Paddle the Susquehanna

The Susquehanna River.

NPS Photo / Kelsey Everett

The Susquehanna River is the main water source into the 18 trillion gallon Chesapeake Bay, supplying 19 million gallons of fresh water every minute. This beautiful river spans across three states – New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland - and more than 45,000 total miles of waterways. There’s no shortage of places to explore on the Susquehanna, but how do you know where to start?

Thanks to the National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Office and their partner Chesapeake Conservancy, a new resource is available to help visitors and residents learn about the beauty and history of the Susquehanna River – www.paddlethesusquehanna.com. Riverkeepers and local experts helped develop content for the site, including paddling itineraries and first-hand accounts of places to explore.

Currently, the website includes 22 paddle itineraries across the four branches of the Susquehanna: North Branch, West Branch, Middle, and Lower. “People say that a website is never actually ‘done,’ and this one is no exception. We will continue to develop new content to keep the website fresh with additional itineraries and adventures,” said Chesapeake Conservancy’s Partnership Digital Resources Associate Kelsey Everett.

PaddletheSusquehanna.com is the fourth website in the Paddle series and joins www.PaddletheChester.com and www.PaddletheSassafras.com—created by Sultana Education Foundation and the National Park Service Chesapeake Bay—and www.PaddlethePotomac.com in linking paddlers to the waterways throughout the Chesapeake. The Paddle series is a companion and extension on FindYourChesapeake.com, a partnership tourism website also managed by Chesapeake Conservancy.

The Paddle websites and Find Your Chesapeake display public access sites throughout the Chesapeake to help visitors explore the region. “Our goal is to help people learn about ways they can explore the Chesapeake and its great rivers like the Susquehanna and the Potomac. We know that when people feel connected to a resource like the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, they’ll be more likely to help take care of it. These information-packed websites are meant to encourage outdoor recreation, which not only helps create the next generation of conservation stewards, but also helps the local economy,” said Chesapeake Conservancy Vice President Susan Shingledecker.

Development of the Paddle websites and Find Your Chesapeake is supported by technical and financial assistance from the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network.

“For almost two decades, the National Park Service has been helping Susquehanna River partners develop water trails, maps, boat launches and signage to help get people on water,” said NPS Chesapeake Office Superintendent Wendy O’Sullivan. “PaddletheSusquehanna.com takes that work to a new level, making it easier than ever to find places to experience this majestic river.”