“Open water is a highway to adventure, best traveled by canoe or kayak.”
– Author unknown
June 29, 2024
The morning of June 29 had us rising to cool temperatures and cloudy gray skies with the possibility of rain in the forecast. Not exactly the kind of weather you want for kayaking. But we had planned to participate in Susquehanna Greenway's sojourn of the middle section of the Susquehanna River, something we had been looking forward to for a long time, so we were undeterred. We left home early for the 8:30 a.m. start of the event at Fort Hunter Park, 6.8 miles above the ending point at Harrisburg's City Island.
For those who may not be familiar with the term, a sojourn is basically just an adventure on a stream, creek, river, lake or other body of water on a self-propelled watercraft, usually involving many participants. Many organized sojourns are guided, but others are not. The one we participated in was sponsored and guided by volunteers with
Susquehanna Greenway. It's a fun and safe way to familiarize yourself with a body of water you might not have floated on before, and that's exactly why we chose to participate.
For those who are unfamiliar with the importance of the Susquehanna River, according to the
Susquehanna River Trail's website, the Susquehanna River is the sixteenth largest river in America, and is the largest river lying entirely in the United States that flows into the Atlantic Ocean. "The Susquehanna and its hundreds of tributaries drain 27,500 square miles, an area nearly the size of South Carolina, spread over parts of New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The river meanders 444 miles from its origin at Otsego Lake near Cooperstown, New York until it empties into the Chesapeake Bay at Havre de Grace, Maryland. The Susquehanna is the 'mother' river to the Chesapeake, providing 50 percent of all the freshwater entering the great estuary." An important river, indeed!
We arrived on time for registration and I looked over the merchandize tent, picking up a free map of the river's middle section. Meanwhile Jeff drove our truck to City Island in Harrisburg, where we would end our journey. One of the best things about these organized sojourns is that they will transport you back to the start after dropping off your vehicle, so we didn't have to worry about the logistics of getting back to our truck.
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| The boat launch at Fort Hunter |
Those of us who were waiting for our partners to return were treated to a presentation about the history and geology of the river, as well as what we could expect to see in regard to flora and fauna along our way. When everyone returned from transporting their vehicles we were all given a safety talk and by 10:30, we launched and were on our way.
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| One of the guides brought his dog along. |
After passing through some small riffles on the river, we passed under the Rockville Bridge. At 3,280 feet long, it claims to be the longest stone-arch railroad bridge in the world. It has 48 arches and more than 30 trains cross over it every day. It was opened in 1902 after replacing an 1877 iron bridge.
Next we had to negotiate some small rapids surrounding large rocks that were scattered across the width of the river. One of our guides had landed on one of the rocks and was standing there to guide us through the chute to safety.
After passing under the George N. Wade/I-81 bridge we passed by McCormick's Island and Wade Island. Wade Island is known for being Pennsylvania's largest multi-species nesting island and is home to egrets, black-crowned night heron, and double-crested cormorants. Because the island is a sanctuary and trespassing is illegal, we were advised to observe what we could from out boats and not attempt to land. We didn't see anything close enough to take photos, but we sure could hear the birds in the trees as we passed by!
 | | Approaching the I-81 bridge |
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 | | I-81 bridge |
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We then navigated our way between some islands and pulled into one of them where you can camp for the night. Some of our group explored the island while the rest of us took a break and had a snack before moving on and passing under the M. Harvey Taylor Bridge.
From there we could see the tip of
Harrisburg's City Island as we paddled past the Capitol Building on our left. And suddenly, our journey was over.
 | | M. Harvey Taylor Bridge |
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 | | Harrisburg Capitol |
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 | | City Island |
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After loading our kayaks back onto the truck we headed over to the opposite end of the island where we all gathered to share stories and eat our box lunches, which were included with our participation fee. We had a wonderful time, in spite of the less than desireable weather, and hope to participate in another sojourn on the river at some point in the future. They offer sojourns on the west branch, lower section and north branch in addition to the middle section.
If you don't mind kayaking with a large group of people and/or aren't familiar with the safest routes on the Susquehanna River, we can highly recommend participating in one of their sojourns. You can bring your own kayaks, as many of us did, or they will provide all the equipment you need for an extra fee. Who knows, maybe we'll see you on our next
Susquehanna River Sojourn!
* All photos and videos are the property of the authors except where otherwise noted. *
