the Conejehola Flats
Paddling out from Shank's Mare at Long Level, you cross the River to the Conejehola Flats. Behind the islands is a designated Important Bird Area. Here you'll see various seabirds, sandpipers (aided by artificial "tides" as the River is raised and lowered from the dam below), eagles, cormorant, herons, egrets and swallows zooming over the water in an aerial ballet, hunting down those bugs trying to fly up your nose. Wind can kick up impassable waves, the current can be high and pushy after storms or flash floods farther north, and keep a weather eye out upriver, thunderstorms can sweep downriver and catch you in the middle. It's a good 20 minute paddle in an efficient longboat with a good paddler at the helm, longer if you're a newbie in a bucket that floats. On a good weather day it's a great paddle. There is a put-in on the Lancaster side of the River but I've never found it.
A better way to access the flats is from the Lancaster side, at the Blue Rock Heritage Center, down River Road to Blue Rock Road. You can park at the Heritage Center, there's a porta potti, and a fairly easy portage across the railroad tracks and down the paved hill. You'll want wheels, and a second person holding the other end of your boat to keep it from launching itself. Doable by old ladies so you can too!
A better way to access the flats is from the Lancaster side, at the Blue Rock Heritage Center, down River Road to Blue Rock Road. You can park at the Heritage Center, there's a porta potti, and a fairly easy portage across the railroad tracks and down the paved hill. You'll want wheels, and a second person holding the other end of your boat to keep it from launching itself. Doable by old ladies so you can too!
