Page 33 - The Hunt - Summer 2022

The Brandywine is also navigable by canoe, kayak or inner tube. The experience is mainly for the scenery and paddling, as there are no serious rapids.
under the I-95 bridge,” Peach says. “And sometimes you’ll get striped bass in brackish water below [the second dam].”
Fishing licenses are required in both Delaware and Pennsylvania, and a special federal trout stamp is needed where stocking takes place. Peach provides half-day and full-day guide service. “It’s a great place for people to learn how to fly fish because of the low gradient,” he says. “Everywhere is safe to wade, except around the dams.”
While the creek is popular for wading, active swimming is more difficult. The Brandywine
isn’t very deep—especially in the summer. It’s
also navigable by canoe, kayak or inner tube. The experience is mainly for the scenery and paddling, as there are no serious rapids. As long as you
put in and take out on public property and have transportation, you don’t need a guide.
Brandywine Outfitters, Wilderness
Canoe Trips and Northbrook Canoe Co. provide vessels, a shuttle and safety equipment. Northbrook has been on the creek for 45 years and offers a variety of canoe experiences ranging from an hour to more than two. Inner tubes may
take a little longer. All come out of the water at the Northbrook camp. “Family groups are our biggest draw, and we’re the busiest June through August,” says Susan Soderberg, whose family owns Northbrook.
Every trip is weather dependent, and guests are required to wear shoes to protect against sharp rocks or debris in the creek bed. “Flip-flops are not good,” Soderberg says. “They’re notorious for floating away.”
Beyond the purely recreational options, there are some noted cultural and educational attractions along the banks. Once the home of DuPont’s original powder mills, Hagley Museum & Library has evolved into a formidable source of historical inspiration, with a variety of events that play on the complex’s past and its future. Less than five minutes away, Somerville Manning Gallery is the arguably the region’s most noted independent art space, with a rich storehouse of regional and international work. And the Brandywine River Museum
of Art remains a major showcase for the works
of the prolific Wyeth family and of other
regional luminaries. TH
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