On The Schuykill River

By Bob Adams

Igrew up a few miles from the Schuylkill River in southeastern Pennsylvania and swam in it as a kid. We probably shouldn't have; this was the 60's, and all kinds of pollutants were going into the river untreated. My mom grew up in Philadelphia a few miles downstream, and she said that when she was young, you could smell the Schuylkill a mile away, so I guess she figured it was better now. We all showered when we got home, and so far, we are all still alive. Since the 70's and the passage of the Clean Water Act, things have improved greatly. I still wouldn't recommend drinking it, but I wouldn't recommend drinking any water that you don't know the contents of.

In 2018, I decided to paddle the whole river. I got excellent maps from the Schuylkill River Heritage Association and mapped out a route. The maps are printed on plastic, and are therefore completely waterproof. They also have a flip map version, like the old AAA trip maps, which is handy while paddling. I figured about twenty miles a day and expected to be out five to six days, but because of the very wet week prior, I flew down the river and made it in four and a half days from Schuylkill Haven in Pennsylvania coal country to Bartram's Gardens in southwest Philadelphia, about 113 miles. This was in early June, so the weather was generally fine except for one cold rainy day.

The complicating factor on the Schuylkill is that there are no legal campsites. None. I camped on the islands, and had no problems, but you should be aware of this. I decided to forgo the pleasure of a campfire at night and used my MSR Pocket Rocket stove for cooking. If there were lights or other signs of life on one side of the island, I camped on the other side. After a day of paddling, I was usually ready for bed by dark and up early, so I kept a low profile. If an island is posted with no trespassing signs, pass it by, but most of them are not.

The Schuykill River at Schuylkill Haven Island Park is still a fairly small stream.

Day 1 - My son Brian drove me up to Schuylkill Haven and dropped me and my gear off at Schuylkill Haven Island Park. He left with a bad case of paddle envy, drove my truck back to Philadelphia and parked it at a friend's house about a half mile from Bartram's Gardens. The river is more like a creek up where I launched, only about 40 feet across, and it was running fast and high from all the rain the night before. Six miles downstream, I hit the Auburn Dam, the first of several impoundments, and had to actually paddle to make progress, which is sort of against my religion, but one must do what is called for. I had brought a kayak dolly, so portaging around the dam wasn't too strenuous. Once past the dam, the pace picked up again, and I easily made Hamburg by late afternoon. I found an island that suited me and had a relaxing meal before going to sleep.
Distance - 18 miles.

Day 2 - I got an early start and had a great day, paddling past old Pennsylvania towns that once were busy ports for the coal and timber industries. The Schuylkill is still a small river up here, fast enough to be fun, but not really challenging, mostly Class I or II riffles. My recollection of where I camped is a little hazy, but it was another uneventful night. Lots of islands, so you won't have any trouble deciding where to stop. Just upstream of Reading, the Felix Dam is still marked on the map, but it has been removed. This reach is the most fun in terms of whitewater, maybe a high II.
Distance - more than 20 miles.

Stealth camping on an island at an unnamed location. Plenty of these to be found.

Day 3 - This was the rainy day I mentioned. A rainy day in early June can be surprisingly cold. I had rain gear and was staying more or less dry. I decided to stop for lunch in Pottstown and sat on my boat to change shoes. Bad idea - it pivoted on the keel and flipped me into the river! I went and had lunch and got my cellphone recharged at the Schuylkill River Heritage Association offices. They are a great organization and nice people to work with.

Note to self - solar phone charger doesn't work so well on cloudy or rainy days. Bring a charged storage battery. Lest you think that I spent my time on the river looking at my phone, I did not. I promised my kids that I would check in with them every night, otherwise didn't use it much.

So now back in my boat, still pretty wet, I resumed paddling, but got increasingly cold as I went along in what was now a downpour. I portaged the Vincent Dam and continued on. By the time I got to Spring City, I was shivering and miserable. So I gathered all my wet clothes and walked into town, praying for a laundromat. My prayers were answered. Not only a laundromat, but a diner right next door! So I put everything in the dryers and went to the diner for a nice hot meal. They may have thought I was homeless; I was pretty bedraggled by then, but they nonetheless made me welcome. I retrieved my dry clothes, packed up and went about a mile farther to my next island, where I passed another uneventful night.
Distance - about 20 miles.

This is an old lock structure from the coal barge canal, downstream of Reading, Penn. The lock is free standing in the river, about thirty feet off the east bank, with the canal itself long gone.

Day 4 - I awoke to a sunny morning. Hallelujah! Nothing like being cold and wet to make you appreciate the sun. After a short paddle, I came into the Black Rock Dam impoundment. This time, I pulled into the Upper Schuylkill Valley Park, locally known as Lock 60 because there is still a section of the old coal barge canal there, complete with locks. I took my biggest gear bag and a few other things over to the River and left them there, to make the portage easier. I went back, loaded the boat onto the dolly, dragged all that over, and then went to get my gear bag. It was gone! Some scum bag low life had walked off with the bag that had all my food, camping gadgets, cooking stuff, etc. I couldn't believe it, but there I was. After the obligatory cursing and gnashing of teeth, I resolved to have a good day anyway.

Looking at my map, I realized that I could make Conshohocken by late afternoon, where I knew there was an REI store. I paddled through Norristown, portaged the lowhead dam there and was at Conshohocken by about 3:00 p.m. As I sat in a parking lot, changing my shoes, a taxi pulled up and unloaded. Perfect! I got a ride from him to REI, bought a new stove and cookware (sigh), went to the supermarket next door and got enough food to finish the trip. Now loaded up, I planned to walk back to the river, but almost immediately came to a bus stop. I asked the guy waiting if he knew when the next bus was due, and he pointed behind me and said, "Right now." I looked around and sure enough, there was the SEPTA bus pulling up! So I was back on the river about ten minutes later. I camped on an island near my old hometown of Gladwyne for the night. For the first time, I had a little trouble with mosquitos, but nothing too serious.
Distance - about 24 miles.

L: Fish ladder at Flat Rock Dam, just outside Philadelphia. R: Flat Rock Dam.

Day 5 - The day started with another impoundment behind the Flat Rock Dam. The city of Philadelphia has installed a fish ladder to get migrating fish past that dam, which was cool to see. Once I passed that, things got exciting for a bit in the fast water by the Manyunk neighborhood of Philadelphia, and then slowed down to a crawl again as I continued into Philadelphia.

Philadelphia has the largest contiguous city park system in the world, and the Schuylkill passes through the middle of it, with Kelly Drive on the east side and Martin Luther King Drive on the west. It's quite beautiful, with statuary here and there and many citizens walking, jogging, and bike riding. All this was created by the Philadelphia Waterworks Dam, nestled in next to the Philadelphia Art Museum. This was my final portage. You can bet that I didn't leave anything unattended anywhere this time!

I worked in a building about five blocks off the river here in Philadelphia. Being here was way better than being there.

I paddled a few more miles, thumbed my nose at the tall building where I was working at the time, and took out at Bartram's Gardens in southwest Philly. John Bartram was an early botanist who catalogued most of America's plants in treks up and down the east coast, and this was his home. The friendly staff there let me hide my boat and gear in their garage while I walked about 10 blocks to my friend Guina's house to pick up my truck. I drove back, loaded up and was home by early afternoon.
Distance - about ten miles.

Since then, I have been trying to organize legal island camping, using the model of the Maine Island Trail Association as my inspiration. I have applied for some small grants to help with the mapping and outreach, but so far, no takers. Until we get legal camping on the river, I don't think paddling will be much more than a day trip for most people. But it can be done if you don't mind a little stealth camping!

Bob Adams is a lifelong paddler and outdoorsman. He has been fortunate to work in ecological restoration, conservation and tree planting for the last 25 years. He lives in Sellersville, Penn.