Surf the Patapsco

Our river is a beautiful body of water running down the fall line of the piedmont plateau to the coastal plain from Mt. Airy through Ellicott City and Elkridge before reaching Baltimore City and flowing out into the Chesapeake Bay.

The Patapsco is an historic river. Forts along Baltimore Harbor were vital to defending the rebellious American colonies against the British Empire and where was written The Star Spangled Banner. Quakers in Patapsco Valley began America's Industrial Revolution on grain mills that lead our economy away from tobacco. Merchants in a small provincial town turned the port into a world trading center and created the wealth that built a great city.

From his summer retreat called  Clifton, Johns Hopkins would stand from a tower watching his ships come into harbor. From that fortune came the institutions that all of us benefit from today.

The Patapsco: Baltimore's River of History by Paul Travers is a wonderful way to enjoy the river through time. Another fun way is to visit Patapsco Valley State Park . It was the state's first one; by setting aside the land along more than thirty miles of the river's banks, much of the valley's natural beauty remains preserved, undeveloped and free for people to enjoy.

I have swam in the river many times and organized a project, "Save the Patpasco, Hon!" 

I love riding over Key Bridge and going to Fort McHenry.

I love spotting parts of the river from the many bridges that cross its snaking course.

I love having a river I can call my own.

Like the Seine or the Thames, the Patapsco remains the veins of our metropolis, ever with us, with every ebb and flow.