St Mary's, WV to Frontier Boat Ramp

Ohio River

Fish Creek (Mile 114) to Powhatan Point, OH (Mile 109.5)

August 2018

Navigation Charts 191 and 192

I can recommend the first part of this section to the paddler but not necessarily the second. The slack water in Fish Creek extends for 4 miles (and I'll begin at that point shortly). It's a great stream to check out. Fish Creek Island is also pleasant enough to paddle around. However, this section is quite industrial overall and I specifically recommend avoiding the area just below Powhatan Point between mile 111 and 110. You'll find large facilities on either side of the river here with multiple pushboats travelling across the river at any given time. Below is what it looked like as I came through... I count 5 vessels! Would you want to paddle through all that? :)

It's said that familiarity breeds contempt, and while I'm not sure about that I'm pretty sure that proximity does - especially when we're talking about human beings operating machines of any kind. I was out here in 2016 and had a load of barges pushed right across my nose by a pushboat going from one side of the river to the other here in complete disregard for my safety. You can be as considerate as possible on the river and still encounter contempt. I'd avoid this mile.

My starting point today was Fish Creek which is south of Moundsville, West Virginia. There's a put it right at the mouth that you access by driving right under West Virginia Route 2 and a railroad bridge. It's a very low lying point that runs very close to the water. This one must flood on occasion! It doesn't have any facilities. The ramp is visible on your right in the picture below.

As mentioned, you can paddle about 4 miles into Fish Creek and as you begin you'll find some "Beauty and the Beast" scenes on your left. What I mean is that there's a large power plant visible up there amidst a pleasant wildflower scene.

After going a little way you'll find Long Run entering from the right. It doesn't go back very far but there are some nice scenes here...

About 2 miles in you'll come to a steep curve in the river which is followed by the view below - a very interesting old road bridge! I love encoutering things like this! It appears that this was once a Route 27 span which is now blocked off at both sides.

Get past this bridge (and what was a cacophony of barking dogs for me today) and you'll have reached the first point of solitude that you might have enjoyed in quite a while, either on the Ohio or on one of it's side streams. There is a road running alongside you (Fish Creek Road!) but the traffic is light so you can simply float for a while and listen to the sounds of the birds and perhaps the wind through the trees. You might also hear some cows. :) It's nice!

At mile 4 your progress will likely be halted by a rocky shoal that extends across the stream at the point where Dirt Road meets Fish Creek Road. There's been work going on here for at least the last couple years.

It's back to the Ohio now...

As you paddle out of Fish Creek you'll be looking directly at it's namesake, Fish Creek Island, in the middle of the river. This island isn't that big (perhaps a tad more than a mile in circumference) but at one point I got out and stopped for a little while to rest and see what it was like. Doing so, I noted what looked like a cluster of little mussels just under the surface. I also love seeing the little patterns that the waves make in the sand just under the surface of the water when I visit spots like this.

Below is a view from the West Virginia side of the island with Certainteed's Moundsville gypsum operation prominent. From their website it looks like gypsum is used in ceiling and wall construction. The site also states that the company originated in 1904 when it was known as General Roofing Manufaturing Company. Interestingly, the modern name - Cartainteed - comes from their slogan: “Quality made certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed.”

Further upriver, and by the time you get to the upper tip of the island, AEP's Mitchell Power Plant will dominate the scenery. As you might imagine this plant, along with the various operations that support it, span a large area - about 2 miles of shoreline and a little more if you count the lines of barges. Meanwhile, on the Ohio side, four little streams come in - Krebs, Clover, Big and Little Runs. The second photo below was taken from the mouth of Big Run at about mile 112. Note the incredible number of electrical towers they have here!

Once you complete the right curve in the river you'll be looking at the congested scene in the very first picture where I came close to being run over. I'd turn around and go back here, but this is a straightaway which extends just past Powhattan Point, Ohio. You'll find an incredibly pleasant put-in in Powhattan Point that I'll describe in the next upriver journal. Meanwhile, below are a couple shots from the area just before you reach the town (and if you're wondering about Captina Creek which enters just downstream of Powhattan, I'll describe it in the next upriver journal as well).

DIRECTIONS:

You have a couple choices here, but I'd use the Fish Creek put-in off Route 2 in West Virginia just below Moundsville. You access it off of Woodland Road. From a water perspective, it's at the point where Fish Creek meets the Ohio River in West Virginia. This ramp is just inside the mouth of the creek on the right side. Shorter version... Just type "warrior trail moundsville wv" into Google Maps and you can get directions from wherever you are. It seems like an odd thing to type in for a put-in, but a hiking path called Warrior Trail also starts from this same point. More info here.