Western Maryland is home to some the marquee whitewater runs in the Eastern United States. It includes the watersheds of the North Branch of the Potomac, the Youghiogheny River, and, with in an hour's drive, the Cheat and Tygart watershed. According to regional tradition, Western Maryland begins just west of the City of Frederick, MD, and continues west along I-70 and then I-68 until the West Virginia state approximately 10 miles west of Friendsville. This 150 mile journey takes one from around 300 feet above sea level all the way to the highest point of Maryland at over 3,000 feet of elevation. The mountainous nature of the region mixed with river valleys provides paddling experiences from the moving flat water along parts of the Potomac and Monocacy Rivers to classic whitewater runs like the Upper Yough, Kitzmiller section of the North Branch of the Potomac, and the Savage River. Some of the world's best white water boaters cut their teeth on the rivers of the Western Maryland region. Given the close proximity of both the West Virginia Panhandle and South Western Pennsylvania there is some overlap in rivers that are included both in the Western Maryland Region and the Confluence/Ohiopyle Region of on worlkayak.com. This will also be true once there is a Morgantown based region for West Virginia.

The Western Maryland Boater Lifestyle...
Western Maryland is unique in that it is primarily a whitewater destination rather than a home to a large whitewater population like Ashville, NC or Fayetteville, WV.