Save the Bay - Spring 2014

Henry pointed out the areas on the Potomac where River Riders provides rafts, tubes, kayaks, canoes, and stand up paddle boards for guided and unguided tours.

The town of Harpers Ferry, visible in the distance, was built around the power of this historical river. The Potomac was the only river mighty enough to cut through the towering Blue Ridge mountains, leaving the only deep water gap in the range.

When Thomas Jefferson viewed this passage
in 1783 from a rock now named for him, he
called it “perhaps one of the most stupendous
scenes in nature.” Two years later, George
Washington proposed Harpers Ferry as the
site for a U.S. arsenal and armory.

When established, the arsenal and armory turned this remote town into an industrial hub, producing hundreds of thousands of weapons. Private industry—paper mills, cotton mills, a sawmill, and an iron foundry— followed, all taking advantage of the power the two colliding rivers provided. Industry brought transportation, and a few railroads converged in this center of economic growth.

After our impressive last zip of 725 feet, River
Riders bussed us back to our starting point at
their headquarters outside town. From there,
Hungry from our day in the trees, we head-
ed to our room to clean up for dinner. Our
destination was Grandale, a farm-to-fork
restaurant in Neersville, Virginia, just about

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, at a Glance

; POPULATION (City Limits): 286 (2010 Census).

; GEOGRAPHY: The town of Harpers Ferry is located in a low-lying flood plain at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers where West Virginia meets Maryland and Virginia. The rivers form the Potomac Water Gap at the lowest crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

; ACTIVITIES: White-water rafting, fishing, kayaking, camping, mountain biking, tubing, canoeing, hiking, zip lining, rock climbing.

; CONTACT: River Riders www.riverriders.com Stonehouse www.hfstonehouse.com Grandale Restaurant www.grandalefarm.com Harpers Ferry National Historical Park www.nps.gov/hafe