OH
IO R
IVER
W
AT
ER
TR
AIL
Trip M
ileageG
PS C
oo
rdin
ates
TH
E H
AZ
AR
DS O
F PAD
DLIN
G T
HE
OH
IO R
IVE
RT
he O
hio
is a magn
ificen
t river. For w
ater enth
usiasts, n
oth
ing b
eats flo
ating d
ow
n th
e Oh
io R
iver in a
kayak; neverth
eless, many h
azards exist o
n th
e Oh
io R
iver such
as river crossin
gs, com
mercial traffi
c, w
ind
, waves, sw
ift-river curren
t, high
water levels, lo
w w
ater temp
eratures, an
d strain
ers. Th
e Oh
io
River p
rovides a w
ide ran
ge of exp
eriences, th
erefore w
e suggest th
at you
com
plete a safety class
and
pro
fession
al instru
ction
befo
re pad
dlin
g the m
ighty O
hio
River. N
o o
ne sh
ou
ld attem
pt kayakin
g w
itho
ut p
rop
er trainin
g.
RIV
ER
CU
RR
EN
T &
WA
TE
R LE
VE
LSA
void
kayaking at h
igh w
ater con
ditio
ns, w
hich
cause stro
ng cu
rrents an
d fo
rce deb
ris from
the
ban
ks into
the river. R
ainfall also
increases th
e risk of treach
erou
s curren
ts and
sub
merged
deb
ris th
at can cau
se acciden
ts and
inju
ries. Real-tim
e stream fl
ow
info
is available at th
e USG
S Water
Watch
web
site at waterw
atch.u
sgs.gov.
WIN
D, W
AV
ES, &
RIV
ER
CR
OSSIN
GS
Th
e Oh
io R
iver is very wid
e and
it takes a con
siderab
le amo
un
t of tim
e and
effort to
cross via
a cano
e or kayak. O
nce o
ut in
to th
e river, you
may exp
erience w
aves and
cho
ppy co
nd
ition
s, esp
ecially if it is win
dy. D
ue to
the w
ind
ing n
ature o
f the river, w
ind
directio
n ch
anges o
ften.
You
can m
inim
ize the w
ind
’s infl
uen
ce on
you
r bo
at by kayaking d
irectly into
the w
ind
.
CO
MM
ER
CIA
L TR
AFFIC
Th
e Oh
io R
iver is classified
as federal w
aters, and
all bo
aters mu
st com
ply w
ith th
e U
.S. Co
ast Gu
ard req
uirem
ents. R
ecreation
al bo
aters mu
st yield th
e right o
f way to
co
mm
ercial vessels. An
imp
ortan
t con
straint is th
e pilo
t’s blin
d sp
ot. T
he b
lind
spo
t exten
ds fo
r hu
nd
reds o
f feet in fro
nt o
f the b
arge. Th
erefore, d
o n
ot can
oe o
r kayak in
the p
ath o
f barges. B
arges also h
ave limited
navigatio
n d
ue to
their size an
d w
eight
and
therefo
re cann
ot tu
rn o
r stop
qu
ickly. It can take u
p to
three m
iles for a to
wb
oat
to sto
p a strin
g of fu
ll barges. In
add
ition
, wh
eel wash
is a stron
g un
derw
ater curren
t cau
sed by a to
wb
oat’s en
gines th
at can resu
lt in severe tu
rbu
lence h
un
dred
s of yard
s b
ehin
d a large vessel; co
nseq
uen
tly, recreation
al watercraft m
ust m
aintain
at least 1
,00
0 feet in
clearance b
ehin
d th
e rear of to
wb
oats.
RE
STR
ICT
ED
AR
EA
Th
e section
imm
ediately ab
ove and
belo
w each
lock an
d d
am is d
esignated
as a R
estricted A
rea. Waters in
these areas are tu
rbu
lent, u
np
redictab
le, and
d
eceptively d
angero
us. Stro
ng cu
rrents can
easily trap an
d d
row
n a p
oten
tial victim
with
ou
t warn
ing. Sign
s and
/or fl
ashin
g red ligh
ts mark th
e limits o
f th
e regulated
sectors at each
lock an
d d
am. N
o p
erson
, vessel, or o
ther
flo
ating craft sh
all enter any su
ch gu
arded
zon
e at any time an
d are su
bject
to a su
mm
ary offen
se and
pen
alties. Lockm
asters enfo
rce the ad
heren
ce to
these law
s and
, if requ
ired, so
licit aid fro
m lo
cal po
lice. In th
e interest
of p
ub
lic safety, please articu
late to o
ther b
oaters o
r anglers ab
ou
t the
hazard
s of lo
ck and
dam
structu
res.
Safety A
s T
ho
mas
Jef
fers
on
on
ce s
tate
d, “
the
Oh
io is
th
e m
ost
bea
uti
ful r
iver
on
ear
th.”
Pad
dle
rs c
an fe
el a
sen
se o
f rem
ote
nes
s an
d n
atu
ral b
eau
ty h
ere.
Alt
ho
ugh
ro
ads
and
rai
lro
ads
follo
w t
he
rive
r, th
ey a
re g
ener
ally
no
t vi
sib
le fr
om
th
e ri
ver
bel
ow
. Tr
ees
alo
ng
the
rive
r b
ank
oft
en b
lock
ou
t vi
ews
of h
om
es, f
arm
fiel
ds,
an
d
ind
ust
rial
sit
es.
Th
e is
lan
d c
hu
tes—
the
nar
row
er, n
ot
com
mer
cial
ly n
avig
able
, sec
tio
ns
bet
wee
n a
n is
lan
d a
nd
th
e sh
ore
—al
so o
ffer
rem
ote
nat
ura
l set
tin
gs.
Th
e O
hio
Riv
er o
ffer
s ab
un
dan
t w
idlif
e to
en
joy.
Th
e w
ater
tra
il m
ean
der
s th
rou
gh s
ever
al h
abit
at t
ypes
, res
ult
ing
in h
igh
sp
ecie
s d
iver
sity
alo
ng
the
rive
r. M
ore
th
an 2
00
sp
ecie
s o
f bir
ds
visi
t th
e ri
ver
each
yea
r, in
clu
din
g o
spre
y an
d b
ald
eag
le.
Th
ere
are
mo
re t
han
10
0 s
pec
ies
of fi
sh in
th
e O
hio
Riv
er, i
ncl
ud
ing
spo
tted
bas
s, s
auge
r, fr
eshw
ater
dru
m, c
han
nel
an
d fl
ath
ead
cat
fish
. B
oth
Wes
t V
irgi
nia
an
d r
esid
enti
al O
hio
fish
ing
licen
ses
are
ho
no
red
o
n t
he
Oh
io R
iver
an
d t
he
vari
ou
s b
ackw
ater
s (u
p t
o t
he
firs
t ri
ffle)
, an
d o
n t
he
Litt
le K
anaw
ha
wes
t o
f th
e Le
ach
tow
n L
ane
acce
ss s
ite.
Th
ere
are
mo
re t
han
25
mam
mal
sp
ecie
s al
on
g th
e O
hio
Riv
er
and
Lit
tle
Kan
awh
a R
iver
, in
clu
din
g w
hit
e-ta
iled
dee
r, ra
cco
on
s,
mu
skra
ts, m
ink,
co
tto
nta
il ra
bb
it, a
nd
red
fox.
Fro
gs, t
oad
s,
turt
les,
dra
gon
flie
s, d
amse
lflie
s, b
utt
erfl
ies,
an
d 4
0 s
pec
ies
of
fres
hwat
er m
uss
els
add
to
th
e as
ton
ish
ing
bio
div
ersi
ty o
f th
ese
rive
rs.
Th
ree
of t
he
isla
nd
s o
n t
he
trai
l are
par
t o
f th
e O
hio
Riv
er
Isla
nd
s N
atio
nal
Wild
life
Ref
uge
. Vis
ito
rs a
re w
elco
me
to
pu
ll th
eir
can
oes
an
d k
ayak
s u
p o
nto
th
e sh
ore
an
d e
xplo
re
thes
e is
lan
ds
on
foo
t d
uri
ng
the
day
. Th
e O
hio
Riv
er
Isla
nd
s N
WR
is w
ork
ing
to p
rote
ct, c
on
serv
e, a
nd
res
tore
th
e ri
par
ian
fore
st h
abit
at o
n t
hes
e is
lan
ds;
vis
ito
rs w
ho
ex
plo
re t
hes
e is
lan
ds
will
fin
d t
hem
in v
ario
us
stag
es o
f tr
ansi
tio
n fr
om
agr
icu
ltu
ral u
se t
o r
esto
red
fore
st.
Wat
er t
rail
use
rs c
an g
et m
ore
invo
lved
in c
on
serv
ing
and
res
tori
ng
nat
ura
l hab
itat
s al
on
g th
e tr
ail b
y co
nta
ctin
g th
e Fr
ien
ds
of t
he
Oh
io R
iver
Isla
nd
N
atio
nal
Wild
life
Ref
uge
.
Scen
ic B
eau
ty ww
w.g
reat
erpa
rker
sbur
g.co
m
designed by Mollee Brown
Mileage is ro
un
d trip
.
DU
Ck
CR
EEk
13
MILe
S | 6-7
hO
UR
S | PU
T-IN:
WILLIA
MSTO
WN
BO
AT
RA
MP
WO
RT
HIN
GT
ON
CR
EEk A
ND
TH
E LIT
TLE k
AN
AW
HA
5.3
MILe
S | 2.5
hO
UR
S | PU
T-IN:
CO
RN
ING
PAR
K
LEE CR
EEk
8.6
MILe
S | 5 h
OU
RS | P
UT-IN
: Lee
CR
ee
K
NEA
L RU
N
3.5
MILe
S | 2 h
OU
RS | P
UT-IN
: PO
INT
PAR
K
AR
OU
ND
BU
Ck
LEy ISLA
ND
6.2
MILe
S | 3 h
OU
RS | P
UT-IN
: W
ILLIAM
STOW
N B
OA
T R
AM
P
TO
BLEN
NER
HA
SSETT
ISLAN
D
3.5
MILe
S | 2 h
OU
RS | P
UT-IN
: PO
INT
PAR
K
AR
OU
ND
BLEN
NER
HA
SSETT
ISLAN
D
10
.2 M
ILeS | 5
hO
UR
S | PU
T-IN: P
OIN
T PA
RK
AR
OU
ND
NEA
L ISLAN
D7
.1 M
ILeS | 3
hO
UR
S | PU
T-IN: P
OIN
T PA
RK
AR
OU
ND
VIEN
NA
ISLAN
D
14
MILe
S | 7 h
OU
RS | P
UT-IN
: PO
INT
PAR
K
AR
OU
ND
MU
SkIN
GU
M ISLA
ND
1
1 M
ILeS | 5
.5 h
OU
RS | P
UT-IN
: WILLIA
MSTO
WN
BO
AT
R
AM
P
WILLIA
MST
OW
N T
O D
EVO
LA1
2 M
ILeS | 6
hO
UR
S | PU
T-IN: W
ILLIAM
STOW
N B
OA
T R
AM
P
1. O
LD LO
Ck
20
39
.13
77
33
, -81
.74
05
94
2. LEE C
REEk
39
.14
90
61
, -81
.71
53
24
3. LO
Ck
19
39
.25
52
5, -8
1.6
91
94
9
4. B
ELPR
E AC
CESS PA
Rk
39
.27
50
47
, -81
.59
74
97
5. P
OIN
T PA
Rk
39
.26
55
42
, -81
.56
72
52
6. M
AR
IETTA
LEVEE
39
.41
03
71
, -81
.45
12
65
7. W
ILLIAM
STO
WN
BO
AT
RA
MP
39
.40
69
95
, -81
.45
00
81
8. O
RIN
WR
HEA
Dq
UA
RT
ERS
39
.39
05
63
, -81
.41
76
46
9. C
OR
NIN
G PA
Rk
39
.25
86
94
, -81
.53
55
2
10
. LEAC
HT
OW
N LA
NE
39
.14
00
11
, -81
.44
77
44
11
. SPR
ING
VA
LLEy3
9.1
39
83
4, -8
1.3
95
56
3
map
and
inform
ation
Lear
n m
ore
: ww
w.g
reat
erp
arke
rsb
urg
.co
m/o
hio
-riv
er-w
ater
trai
l/
O
hio
Riv
er W
ater
Tra
il - P
arke
rsb
urg
, WV
OHIO RIVER WATER TRAIL
Old Lock 20
Lee Creek
Lock 19
Belpre Access Park
Point Park
Marietta Levee
Williamstown Boat Ramp
ORINWR Headquarters
Corning Park
Leachtown Lane
Spring Valley/Mouth of Hughes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11