Powhattan Point ot Pipe Creek

Ohio River (and Captina Creek)

Powhatan Point, OH (Mile 109.5) to Pipe Creek (Mile 105)

September 2016 and 2018

Navigation Charts 192 and 193

Having put in from the village of Powhatan Point, Ohio a few times now I can tell you that it's an incredibly nice place to do so! In the midst of the town park, this ramp has facilities alongside it and it's very safe too. I've always seen people walking around exercizing no matter what time I'm putting in or taking out, and there's both a police and a fire station right behind the park.

I first visited here in the early 1990's, having driven down from Cleveland to make a delivery to the Catholic Church that used to be here. That church is now a library of all things, but the trip was one that I never forgot. I was told before I left that: "You're going to like this." They were right! An indelible memory had been made and it remained until 2016 when I first had the opportunity to paddle here.

When you enter the water from the ramp you'll actually be on Captina Creek, not on the Ohio River itself. Nevertheless, this creek is so pleasant that you might want to make a day of paddling it instead. It goes back about 2 1/2 miles, ending amid some pleasant riffles. The day I paddled it it was overcast but I think that made the photos look better. It brought out more of the color in the scenes. Below are several pictures from Captina Creek...

On to the Ohio River... Please note, however, that I would not recommend paddling downriver from Powhattan Point. I've found it to be one of the most dangerous areas I've yet encountered - and that includes the large cities. There are businesses on both sides of the water between mile 110 and 112 with quite a bit of activity and I even encountered an aggressive push boat going from one side to the other as I tried to paddle through once. Upstream it's quite pleasant though.

As you look back at the mouth of Captina Creek you may wonder (as I did) which spot is really the "Point" in Powhatan Point. It looks like it could be the spot on the left, but most of the village is on the right side. The photos below were taken from the mouth of the creek at different times with the last one being a "drop back pass" so to speak - an attempt to get as much of the Powhatan Point community in as possible.

As you begin upriver you'll immediately have a notable point on your right side where a mountain has been starkly cut to make room for West Virginia Route 2. Meanwhile, Powhattan Point will continue to be arrayed before you on your left for about the next mile.

Next, as you begin to make a left curve in the river, you'll have the Little Captina Creek coming in on your left side (in first photo below, unnavigable) while a little island - Captina Island - will be on your right side along with a light and day marker of the same name - Captina. The island is so far scewed toward the shoreline that it actually looks more like an incoming stream when you first look at it. I've been able to paddle around, but the channel is pretty narrow. You may not be able to do so at all times. It's quite pretty if you can, however.

This shot below was taken at the upriver tip of the island at mile 108, and you'll notice up ahead that the mountains will soon be in the process of switching sides. Particularly noticeable a couple miles in the distance is another starkly cut mountain. That's near the point where you'll be ending up at Pipe Creek.

At the mouth of Fish Run (unnavigable just past the island) I had the Pride of Enterprise Marine coming toward me to make for what I thought was a pleasant scene. This was the first time I'd encountered the company which, according the web link, runs liquified natural gas along the river. They're actually a subsidiary of another, much larger company - Enterprise Product Partners L.P. (or EPD on the stock exchange).

After another mile you'll have a golf course (Moundsville Country Club) up on your right at mile 107. I thought the shoreline was quite attractive in here. You won't really be able to see much of the club from down on the water, but you may hear the odd: "Fore!" and see an odd flag for one of the holes. It was also around here that I spotted the bird below on my 2016 trip. Hawk? Osprey? I'm not sure...

Following this is an incredibly intruiguing spot where the ground looks almost like an old burial mound, although I'm not sure it really is. It's walled off, and according to the charts it's located on the site of a company that used to be located here - LPC Chemical. I can't find any other information. If someone could help I'd truly appreciate it. My email address is at the bottom of my "About Me" page. Incidentally, this is at mile 106 which also marks the beginning of a section of the river called Round Bottom which is on the right side. On the left you'll have the Narrows Run shoal which has a bouy to mark it (the stream itself is not navigable).

Pipe Creek is now coming up on the left at mile 105. You can get back in a little way, but it's pretty shallow...

Once I'd emerged from the creek I was passed by another vessel run by a company I'd not encountered before - the Trey Paul LA Carriers LLC. According to the web link, this company was founded in 1986 and they transport bulk commodities from their headquarters in Louisiana, mostly for the oil industry. I was particularly intrigued by how tall this vessel was. Check it out...

Finally, an intersting note about the mouth of Pipe Creek - the blue structure you see way upriver in the distance marks the community of Moundsville, West Virginia. I'll explore it on the next trip.

DIRECTIONS:

I'm going to make a long story short on this one. Just type: "Powhatan Point Marina" into Google Maps. You'll get an idea of what it looks like and how to get there.