HIKING                                                    HOME                                                   PADDLING

Ohio River

Gallipolis, Ohio (Mile 270) to Point Pleasant, West Virginia (Mile 265)

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

(Navigation Charts 155 – 156)

Having recently become a proud new resident of Gallipolis, Ohio, I figured I’d make my first paddle of the year an exploration of the area around me.  There were, of course, two ways to go - upstream or down - but distances were a factor.  You see, the ramp in Gallipolis is the only one within 10 miles of the Robert Byrd Lock and Dam downstream.  If you want to explore that entire section, then, you've got a 20 mile out-and-back paddling day.  Well, I can yell you that you don’t want to make your first paddle of the year a 20 mile out and back - especially if you like to explore the side streams as well!  Raccoon Creek by itself is a very lengthy one down there.  In fact, I've heard that it might be the longest running creek in the state.  Yeah...  I decided to wait until I was a little more “warmed up” later in the year for all that, instead opting for this trip upriver to Point Pleasant. 

First Gallipolis…  Interesting history here!  It seems the town was essentially given to a group of settlers in order to make amends for wrongs done to them by unscrupulous parties.  From what I understand a group of settlers was lured across the sea on the promise of some great land near this spot in Ohio.  Well, when they arrived they found that the rights to the land they'd purchased didn't exist!  They petitioned the government for help, and they got it in the form of some woodcutters who came in and blazed the town plot for them.  It really is a great story of wrongs being righted in the name of justice.

As far as how it’s situated, Gallipolis is a town that is nearly right down on the water and it’s quite inviting.  There’s a ramp front and center which comes with a large parking lot and a little above that you can clearly see the town park.  It would be easy for a paddler to come in, relax in the park for a while, have a meal at the town diner and get supplies at the Dollar General or the hardware store that are right here off the park.  NOTE:  Unfortunately, the old hardware store is no longer here.  Also, in 2016 the riverfront was updated a little so that riverboats could have easier access to town and so that an amphitheater could be added.

As for today, it was quite hazy with temperatures that must have gotten into the hundreds. You can see this below as I took pictures of the push boat Donna York.  These aren’t the best shots but they do put a hazy day on the river into perspective.  Look how clouded the first picture looks with the sun glare, while the second shot is much clearer with the sun behind me.  If you don’t have something to block the sun you might very well have a load of barges bearing down on you without you knowing it!  I don’t wear sunglasses as I want to see the natural color of things when I’m out, but I do wear a baseball cap down over my eyes and a towel over my head to block the peripheral sunlight.  I definitely recommend having something!

Interesting is that just upriver from the town ramp there are a trio of what the charts refer to as “ice piers”.  You may see these on the left side in the first photo above and in the photos below as well.  I wasn't sure exactly what these were used for, but after finding another trio of them upstream at mile 252 in Middletport, Ohio I've been told by the Mayor there that the steamboats used to use them as shields against ice flows on the river.  Hiding behind these meant protection from the flowing ice which could crush them. Thank you Mayor Gerlach!  There are, by the way, two little streams that enter in this stretch according to the charts and one of them lies directly across from Gallipolis.  Neither was evident to me today, however.

A little island - Gallipolis Island - comes up just past mile 269.  This is a slender little one, possibly ¼ mile in length, but today it provided a nice respite from the sun as I drifted along the left side and let the island trees shelter me.  A few turkey buzzards seemed to have the same idea!  Then, when I reached the northern tip, I found a really nice setup on the grounds of a local residence.  It was complete with a few different kinds of shade trees and a U.S. flag - a very pleasant looking spot to enjoy the river.  Below is a shot looking back downriver at the island...

What I next encountered was a large plot of sandy beach just upriver from the island.  It didn’t seem to be being used, but it might eventually – and I hope so for the sake of the Riverside Motel that’s here.  The Riverside has an incredibly nice model riverboat sign by the side of the road here and the inn might be a nice place for a paddler to stay if these grounds were made available for take-outs.  You’d only have to cross over Ohio Route 7 (which can be, but is not usually terrifically busy). 

From here the river starts to get quite commercial on the Ohio side and I know that Wal-Mart, K-Mart and just about every fast food restaurant you can name has stakes here.  Two solid miles of barges lined the bank when I paddled by!  The whole area is fairly low-lying too, with some of the stores being visible from the water.  This is also about the same spot where the charts indicate that Arrow Concrete should be, and a towboat working here told me that it might a good idea to head over to the West Virginia side to be out of its way. 

Well, it was in the midst of making the crossing that I got my first glimpse of the Silver Memorial Highway Bridge up ahead (more on the span in a bit).  Also visible was a little unnamed stream.  An online map indicates that there’s a road here called Salt Creek Road, so perhaps this is Salt Creek.  At any rate, the stream flows under a little viaduct and while I didn’t really find it paddle-able, I did get some great photo opportunities here.  By the way, West Virginia Route 2 is directly beside the water at this point and it will stay there all the way up to Point Pleasant.  Likewise, Ohio Route 7 will follow very close to the shoreline on the Ohio side for this entire stretch.

At mile 267 you’ll find Campbell Transportation on the West Virginia side.  I saw a few vessels here including the Allegheny which was apparently from Pittsburgh, and one called the Kanawha.  As per their website, Campbell actually appears to consist of two companies – Campbell Transportation and C& C Marine Maintenance.  The former provides transportation services all along the Ohio River as well as some of it's tributaries (including the Allegheny and Kanawha Rivers, namesakes of the boats!) while the latter provides all manner of harbor, marine and industrial services.  These include repairing, cleaning and manufacturing vessels and barges.  You’ll want to steer clear of this facility, however.  I saw all kinds of warning signs posted.

Meanwhile, on the Ohio side of the river you’ll see a facility which is prominently indicated as being O-Kan Marine Repair Inc. at mile 266.  The push boat I’d paddled around earlier was marked with its insignia and it was really doing a lot of work today.  As I look at the company website now, I see the reason.  O-Kan offers quite a few services besides repair.  They also rent barges, they have shops for machining and fabrication and they’ve also got a couple floating cranes.  Dry-docking services are available too.  In fact, the 3 blue “walls” you’ll see here actually look to be part of mechanisms which lift vessels out of the water – and not just small vessels either.  These have a 3500 ton capacity (my understanding is that a car weighs about 2 tons)!

Now by this time you’ll have just about reached the Silver Memorial Bridge that spans the river between Gallipolis and Point Pleasant.  This bridge was completed in 1969 after the former, Silver Bridge tragically collapsed right before Christmas in 1967.  You'll still find many stories online about it, and the tragedy is still well remembered in the area.  Meanwhile, you'll note a second bridge in the distance as well, the Kanawha & Michigan Bridge.  This one is for a railroad.  Yet a third bridge spans the Kanawha River which comes in on your right directly beside the town of Point Pleasant.

Point Pleasant, West Virginia looks simply outstanding up ahead.  The "Point" in Point Pleasant must stand for the intersection of the rivers, and the park at this spot (Tu-Endie-Wei State Park) still has a pioneer feel to it.  I’ve visited and found it to be an incredibly serene place with nice shaded park benches overlooking the river.  Also on the grounds they have a monument dedicated to one of the Indian Wars, this one fought against Chief Cornstalk in 1774.  You'll see it in the photos.  It’s the obelisk next to the flag.

That’s not all they have in town, however.  The Point Pleasant River Museum is here and you can find  many displays on the history of the river at this location.  You can even try your hand at being a push boat captain via a simulator they have!  NOTE:  Sadly, the old location of this museum burned down but they're re-doing it and it's schedules to re-open in November 2021.

Meanwhile, if you look over on the Ohio side you’ll find a long line of distinctive yellow bushes alongside the bank of one residence.  You might also notice something else - a large amount of concrete along the shoreline.  Is this part of the concrete from the old bridge?  There are 3 or 4 ramps on this side too, one of which is public (I'm not sure which) and there was once a marina here as well – the Twin Rivers Marina – but I didn’t see a sign of it. 

Speaking of ramps, there is another one just off of Tu-Endie-Wei Park but it’s been blocked off by concrete slabs.  Seems it’s been claimed as private property.  If you want to put in at Point Pleasant you’ll have to use the little pier that’s been provided by the city a little further up on the Ohio alongside the downtown area.  Here you'll note that they’ve done quite a bit of work to include having Robert Dafford Murals come in and paint a good part of the break wall similar to what they've done in Maysville, Kentucky.  You’ve got to see these works of art to believe them!  There’s even one that encompasses the entire battle of Point Pleasant! 

Anyway, the first picture below will give you an idea of what it looks like as you float up to the city with the murals being partially visible up on the right hand side.  The second provides more of an overview.…

One last thing.  You'll note the brown brick building that's prominent in the center of downtown.  If you want to stay the night, that's a hotel.  It's within walking distance of the pier and it's a classic too – the Lowe Hotel, circa 1901.  It’s been restored and is still operating.  Come visit a classic city and do it in style too!  Gallipolis and Point Pleasant - what a couple great river towns!

DIRECTIONS:

This couldn’t be easier.  The ramp is right in the heart of downtown Gallipolis.  Just come into town via Ohio Route 7 - from whatever direction - and just head east to the water.  You can’t miss it.  For more info, just pull up a map of the city online and blow it up.