Location.
Susquehanna Museum in northern Havre de Grace off Conesteo Street. ADC page 21, Coords D5. Parking is available at the Museum.
Description
The Susquehanna Museum is situated on several acres of open land. The lock house is a substantial brick building built in 1840 by the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal Company. Looking at the notices, I would guess that you would have to be mighty lucky t o find the Museum open.
The lock, which I assume was the entrance to the canal is in excellent condition. A pedestrian bridge crosses the lock which leads to the tow path on the river side and it is a nice stroll north the the Route 40 bridge. A portion of the canal remains a nd was well populated with ducks when I was there.
Access to the north is blocked by a stream. As the Susquehanna is tidal at this point, the mouth of this stream appears a popular feeding area for ducks and sea gulls.
There is an enclosed berm on the property which suggests an artificial pond or quite possibly a swimming pool. The tree growth suggest that it hasn't been used in 40 years and was perhaps abandoned during the polio scares of the 1950s.
You can cross the stream by following it upstream a few hundred feet to a pedestrian bridge which leads to a park and playground (McChianey Park). There are obvious blue blazes which lead straight across the park and under the Route 40 bridge to the aban doned rail line which was used in constructing the Conowingo Dam.
I followed the rail line north for about one half mile to the second rail bridge across the Susquehanna. This area is separated from the river by a substantial marsh. On the other side the ground continues to rise with exposed rock and later very substa ntial boulders.
At the rail bridge, the trail follows close to the river and the area is wooded. There are signs of substantial dumping in this area but it looks to be over 30 years old.
The trail ends at a small stream and later a fence a few hundred years north of the rail bridge. I believe that there is a rock quarry north of the fence.
Blue blazes lead up the substantial cliff, but hopping from boulder to boulder near the top was too much for this older man. I assume this leads to River Drive and one can then follow River Drive north to its end and again pick up the abandoned rail and continue north the the I95 bridge. This will have to wait for another day.
While deciding whether to scale this boulder area I noted an obvious cave.
On returning the way I had come, just south of the rail bridge, I found a blue blazed trail that followed the river and leads to the Route 40 bridge at the river. I assume this was the original tow path. However, access to the Susquehanna Museum propert y is block by that stream. Thus, up hill to the playground and across the pedestrian bridge and back to the Museum property.