Mahoning River

The Mahoning River begins its journey to the Beaver River southeast of Alliance, Ohio. Most of its journey is in Ohio with about 12 miles in Pennsylvania before it joins Shenango River to form the Beaver River. The word Mahoning is a Delaware word meaning “at the licks” in reference to the numerous salt licks that lured the first settlers to the area. Today the river suffers from years of heavy industrial pollution in the Youngston, Ohio area. Though most of the industrial complexes are gone now, the accumulated sediments remain on the bottom of the river, making the bottom essentially devoid of life. Some of these pollutants flowed into the Beaver River as well.

However, the Mahoning River valley include floodplains, islands and other notable riverside habitats. The valley harbors three Natural Heritage Area recognized in the Lawrence County Natural Heritage inventory. These areas recognize notable natural communities near the river. They include – The Edinburg Swamp Biological Diversity Area, Soap City Slopes Area, and Quaker Falls Area.

A. Alliance to Lowellville                              80.0 miles

Class           Grad                    Size (Area/Volume)                  Scene/Poll             Level

   A-I             3/3                  Medium (978/1,016)                    D/C

                                                        Youngstown                                      Youngstown
                                                                                                                          Lowellville

Topographic Maps: Alliance (Ohio), Deerfield (Ohio), Lake Milton (Ohio), Newton Falls (Ohio), Champion (Ohio), Warren (Ohio), Girard (Ohio), Youngstown (Ohio), Campbell (Ohio)

County Maps: Stark (Ohio), Portage (Ohio), Trumbull (Ohio), Mahoning (Ohio)

Other Maps: The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Watercraft "Boating in Ohio Streams #5, Northeast Section".

Description: The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Watercraft has published a series of pamphlets describing canoeable rivers in Ohio. The following access points and difficulty locations are taken from the #5 pamphlet, which covers northeast Ohio.

 

US Route 62 and Bandy Road east of Alliance, roadside access on river left.

Webb Road bridge in Alliance, roadside access on river left.

Ford, pipe and dam below Webb Road bridge in Alliance, portage on river right.

Gaskill Street off Walnut Street in Alliance, pull off access on river right.

Early Hill Park in Alliance off Vine Street, access on river left.

Greenbower Street bridge at Berlin Lake north of Alliance, roadside access on river right.

Pine Street bridge at Berlin Lake north of Alliance, roadside access on river left.

Berlin Lake north of Alliance, roadside access on river left and right

Berlin Lake dam at north edge of Berlin Road north of Alliance, portage on river left staying near shore as restricted area begins 100 feet above dam.

Shillings Mill bridge (closed) between Lake Berlin and Lake Milton in Shillings Mill, roadside access on river right.

City of Youngstown Lake Milton public access off Mahoning Avenue bridge south of Craig Beach, roadside access on river right.

Lake Milton Dam on Craig Beach, portage left or right.

Pritchard-Ohltown Road bridge (Mahoning-Trumbull County line) north of Craig Beach, roadside access on river right.

West River Road bridge in Newton Falls, roadside access on river left.

Dam in Newton Falls on Tickner Avenue bridge between First Street and Ravenna Warren Road, portage on river right.

First Street in Newton Falls, roadside pulloff below dam on river left.

Dam above Leavitt Road bridge in Leavittsburg, portage on river left.

Canoe City Livery off Leavitt Road bridge in Leavittsburg, access on river left with permission.

Leavitt Road bridge in Leavittsburg, roadside pulloff river left.

Packard Park in Warren off Ohio State Route 45 (Mahoning Avenue), access on river left.

Dam above Ohio State Route 45 in Warren, portage on river left, upstream of dam at Packard Park. [Checked 1988]

Although there is one more access point below Packard Park, we recommend that the canoeing section stop at Packard Park. Below here the water quality is not as good as above the park, access is not as frequent, and there are several hazardous dams.

 

Maddel Park off Park Avenue west of Niles, access on river left.

Dam north of Liberty Street, James Road in Girard, portage on river right.

Dam above the railroad tracks in Worthington and West Federal Streets north of the Ohio State Route 193 bridge in Youngstown, portage on river right. Dam is broken, but not runnable.

Broken dam under Marshall Street bridge in Youngstown. There is a chute on the right, but it has strainers and the rest of the dam has a good hydraulic. Portage river right at the railroad tracks.

Dam in steel mill area in Campbell downstream of Center Street bridge, portage on river right, but there is no portage path at high water.

Dam above First Street/Washington Street bridge in Lowell­ville (dangerous), portage on river left with difficulty.

Difficulties: None above Packard Park. Multiple dams below the Park.

Shuttle: Use a good state road map.

Gauges: Youngstown, Lowellville

Normal Wet Period: Normal Wet Period: No available statistics on seasons. Since this section is medium-sized, it should normally be runnable approximately December through May.

B. Lowellville to Mahoningtown                 11.0 miles

Class           Grad                    Size (Area/Volume)                  Scene/Pol              Level

     I                4/4                 Medium (1,073/1,400)                  A/B                 3.7-??
                                                         Lowellville                                           Lowellville

Topographic Maps: Campbell (Ohio), Edinburg, Bessemer

County Maps: Mahoning (Ohio), Lawrence

Description: Much of this run parallels the Stavich Bike Trail. There are lots of overhanging trees, but the river is wide enough that strainers do not pose a problem. [Reported 2002]

Difficulties: There is a washed out dam in Lowellville. You should put in below this dam. About a mile into the run, near an electrical station on the left, there are a number of piers in the river creating an enormous logjam. The banks here are steep and thick with brush making shore scouting and portage difficult. When last run, the passage was on the extreme left with a pushy tongue and strong eddy just off the tongue. Just below the US Route 224 bridge there is a small pipe, which forms a very low-head dam. At a level of 4.4 it was easily run. At a lower level you would have to lift over.

Shuttle: Put in in the town of Lowellville on river left, about 2 blocks below the bridge. Be sure to put in below the remains of an old washed-out dam. To reach the take‑out, go southeast in Lowellville on E Jackson Street for about 1 mile to US Route 224. Turn left/east on US Route 224, go about 8 miles to US Route 422 the New Castle bypass. Take US Route 422 south for about 3.5 miles to the State Route 168 exit. At the end of the ramp go left for a very short block to Cherry Street. Turn right/west onto Cherry Street. Cross the Shenango River and continue on for a few blocks to State Route 108/18. Turn left/west onto State Route 18 and continue to the “T” intersection where State Route 108 turns right, and State Route 18 turns left. Turn left/south and go a short block to first road on the left. Turn left and go a short block to the creek.

Gauge: Lowellville. We estimate the gauge should read above 3.7 feet for a runnable level.

 Normal Wet Period: No available statistics on seasons. Since this section is medium-sized, it should normally be runnable approximately December through May.