Recently, Betsy and I decided to take a short, evening float trip on the Monongahela River. We paddled between Uffington and Roundbottom, just south of Morgantown, WV
Temps were in the high 70s and it was quite windy making the water a bit choppy. Below are some pics of the 5 mile, two hour paddle.
The boat ramp at Uffington. This shot was taken from directly underneath the old railroad trestle which now supports the Mon River Rail-Trail.
The Mon River is separated into pools which are controlled by dams. This gives the river the appearance and often feel of a lake rather than a moving stream of water.
The span in the background carries I-79 across the river. The boat ramp is just beyond the bridge, to the North.
Unfortunately the Mon river has it's share of trash. There is a project currently underway to clean-up the trash and educate people about the problem.
Betsy and a nice colony of Hay Scented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula)
We saw many interesting plants and trees as we paddled along. This Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum) made a nice arch out over the water.
The paddle had a feeling of being quite remote, in spite of being only a few miles from busy, downtown Morgantown.
The Uffington boat launch is accessed via SR 73. There is a large gravel parking lot and concrete boat ramp.
The Rail-Trail access is the next road going south and is adjacent to the boat launch area. The river access lot and the Rail-Trail lot are separated by Booths Creek.