I was lucky years ago to snag the a copy of the excellent laminated modular map set that the Greenway Partnership used to sell for the 225 mile West Branch of the Susquehanna River that winds through the wooded canyons and small towns of north central PA. Unfortunately it has not been available for a while.
But no it can be downloaded at their site, linked below. The maps of each section have plenty of detail on launch sites, dams, camping locations and water conditions (the mostly shallow narrow river has a few mild whitewater sections). The West Branch has been proposed for designation as a National Wild and Scenic River.
Warning for anyone planning a trip on it that you have to pay for the annual $10 launch permit from Pennsylvania for each boat to have access to some launch and landing sites controlled by Fish & Game.
Thanks for sharing, of interest to me, will wait to download when I’m back in the u.s
Downloaded! Thanks. What’s the best month to go?
Probably May - June or September-October. It’s very shallow in some stretches due to the shale riverbed so not easy to paddle in drought periods – we used to be able to wade all the way across the river where it passed along my ex boyfriend’s property about 3 miles downstream from the Shawville power plant and dam without it coming to our knees in the summer when it’s dry. But being PA, who knows when the dry spell will be this year. Spring tends to be rainy – probably prettiest in early Fall.
If you do make an extended trip on it, one of the places to camp would be the ex’s field along the river. If you look at Google Maps satellite view of the river at Shawville you will see a skinny loop in the river heading south below the power plant and dam. if you draw a line east west from the plant across that loop to the other side where the river heads back norht you will see a house and two barns, one with a white roof, where Egypt Road takes a hook and follows north along the river. That hooked area is just a dirt track on his property but if you follow along north you’ll see his teardrop shaped cleared pasture field right along the east bank. There is a cleared area where boats can land and up the short bank there is a large flat field he usually mows with a couple of fire circles in it. Sometimes he leaves firewood there. It’s beyond view of any houses so there is privacy. The fenced pasture in the middle (which to my knowledge, he has not had stock of any kind in since he gave away his two horses 15 years ago) has a pump with good fresh water piped from a hillside spring. He doesn’t mind campers who don’t leave a mess. His adult son and his friends camp there the whole of Memorial Day weekend and sometimes you may find canoe groups there but it is usually available to anyone who knows it is there. It’s about 15 acres so plenty of space. (Use my name if he has gotten grumpy and challenges you but I doubt that would happen.) You may be startled by elk bugling in the field if there in the Fall. The local herd grazes there a lot and I have seen as many as a bull with 5 cows hanging out. Also coyotes, turkeys and black bears but I have not heard of them bothering campers.