Events - Future Events View

Friday, May 15th – Time 6PM – Carpenters Park to Greenhouse Park Racers check in Time - 4:30-5:30PM at Carpenters Park 7:30 Awards presentation $25 Registration Benscreek Canoe Club will be holding its annual Downriver Race as part of Immersion Research Headwaters Racing Series. This is a downriver sprint race covering 3.5 miles of pool drop whitewater (Class II+ – Class III). The put-in is at Carpenter’s Park which is the normal takeout for the Stonycreek Canyon run with the finish line at Greenhouse park at the beach on river left after the playpark wave. Spectators can watch from the finish line at the GHP wave. For more information and registration, see: https://benscreekcanoeclub.com/rendezvous/

Join Miki Komlosh on the North Branch of the Potomac at Bloomington. This lovely continuous Class II/II+ section of the Potomac River is a great step-up run for intermediate paddlers.

For more info on Bloomington, click the link below.
https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/2430/main

Ryan and Rolo are coordinating a trip down Stonycreek canyon section. This trip is open to first-timers and/or experienced paddlers. To join, you must have a solid roll in moving water and be confident running Class III+ rapids. Contact us if you are interested in joining the group. Please do not just show up at the put-in without contacting us first, as we might want to know more about your whitewater kayaking experience if we haven’t paddled with you before. Registration for this trip is required.

ADAPTED is a powerful documentary about resilience, adventure, and redefining what’s possible after life-altering injury.

Driven by unbreakable willpower, three adaptive athletes — Josh Hancock, Anna Soens, and Danielle Doelling — embark on a daring and personal adventure with the hope of finding new ways to access places that make them feel most alive. Anna aims to become the first paraplegic athlete to summit Washington’s 10,781-foot Mt. Baker. Josh leads a custom adaptive raft expedition down Idaho’s wild Salmon River. Danielle takes on the ultimate endurance challenge, hand-cycling 87 miles across the White Rim Trail in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park.

May 16, 2026, at the Miracle Theater in Washington, DC.
Doors open at 3:00. Show starts at 3:30.
General Admission $25. ADA Admission $10

The Miracle Theater
535 8th Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
https://themiracletheatre.com/
(202) 400-3210

Ryan and Rolo are coordinating a trip down Stonycreek canyon section. This trip is open to first-timers and/or experienced paddlers. To join, you must have a solid roll in moving water and be confident running Class III+ rapids. Contact us if you are interested in joining the group. Please do not just show up at the put-in without contacting us first, as we might want to know more about your whitewater kayaking experience if we haven’t paddled with you before. Registration for this trip is required.

Assuming that the Corps of Engineers‘ N-Branch Potomac release (Bloomington) May 16-17 does not get cancelled owing to low water levels in the Jennings Randolph reservoir, I will coordinate a joint BRV-CCA trip on the Westernport/Piedmont to Black Oak/Gary Yoder section of the North Branch on Sunday, May 17, 2026. We will rendezvous at the Subway (sandwich) shop parking lot in Westernport, MD at 11 AM, to give the Bloomington release water time to arrive at Westernport from upstream. The Web indicates that the Subway is once again in business; if accurate, a take-out lunch can be purchased there. This is an approx. 10-mile trip (Novice/Low-Intermediate), with most of the actual whitewater being in the first 5 miles (to the McCoole access on river left, where we usually have lunch), but with some spectacular geologic exposures in the lower half below Keyser. The rapids are mostly bouncy class 2, similar to the easier rapids on the Bloomington run but with noticeably less gradient; there is one ledge rapid that is more like 2+. The water is quite cold, so dress appropriately. There are some photos of this run on the American Whitewater website: https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/3241/main Paddlers interested in joining this trip should contact Hendrik van Oss (see below) NO LATER THAN Friday, May 15, Noon, as I will be driving up to Keyser on Friday afternoon, intending to spend Friday and Saturday nights at a motel (likely, the Keyser Inn). Note: I DO NOT have a cell phone--my home landline does have an answering machine, and a message can be left for me at the Keyser Inn Reception desk. Hendrik van Oss 703-715-8381 (Landline only) hvanoss.cement@gmail.com

We will return to the George Washington Canal on Sunday. The predicted Little Falls gage is 3.0, low for this time of year. On the plus side, the morning weather forecast is a high near 80, with little chance of rain. We will meet at the Pennyfield Lock parking lot at 10:00 to set shuttle for a put-in at Riley‘s Lock. Please contact me at macinmd1@gmail.com or 443 542 8779 if you wish to join the trip. PFDs are required for all. Helmets are required for kayakers using spray skirts and highly recommended for all others. Airbags are strongly encouraged for boats without other means of flotation. If you need safety equipment, please advise the trip coordinator. Not yet a CCA member? Click Here to Join: https://www.canoecruisers.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=394800&module_id=238890

We‘re going to camp at Friends of the Cheat campground for the Memorial weekend. It‘s first come first serve, 20$/group of 4/night. https://cheat.org/campgrounds/ It‘s the takeout for cheat narrows rafting, so it‘s very convenient. The Williamsons will arrive on Saturday ~1pm, and stay till Monday but feel free to come earlier or even Friday, and you could help stake out campsites. There is another campground next door so I‘m not so worried about not finding spots. I‘d like to raft Cheat Narrows at least 1 of those days and you can join. We have a raft. It will be pretty full but we might be able to cram your kid in!

We‘re going to camp at Friends of the Cheat campground for the Memorial weekend. It‘s first come first serve, 20$/group of 4/night. https://cheat.org/campgrounds/ It‘s the takeout for cheat narrows rafting, so it‘s very convenient. The Williamsons will arrive on Saturday ~1pm, and stay till Monday but feel free to come earlier or even Friday, and you could help stake out campsites. There is another campground next door so I‘m not so worried about not finding spots. I‘d like to raft Cheat Narrows at least 1 of those days and you can join. We have a raft. It will be pretty full but we might be able to cram your kid in!

We‘re going to camp at Friends of the Cheat campground for the Memorial weekend. It‘s first come first serve, 20$/group of 4/night. https://cheat.org/campgrounds/ It‘s the takeout for cheat narrows rafting, so it‘s very convenient. The Williamsons will arrive on Saturday ~1pm, and stay till Monday but feel free to come earlier or even Friday, and you could help stake out campsites. There is another campground next door so I‘m not so worried about not finding spots. I‘d like to raft Cheat Narrows at least 1 of those days and you can join. We have a raft. It will be pretty full but we might be able to cram your kid in!

CCA in collaboration with Paddlesport Institute has commissioned Jordan Taylor to lead an Advanced Whitewater Skills course for Kayakers who are comfortable running the Lower Yough or similar Class 3 rivers.

CCA is holding a spring/ early summer picnic for all members and their guests at Riley‘s Lock park in Poolesville, MD. Come join us for food (bring a dish to share!) at the picnic tables, swapping stories with other paddlers, rolling practice in Seneca Creek, and games on land and in the river (such as: cornhole, throw bag contest, water balloons, slack line, sack race, canoe splash war). This is a family friendly event. Rain or shine. Paddlers from Team River Runner (a military veterans paddling organization) will be joining as well. Date: Sunday, June 7. 3-6pm. Address: 13123 Rileys Lock Rd, Poolesville, MD Google maps location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fRjEW95DBmY3HRKP7 No need to register, just show up for the fun!

Ryan and Rolo are coordinating a trip to the Lower Yough on Saturday, 6/13.
To join, you must have a solid roll in moving water and be confident running Class III+ rapids. Contact us if you are interested in joining the group. Please do not just show up at the put-in without contacting us first, as we might want to know more about your whitewater kayaking experience if we haven’t paddled with you before. Registration for this trip is required.

We‘ll paddle the Stonycreek canyon section. To join, you must have a solid roll in moving water and be confident running Class III+ rapids. Contact us if you are interested in joining the group. Please do not just show up at the put-in without contacting us first, as we might want to know more about your whitewater kayaking experience if we haven’t paddled with you before. Registration for this trip is required.

3-day paddle fest on the Chattooga and/or nearby streams, such as the Nantahala or Ocoee.For paddlers with experience on Class III+ rivers, such as the Lower Yough. Details to be worked out based on water levels and other factors closer to the time of the trip. Coordinated by David “Cotton” Cottingham and Hugh Hilliard, who paddled these rivers many years ago but not recently. Some scouting will be required, and there will be options to portage some rapids (e.g., Bull Sluice, Woodall Shoals). We tentatively plan to paddle Chattooga Section 3 one day and Section 3-1/2 (starts midway down section 3 and goes several miles into section 4 taking out at Woodall Shoals) another. We will decide where to paddle the third day based on interest of the group, weather, and water levels, and may adjust the first two days depending on conditions. The Chattooga is a classic southeastern whitewater river that flows out of NC and forms part of the boundary between SC and GA. Deliverance was filmed there and made the river and whitewater paddling famous. It’s a wild and scenic river with spectacular forested shores in National Forests and few access points. It has 3 sections that most people paddle known as Sections 2, 3, and 4. Rapids range from Class II in Section 2 to Class Vs in Section 4. Section 3 is a 13-mile stretch of mostly Class III rapids with several Class IV drops. Section 3 is similar in difficulty to the Lower Yough. Here are the AW links to different Chattooga sections: · Section 2 -- https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/477/main · Section 3 -- https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/475/main · Section 4 -- https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/476/main

We will likely meet up at Anglers at 10am, off the river around 3, but Please get in touch with me for details. Nathan williamson 301-461-7086

3-day paddle fest on the Chattooga and/or nearby streams, such as the Nantahala or Ocoee.For paddlers with experience on Class III+ rivers, such as the Lower Yough. Details to be worked out based on water levels and other factors closer to the time of the trip. Coordinated by David “Cotton” Cottingham and Hugh Hilliard, who paddled these rivers many years ago but not recently. Some scouting will be required, and there will be options to portage some rapids (e.g., Bull Sluice, Woodall Shoals). We tentatively plan to paddle Chattooga Section 3 one day and Section 3-1/2 (starts midway down section 3 and goes several miles into section 4 taking out at Woodall Shoals) another. We will decide where to paddle the third day based on interest of the group, weather, and water levels, and may adjust the first two days depending on conditions. The Chattooga is a classic southeastern whitewater river that flows out of NC and forms part of the boundary between SC and GA. Deliverance was filmed there and made the river and whitewater paddling famous. It’s a wild and scenic river with spectacular forested shores in National Forests and few access points. It has 3 sections that most people paddle known as Sections 2, 3, and 4. Rapids range from Class II in Section 2 to Class Vs in Section 4. Section 3 is a 13-mile stretch of mostly Class III rapids with several Class IV drops. Section 3 is similar in difficulty to the Lower Yough. Here are the AW links to different Chattooga sections: · Section 2 -- https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/477/main · Section 3 -- https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/475/main · Section 4 -- https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/476/main

3-day paddle fest on the Chattooga and/or nearby streams, such as the Nantahala or Ocoee.For paddlers with experience on Class III+ rivers, such as the Lower Yough. Details to be worked out based on water levels and other factors closer to the time of the trip. Coordinated by David “Cotton” Cottingham and Hugh Hilliard, who paddled these rivers many years ago but not recently. Some scouting will be required, and there will be options to portage some rapids (e.g., Bull Sluice, Woodall Shoals). We tentatively plan to paddle Chattooga Section 3 one day and Section 3-1/2 (starts midway down section 3 and goes several miles into section 4 taking out at Woodall Shoals) another. We will decide where to paddle the third day based on interest of the group, weather, and water levels, and may adjust the first two days depending on conditions. The Chattooga is a classic southeastern whitewater river that flows out of NC and forms part of the boundary between SC and GA. Deliverance was filmed there and made the river and whitewater paddling famous. It’s a wild and scenic river with spectacular forested shores in National Forests and few access points. It has 3 sections that most people paddle known as Sections 2, 3, and 4. Rapids range from Class II in Section 2 to Class Vs in Section 4. Section 3 is a 13-mile stretch of mostly Class III rapids with several Class IV drops. Section 3 is similar in difficulty to the Lower Yough. Here are the AW links to different Chattooga sections: · Section 2 -- https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/477/main · Section 3 -- https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/475/main · Section 4 -- https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/476/main

Join us for a summer solstice paddle on June 21st. We will likely do the Violettes Lock loop, down the GW Canal and return via the C&O Canal, but we’ll keep our options open depending on weather and water levels. If interested or with questions, contact Ginny at ginny.quam@gmail.com or Gary at gquam64@gmail.com. Not yet a CCA member? Click Here to Join: https://www.canoecruisers.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=394800&module_id=238890

I cannot argue that the best way to spend this summer evening would be paddling in the Mather Gorge, on the Potomac’s warm waters. But June 22 or 24 would be just as nice, so instead join us this evening as we have what we hope you’ll find to be an engaging program by Jo Kemper. Who? Jo Kemper is paddler from the other Washington, the town of White Salmon to be exact. But what does that matter, as she seems to never stay home, and you might just as well run into her on a river in Pakistan, Belize, Zambia, or, with really good odds, somewhere in the spectacular Canadian Rockies. So thanks to the magic of Zoom, she has consented to share some of her Canadian experiences this evening. We paddlers are an amazing tribe. Come meet one of those who especially make us so. As usual, this is a virtual show, so register now, while slots are available. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED This is a Zoom meeting. A link will be emailed to all who register an hour or so before the presentation starts, and posted on the calendar page just before the meeting starts. Please insure that your email system does not block messages from CCA. Add mailer@mail2.clubexpress.com to your approved site, senders or contact list.

CCA, in collaboration with Paddlesport Institute, is offering a OC1 Potomac River clinic on Saturday, August 22 with canoe instructor, Jordan Taylor. This is an all-day clinic for CCA OC1ers comfortable in Class 2-3 rivers. The course will include moving water maneuvers, paddling techniques and mechanics, ranges of motion, body positioning, paddle placement, propulsion and turning.

Please join us for a day of fun!
A former slate quarry, the 15-acre freshwater reservoir boasts inflatable slides, climbing walls, a zipline, a rodeo pier, paddleboards, and jungle-gyms for kids and adults alike on which to challenge and enjoy themselves.
https://www.guppygulchcamp.com/info

Everyone who participates must sign the ACA Waiver and Guppy Gulch waiver for insurance coverage.