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The first European to set eyes on the Susquehanna River was explorer John Smith, in 1608. He was suitably impressed. "Heaven and earth seemed never to have agreed better to frame a place for man's commodious and delightful habitation." While sailing around the area, Smith wrote in detail about the native Susquehannocks, who gave the river its name.
As the Susquehanna River completes the longest journey of any waterway on the eastern coast of the United States, it drops some 90 feet in elevation before emptying into the Chesapeake Bay. The power of this falling water attracted pioneer settlers who lined the banks of the Susquehanna with mills.
The mills have disappeared and in their place today is Susquehanna State Park. The best way to explore the park is on foot. Located on the southern shore of the river, the park is blanketed in thick deciduous forests and impressive rock outcroppings. There are 15 miles of trails, ranging from flat, easy walks along the water to challenging trails climbing into the heights about the river.
Most visits to Susquehanna State Park begin at the restored Rock Run Grist Mill, erected in 1794 by John Stump. Stump was a miller of some prominence with operations in three Maryland counties. The water-powered, three-story stone mill is still operational and grinds corn into meal on summer weekends.
Between the mill and the Susquehanna River is a segment of the historic Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal, dug in 1836. A trail on the old canal towpath leads 2.2 miles upstream to the Conowingo Dam, America's longest concrete-slab dam. Along the trail, near the Rock Run Grist Mill is a small white wooden building that once served as a toll house for a covered bridge that spanned the Susquehanna River at this point and today is an information center for Susquehanna State Park. The bridge was destroyed by ice floes in 1856.
The trail is wide and shaded underneath a canopy of sycamore and beech and oak. The dam has eliminated the riverÕs flood plain and the Susquehanna is a string of clear pools amidst boulders at this point and sitting in the river is a pleasant diversion. Below the dam is a favorite bird watching spot as pisavorious birds dive for stunned and splattered fish near the spillways. There are a wide variety of gulls on display and Conowingo is a known favorite of nesting bald eagles, especially between October and March. Across the river, a cliff with a pink mansion perched on it, was one of the last historical nesting sites of peregrine falcons in Maryland.
Susquehanna State Park features several loop trails in the hills above the Susquehanna River Valley. Most are around two miles in length and easily followed with colored blazes. If using the green-blazed Deer Creek Trail be on the lookout for a magnificent spreading white oak on a hilltop near the middle of the walk.
Susquehanna State Park is located three miles northwest of Havre de Grace off Route 155 in Harford County. The park is approximately 35 miles north of Baltimore. Take I-95 north or south to Route 155, exit 89. Proceed west on Route 155 to Route 161. Turn right on Route 161 and then right on Rock Run Road. Follow Rock Run Road to the park.
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