West Branch Paddling Club

Riverside Adventure Company Trip Opportunities

Pick your Adventures!

No need to do segments in order... but you can if you want. We offer these adventures on set dates on our calendar.

In conjunction with our friends at the Susquehanna Greenways Partnership

Riverside Adventure company is partnering with the SGP to help folks experience the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. As if just paddling it isn’t enough, the folks at SGP have made it easier and more exciting by providing support and incentives!

The West Branch Paddle Club (WBPC), is a program that invites paddlers of varying abilities and interests to explore the Susquehanna River Water Trail - West Branch. In all 288 miles, the trail is split into four individual sections based on mileage and available river access sites. Use the links below to explore each on the SGP website:

• Segment 1: Cherry Tree (Cherry Tree to Clearfield - 54 miles)

• Segment 2: Wilds (Clearfield to Renovo - 76 miles)

• Segment 3: Hyner (Renovo to Jersey Shore - 43 miles)

• Segment 4: River Towns (Jersey Shore to Northumberland - 55 miles)

You may paddle one or more of the sections to be a member of the WBPC. SGP member Paddlers will receive a commemorative token with the completion of each section, as well as a final specialty memento with the completion of all 228 miles of the Water Trail. 

Riverside Adventure Company will be offering these sections on certain dates, in addition to having a willingness to provide custom trips at our clients request - by using the form at right >>>>

Sections 1, 2, and 4 can be completed in a focused and fairly intense long weekend (Fri - Sunday). Section 3 is significantly longer, and as a result will require more time. Click each map at left for Outfitting details.

The complex…made simple

Paddling the whole 228 miles of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River is a big undertaking. Doing it on your own can be so daunting, that you don’t know where to start…so you don’t. Riverside Adventure Company’s goal is to break this big task down to a few smaller tasks…and then help with each.

We have scouted and run each segment of river, in order to create an experience and timetable that gets it done. We create our river experiences with the goal of offering you the best the area has to offer…on you very first visit there.

• We have gone to the bad restaurants for you.

• We have used the wrong put-in or take out locations for you.

• We learned earlier what not to do, so you don’t waste any of your valuable time in a learning curve that you may never need or use again.

Allow us to share our years of river experience with you, to provide you the best possible experience in each segment…the first time you visit.

Three steps to get started

1. Join the Susquehanna Greenways partnership.

If you want the pins and recognition at the state level…this is where we start. Plus, you help support an organization that helped us get you to the river. They do quite a bit, but I will let you decide for yourself by linking to their page that explains what they do…and why you want to join. If you decide it’s for you, and something you want to do use the button below to join:

*NOTE - Joining the Susquehanna Greenways partnership is not mandatory to participate in these paddles. However, know that you won’t get any segment pins, or formal recognition for being in the West Branch Paddlers Club. If you are the kind of person who doesn’t want or need the formalities and swag… fine with us. Just don’t make it a thing. You were told.

2. Pick your segment

This part gets a little bit complicated. You and your group will need to discuss what exactly you want your trip to look like.

• If your goal is to do the entire 228 miles of the West Branch Susquehanna with RAC, picking your segments might be as easy as going to our calendar, checking dates, and signing up for everything this year.

• If your goal is to do the entire 228 miles of the West Branch Susquehanna with RAC, but doing it all in one season, simply pick the sections that work for your schedule from our calendar, and next year, check off one or two more. We will be offering these trips every year, and they will go on the dates selected.

• If your goal is to just paddle a section or two of the 228 miles of the West Branch Susquehanna with RAC, just pick what works for you on our calendar, and start getting excited for those good times with friends…old and new.

At this point, it might be helpful to pick a “Group Adventure Leader”; and let that person do the reservations for the group. The alternative is letting each person make their own arrangements, and that has more margin for error. it’s doable…just harder.

3. Pick your gear and options

• What is your group size? The larger the group, the less it costs per group. We can take up to 10 adventurers for the weekend. Larger the group, the less gear each person can bring (we only have so much space), but if we eliminate duplication, that’s easily doable. More on that here in “How we charge for WBPC trips”.

• How many guides do you need? This is a very important decisions because it means you either will have a guide on the river with you…or you won’t. A one Guide trip is significantly more affordable, but it means your group is responsible for your own safety, and getting to the designated pick-up points each day as outlined by your Guide and Itinerary. Having a second guide means you might learn more, and be able to “kick back” more…but it comes at a cost. See the attached card for how group sized effects costs.

Send us your questions:

Find the dates of these trips using the calendar below

Section 1 - Cherry Tree

WBPC NAVIGATION LIST:

Main page
(you are in segment 1)
Segment 2
Segment 3
Segment 4

Riverside Adventure Company will build on the outline and support

Rough Itinerary

This trip will leave on Friday morning 6:00 a.m. and not return until Sunday late day. Here is a very basic - BROAD STROKES - Itinerary:

Friday Morning 6:00 a.m. - Leave Riverside Adventure Company’s shop located at 476 D & H Ave, Riverside, PA 17868 - promptly.

Friday Morning 8:00 a.m. - Arrive at our “Home base location of Curwensville Dam. Set up basic camp. Get to first leg of the paddle.

Friday Morning 9:00 a.m. - put in at Cherry tree. Paddle about 8 hours and 25 miles to the Mahaffey bridge location.

Friday Afternoon 5:00 p - Take out at Mahaffey bridge location. Meet you there and eat some dinner at the Starlight Lounge. Wrap that up, and head back to camp.

Saturday morning 7:00 a. - - quick hot beverages supplied by RAC and breakfast (supplied by you) and then on the river all day. Put in where we took out in Mahaffey, PA. Lunch on the river (responsibility of each participant to pack what they like and enough calories and drinks to do the job). This is a BIG DAY of paddling, so come prepared.

Saturday Evening 5:00 p? - Paddle to our Destination campsite at Curwensville Dam for camping and dinner in town or in camp.

Sunday morning 7:00 a. to late lunch - breakfast and on the river past the dam portage for about 11 miles (4 hrs). We will put you on the river below the McEwansville Dam, and pick you up at the Clearfield launch. Then lunch, and head for home.

BLOG SERIES POSTS - more info

To see very detailed breakdowns of what past trips on these sections of water trail have taught us, use the links below:

Cherry tree. PA to Curwensville Lake

Curwensville Lake to Clearfield, PA

These posts are VERY detailed and spell out exactly what we experienced, what you might experience, and some points of interest along the way.

Dangers/warning/portages

This is a fun section of river. It’s very much class 1 (easiest) water. It starts with very small water (my wife called it a “drainage ditch”) and includes a fun rapids just below Mahaffey, PA and some bigger water as you enter the dam/lake area. The only portage to speak of, is the one around the Curwensville Dam…and we have that nicely handled for you.

Your responsibilities

As previously discussed more HERE, RAC provides the transportation, any needed portages, support, expertise and everything you need to have an enjoyable long weekend on the river.

Things to pack

Always a debate for outdoors people. We won’t enter the fray, but will offer these links to gear lists others recommend for trips of this size.

the only river trip packing list you’ll ever need

Select call the gear you need for your group. Click each thing, and then “add to cart”. You can do this multiple times until you get everything you need for yourself of your group.