Conowingo Fisherman's Park

Well dam… this month’s location is sorta fishy. Get it? Cause we’re going to the Conowingo Dam. This Exelon owned power generating dam is on the Susquehanna River about 5 miles south of the MD/PA border. At the base of the dam is Fisherman’s Park, one of the best places in Maryland to see Great Blue Herons and Bald Eagles. It is also a dam good place to fish, hence the name Fisherman’s Park.

I promise that’s the last pun in here.

Fisherman’s Park is on the southwest side of the Susquehanna. This area is home to approximately 200+ different species of birds and a whole bunch of different types of fish. Anglers wade into the water off the gravel at the end of the wharf to fish for bass, shad, walleye, catfish and more. Fish tend to gather at the base to take the fish lift, which allows them to get upstream past the dam, this makes casting lines here very productive.

 

Keep in mind you do need a fishing license to fish here. The Game Wardens come by quite often to check that everyone has a license. You know what you don’t need a license for here? Photography and bird watching.

I love coming here to take pictures of Eagles. Yeah, there are other plenty of other species here, but this is THE BEST PLACE to get Bald Eagle photos. The best time for seeing them is October to March with a peak in November. So, make a plan this month to go take a look and see them for yourself. It is pretty much the same schedule with the Great Blue Herons that visit here. They like to show up during the cold winter months.

The entire area is mostly a paved parking lot with a 160-foot wharf at the dam end. At the other end is the Wildflower Trail which will connect you to Susquehanna State Park after a couple of miles. This trail is an old rail trail so it is flat and mostly gravel with just the right amount of water views. It is an easy and fun hike, provided you bring some bug spray.

Since the Susquehanna River is about 2,700 feet wide here, combining it with the dam on the north, makes this a bit of a wind tunnel. Make sure to wear a nice windbreaker if you’re down here in the late fall or winter. No need to bring boots, sneakers will be fine.

Gilpin's Falls

If you’ve ever been to North East, Maryland there is a good chance that you have driven past this place without realizing. Traveling slightly north of Cecil College will take you to a very old covered bridge over a creek. That bridge is the starting point of the journey into Gilpin’s Falls.

Gilpin’s Falls is a unique location in the United States. The Falls are created by the North East Creek making a 106 foot drop in about 2,000 feet. It is also home to one of the six covered bridges in Maryland. The boulders found here are made of meta-rhyolite and igneous rock. There is also crystalized volcanic material present in the area. Add in the ruins of a former mill site and you have a recipe for a truly special location perfect for exploring.

 

The Falls are named after Samuel Gilpin, who bought the land in 1735 and used the power of the Falls for his saw and corn mills. After Samuel died in 1767, the mill property remained in operation by his family until the 1860s. In 1895, a gentleman named William Warburton bought the area surrounding the Falls and converted part of the site into a power plant. William sold the area to the Conowingo Power Company in 1926 and they proceeded to shut down the plant and mills in 1930. There has been no real change to the property since then, however, the mills are no longer there. The retaining ponds and the race courses at the bottom of the Falls are the only surviving parts of the former mills. If you look around that area you will find structural foundations to barns, stone walls, and a spring house. At the top of the Falls, there is another retaining pond and a race that empties into a large pipe.

Every square inch of this place is fascinating and thrilling. I feel like every time I go, I manage to find something new to marvel at or take photos of. I have been 3 times and honestly, I have just barely scratched the surface here. My last visit in September was the hardest one. I wanted to grab long exposure shots so that meant hauling a large bulky tripod over the boulders and setting up on some rocks just barely big enough for the tripod. About halfway down the Falls I discovered a downed tree. After climbing over the tree and setting up for shots of the water and creek, I realized the tree was home to a nest of hornets that were very curious as to why I was in their space. They buzzed around me until I left and were making their presence known but none of them were interested in attacking me.

You can access Gilpin’s Falls several ways. The main entrance is up by the covered bridge on Maryland Route 272 or you can hike down the nature trails located behind Cecil College. I prefer doing the first one as it more fun. To do that route you will need to park in the gravel lot that runs parallel to the shoulder of the road and walk around the pond on the south side. Make a couple of steps onto the retaining wall and from there you can either climb down the boulders to get to the bottom or you can continue to the race and take the pipeline down. There is also an unpaved path next to the pipe that you could take but that way isn’t as fun. If you decide to go the way behind Cecil College, then you just have to locate the trailhead behind the baseball field and head down. Eventually you will reach the North East Creek and from there you go upstream to reach the old mill sites.

This is not a place for children due to the fast-moving water and sharp drops. Please only climb down the boulders if you have proper hiking equipment on and are experienced. Due to the sharp descent of the water, it tends to get dark there early, so I suggest getting there around noon. That way you have plenty of time to explore in the sunlight. It’s not necessary to go with a companion but I do recommend taking someone along to share the experience with.