Buffalo Creek
(Washington County)
A. South of Taylorstown Station 21.8 miles
to Bethany (WVa Route 88 Bridge)
A. Taylorstown Station to Bethany
Class Grad Size
(Area/Volume) Scene/Poll Level
I-II 11/15 Small
(114/190) B/A-B
Pa-WVa
State Line
Topographic Maps: West
Middletown, Bethany (West Virginia)
County Maps: Washington, Brooke (West Virginia)
Description: This pastoral stream burbles gently through rural Washington County. It winds through lovely farms, villages, and patches of wooded hillside. Wildlife abounds; a March trip encountered wood ducks, redwing blackbirds, a couple of great blue herons, kingfishers, a fox, several groundhogs, signs of beaver, a variety of domestic waterfowl, the usual dogs and cats, and two vest-pocket swamps with choruses of frogs peeping in all registers. The creek's "B" for scenery reflects the rural character of the stream, not any serious aesthetic deficiency. Except for a bank stabilization program in Taylorstown, apparently sponsored by a home appliance dealer, the stream is fairly clean and free of debris. The stream alternates between flowing water and riffles. The current often pushes the boat into the sheer banks that are being eroded on the bends. This requires some alertness in the part of the paddler who prefers not to be swept into the bank or the snags that protrude from it. Precise boat control is also advisable near the many trees that have fallen into or across the river. There was once a dam near the Bethany College boiler plant. The dam is gone now; nothing remains but the former spillway, standing solitary vigil on the right side of the stream. [Checked 1996]
Difficulties: Just below Taylorstown Station, a fence across the river was being constructed in 1989. Plan to encounter several trees down across the stream. Some can be snuck under or around, but others have become brush piles completely blocking the creek. One particularly likely place to find a log jam is at the remains of an old dam just around a right-hand bend, out of sight of the road, about 2 miles below Saw Hill covered bridge (or a mile below the undistinguished bridge downstream from Saw Hill Bridge).
Shuttle: State Routes 331, 221, and West Virginia Route 67 run in the same valley as the river, offering a choice of several put-ins and take-outs. Check the topographic or county maps.
Gauge: Drive along the section you plan to run. If it looks runnable, it probably is.
Normal Wet Period: No available statistics on seasons. Since this section is small, it should normally be runnable approximately January through April.
B. Bethany to
Wellsburg 13.0 miles
Class Grad Size
(Area/Volume) Scene/Poll Level
I 10/16 Small (150/250) B/B
estimated Streamside
Topographic Maps: Bethany (West Virginia), Steubenville East (Ohio)
County Maps: Brooke (West Virginia)
Description: Both larger and more remote than the section above Bethany, the stream wanders through farms and woods, alternating riffles and flowing pools. Slack water backs up from the Ohio River about a mile above the take-out. Many and varied wildflowers line the banks. [Checked 1996]
Difficulties: There is a Class I plus rapid just above the truss bridge on West Virginia Route 67. There is a 2‑foot rock dam near the end of the run.
Shuttle: The put-in is just south of Bethany, where West Virginia State Route 88 crosses the stream. The put-in is at the site of the old bridge, behind the Bethany College Leadership Center. To reach the take-out, head up the hill towards Bethany. At the top, turn left/west on West Virginia Route 67. Proceed to the Corps of Engineers boat launch area just within sight of the Ohio River, south of Wellsburg.
Gauges: Along West Virginia Route 67, about 0.5 miles north of the intersection with West Virginia Route 30, a low water bridge crosses the creek. There should be enough water at the low point in the middle to make it without scraping.
Normal Wet Period: No available statistics on seasons. Since this section is small, it should normally be runnable approximately January through April.