What is the best way to spend the Sunday over Labor Day Weekend—enjoying Rowlesburg, the river city, from the water! Take a lazy ride down the Cheat River from Riverview Lounge to Rowlesburg Park. The trip is beginner-friendly, Class I-II waters, and about 3.3 miles. Once there, enjoy the town’s festival sponsored by the volunteer organizations of Rowlesburg. Lots to do in town from char-broiled chicken in the Park to the model train show at the Ambulance Building. The Szilagyi Center will be open all day with its world-class museums, the River City Cafe and the Emporium. For more information on Labor Day activities in Rowlesburg visit: www.rowlesburgguide.com
Free shuttle service will start at 11:00 am on Sunday September 1st, leaving approximately every 30 minutes until about 1:00 pm. Paddlers must drop off boating gear at Riverview Lounge first and proceed to Rowlesburg where cars will be left at the takeout. Meet the shuttle driver at the Cheat River Water Trail takeout point in the Rowleburg Park just downstream (north) of the larger Park parking lot. Please contact Amanda Pitzer for more details: amanda@cheat.org. No boats or gear will be available in Rowlesburg. Contact Blackwater Outdoor Adventure Center in St. George for information on boat rental: raftboa@frontiernet.net or (304) 478-3775. The float trip may be cancelled pending low water levels.
The float trip is planned by the Cheat River Water Trail Committee which is part of Friends of the Cheat (FOC). FOC is a grassroots, non-profit organization formed in 1994 to “restore, preserve, and promote the outstanding natural qualities of the Cheat River watershed.” The group’s primary focus since its inception has been the monitoring, characterization and remediation of acid mine drainage (AMD), the Cheat’s most damaging pollutant. The group works with its Cheat River Water Trail Committee to develop and maintain beginner friendly water trails for canoeing, tubing, fishing and playing on the river. The Upper Cheat River Water Trail begins in Hendricks, West Virginia, traveling through Tucker and then Preston County to end in Rowlesburg, West Virginia. For more information on the Upper Cheat River Water Trail visit: www.cheatriverwatertrail.org
