public C&O/NPS ramps and interrupted by the Dam 4 whitewater hazard. The route is only a complete trip when the portage is planned, scouted, and legal; running or drifting toward Dam 4 is prohibited by the route posture.
Plan a shorter segmentOptional
Access planner
Pick a shorter segment
This changes launch and take-out logistics, not today's river score.
Peltier Lake to Long Lake is the full route. Shorter access pairs are useful when wind, time, or group energy changes the plan.
Prepare this trip
Take the plan with you
Download the canonical route, add a calendar hold, or send a simple float plan to your group.
Put-in
Big Slackwater Boat RampBoth endpoints are federal C&O/NPS access points, but ramp, parking, road, towpath, and waterline conditions can change with floods and park closures.
Take-out
Taylors Landing Boat RampDam 4 is a hard in-route portage boundary. The route cannot be safely continued unless the Maryland-side carry is open, signed, scouted, and physically feasible for the boat and group.
Plan this segment
Pulling access map tiles. Usually under 5 seconds.
Access caveats and watch for
Access caveats
- Both endpoints are federal C&O/NPS access points, but ramp, parking, road, towpath, and waterline conditions can change with floods and park closures.
- Dam 4 is a hard in-route portage boundary. The route cannot be safely continued unless the Maryland-side carry is open, signed, scouted, and physically feasible for the boat and group.
- The Point of Rocks gauge is a downstream proxy and cannot certify local Dam 4 hydraulics, Big Slackwater traffic, wind, debris, ramp depth, or Taylors landing safety.
Watch for
- USGS 01638500 downstream proxy stage, discharge, and trend
- NWS/MARFC 2.0 ft caution and 5.5 ft danger screens, fast rise, flood products, wind, cold water, wakes, floating wood, strainers, and minimum-wake launch traffic
- NPS Dam 4 portage closure/status, Maryland-side landing and carry, Big Slackwater ramp, Taylors ramp, Horseshoe Bend/Big Woods camping, private-bank boundaries, and daylight
Route gallery
See this route on the water
Photos help show what the access looks like and what the route actually feels like on the water.
Score & sources
Data and sources
See the gauge, weather, and source notes behind today's call.
Why this scoreToday's evidence strength is checking
Evidence strength mostly comes down to three things: how direct the active gauge is, how clear the range is, and how fresh the data is.
- Checking evidence-strength notes.
- Checking evidence cautions.
Data behind the scoreGauge, thresholds, and timing
These are the live readings and threshold notes behind today's score.
| Gauge site | Potomac River at Point of Rocks, MD |
| Gauge height | Checking |
| Discharge | Checking |
| 24h trend | Checking |
| 24h change | Checking |
| Current band | Checking |
| Rain last 24h | Checking |
| Rain last 72h | Checking |
| Air temp | Checking |
| Water temp | Checking |
| Wind | Checking |
| Gusts | Checking |
| Rain timing | Checking |
| Ideal range | Needs paddler reports |
| Known low-water floor | 2.00 ft |
| High threshold | Not calibrated yet |
| Evidence strength behind the range | Official data source |
| Gauge observed | Checking |
| Paddle Today updated | Checking |
| Main source behind this score | NWS/MARFC Point of Rocks boating stages and C&O/NPS moving-water access guidance |
| Gauge source | Checking |
| Weather source | Checking |
| Rainfall source | Checking |
NotesWhat to know before you go
These notes cover the access details, route quirks, and source caveats most likely to matter once you get there.
- Named moving-water corridorBig Slackwater to Taylors Landing, approximately 3.4 Potomac river miles with Dam 4 portage
NPS and the C&O Canal Trust identify both public Potomac ramps and the canal-mile sequence; the route is conservatively bounded around the Dam 4 hazard.
- Authoritative public accessBig Slackwater and Taylors Landing public C&O/NPS boat ramps
NPS and the C&O Canal Trust document the ramps, trailer parking, facilities, canal miles, and water access. Coordinates are near-water access anchors requiring current field verification.
- Proxy flow and safety evidenceUSGS 01638500 Point of Rocks downstream proxy; NWS/MARFC 2.0 ft caution and 5.5 ft danger screens
The proxy is explicitly not on-route. NWS/MARFC supplies the official boating screens; local Dam 4 hydraulics, debris, wind, and ramp conditions control the decision.
- Mandatory portageNPS identifies Dam 4 near C&O mile 84.6 as a whitewater hazard requiring a Maryland-side portage
A complete trip must land upstream, scout, portage, and re-enter only at a current legal access point. Never run the dam or power-plant works.
- Camping postureNearby C&O hiker-biker campsites; no riverbank or dam-area camping
Big Woods and Horseshoe Bend are separate C&O campsites near the corridor; current park status and vehicle logistics must be confirmed.
- Live gaugeUSGS 01638500, Potomac River at Point of Rocks, MD
This is a clearly labeled proxy or route-context station; local water, tributaries, releases, and weather can differ materially.
- Approved route imageryRights-cleared public-agency or public-domain corridor image
Wikimedia Commons public-domain C&O/Potomac corridor image used as route context; it does not certify current flow, ramp, weather, dam, or take-out conditions.
Verify it yourselfCheck the source links
Use these links to double-check the gauge, route details, and access notes before you head out.
- Maryland DNR Middle Potomac water trail
- NPS C&O boating and whitewater warnings
- NPS Big Slackwater Boat Ramp
- C&O Canal Trust boat-ramp inventory
- C&O Canal Trust Big Slackwater ramp
- C&O Canal Trust Dam 4
- C&O Canal Trust Taylors Landing ramp
- NPS Big Slackwater high-water detour
- NWS/MARFC Point of Rocks boating stages
- USGS Point of Rocks proxy conditions
- Maryland public water-access layer
- USGS 01638500 monitoring location
- USGS 01638500 current conditions
- Approved corridor image
Paddler reports
Recent notes from paddlers
A few quick notes from people who were on this route recently.
Reports
Paddler reports
See recent photos and notes from people on the route.
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More routes to check next
Compare another stretch on this river, or jump to nearby options before you pick a plan.
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Quick answers
Potomac River paddling FAQ
What water level is good for paddling Potomac River?
Paddle Today watches Potomac River at Point of Rocks, MD and uses 2.00 ft as the conservative low-water floor for this route. The ideal range still needs more paddler reports.
Where does this Potomac River route start and end?
This route starts at Big Slackwater Boat Ramp and ends at Taylors Landing Boat Ramp, about Approximately 3.4 river miles downstream from C&O Canal mile 85.5 to mile 80.9, with a mandatory Dam 4 portage on the water.
Is this Potomac River route good for beginners?
This is listed as a hard route. Treat the live score as a planning aid, then confirm conditions, hazards, access, and group skill before launching.
Flag a change
See something outdated?
Access, hazards, wood, and shuttle details change. Send a quick correction if something looks off.