The 'Cacapon River', located in the
Appalachian Mountains of
West Virginia's
Eastern Panhandle region, is a beautiful and scenic river known for its outstanding fishing, boating, wildlife, and scenery. As part of the
Potomac River watershed, it is an
American Heritage River.
The Cacapon River Watershed is made up of three major river segments and many smaller stream watersheds. The
headwaters region of the Cacapon River, known as the
Lost River, receives water from a watershed covering
178 square miles (461 km²). The largest tributary of the Cacapon is the
North River, which drains
206 square miles (534 km²), an area comparable to that of the Lost River. Overall, the Cacapon River watershed includes the Lost and North River watersheds, and those of many smaller streams for a total of
680 square miles (1,760 km²). The Cacapon Watershed is itself part of the
Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
In recent years, however, the Cacapon River and its watershed have become threatened by development, and industrial and agricultural growth. Concern about these issues led to the establishment of the
Cacapon Institute in
1985 (originally known as the Pine Cabin Run Ecological Laboratory).
Course
Emergence to Hampshire County line
The Cacapon River emerges from underground in a gap in Sandy Ridge (1683 feet/513 m) west of
Wardensville. It is actually the reemergence of the
Lost River, which sinks into an underground channel east of
McCauley near the entrance to Camp Pinnacle. From its emergence, the Cacapon River creates a horseshoe bend shaped gap through Sandy Ridge and flows east paralleling
West Virginia Route 55/
West Virginia Route 259 to its north. At Wardensville, the river is joined by
Trout Run and then curves northeastward where it meanders through an expansive valley plain. Here, it is fed by Slate Rock Run and then Moores Run further north. Waites Run, a tributary draining some of the western slopes of north mountain enters the Cacapon River near the bridge on Rt. 220, north of Wardensville. Shortly after its confluence with Sine Run, the Cacapon River continues north into
Hampshire County.
Hampshire County line to Yellow Spring
From the county line, the river is bounded to its east by the
George Washington National Forest and to its west by
Baker Mountain (2024 feet/617 m). Throughout this stretch, the Cacapon River is also joined by sections of the old
Winchester and Western Railroad grade. It continues its meandering course northeastward, flowing past the community of
Intermont and the old Hebron Church. At
Capon Lake, the river is joined by
Capon Springs Run and is the site of the historic Whipple Truss bridge.
West Virginia Route 259 parallels the Cacapon River to its west along the eastern flank of Baker Mountain until the road turns east across the Kenneth Seldon Bridge at
Yellow Spring. From Yellow Spring Gap, the river is fed by a run whose source is the "Yellow Spring".
Yellow Spring to Kale Hollow
The Cacapon River moves north along the eastern flank of Cacapon Mountain (1913 feet/583 m) with Cacapon River Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 14) paralleling it to its west. From Yellow Spring, the river flows by Camps Rim Rock and White Mountain. After another immense horseshoe bend, the Cacapon River moves past the communities of
Hooks Mills and
Bubbling Spring and is joined by Old Man Run and Kale Hollow's run. The river's stretch through Bubbling Spring is a popular location for summer river camps which consist of
cottages,
trailers, and
campers on narrow river lots. This stretch of the Cacapon River is also the scene for numerous old
plantation homes, including Riversdell (Captain David Pugh House) at Hooks Mills.
Kale Hollow to Cold Stream
North of Kale Hollow, the Cacapon River is joined to its west by Dillons Mountain (1913 feet/583 m). To its east, the river is paralleled by Christian Church Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 13), on which is located the
18th century Capon Chapel. After its confluence with
Mill Branch, the Cacapon River bends through the small historic town of
Capon Bridge. It is met by
Dillons Run from its west and traversed by a bridge of the
Northwestern Turnpike (
U.S. Route 50), from which Capon Bridge takes its name. From Capon Bridge, the Cacapon River is bounded to its east by
Bear Garden Mountain (1572 feet/479 m). It is then joined by
Edwards Run and Cold Stream near the community of
Cold Stream.
Cold Stream to Largent
The river meanders north around Darbys Nose (1287 feet/392 m), flanked to its east by Leith Mountain (1598 feet/487 m). The stretch of the Cacapon River between Cold Stream and
Forks of Cacapon is mountainous and forested with little development. It meanders through a series of mountain ridges, one of which,
Castle Mountain (1260 feet/384 m), sits the
Caudy's Castle rock outcrop.
Bloomery Pike (
West Virginia Route 127) passes over the river where it is met by Bloomery Run east of Forks of Cacapon. North of Bloomery Pike lies the actual "Forks of Cacapon" where the Cacapon and
North Rivers converge. From Forks of Cacapon to
Largent, the river creates a number of horseshoe bends between
Sideling Hill (2021 feet/616 m) and
Little Mountain (1429 feet/435 m). This stretch of the Cacapon River is also mostly undeveloped and forested.
Largent to Great Cacapon
The Cacapon River meanders into
Morgan County at Largent where Cacapon Road (
West Virginia Route 9) passes over it and the river is met by Stony Creek. It continues its meandering course northeast between
Sideling Hill and Little Mountain until Fisher's Bridge where it is joined to its east by the western flanks of
Cacapon Mountain.
Tonoloway Ridge (992 feet/302 m) then bounds the Cacapon River to its west until it reaches the railroad hamlet of
Great Cacapon. After passing under the WV 9 and old
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bridges, the Cacapon River joins the
Potomac.
Variants of "Cacapon"
The
Board on Geographic Names decided on "Cacapon River" in
1916 as the river's official name and spelling.
★ Big Capon River
★ Cacapehon Creek
★ Cacapehon River
★ Cacapon Creek
★ Cacapon River |
★ Cackapehon River
★ Cackapohon River
★ Capcappin Creek
★ Cape Capon River
★ Capecapon River |
★ Capon River
★ Great Cacapehon River
★ Great Cacapon River
★ Great Capon River |
Bridges
Floattrips
All locations listed below are designated public access sites by the
West Virginia Division of Natural Resources at their
website. Access sites are listed from south to north.
Tributaries
Tributary streams are listed from south to north. Major tributaries are listed in 'bold'.
★ '
Lost River'
★ '
Trout Run'
★ Waites Run
★ Slate Rock Run
★ Moores Run
★ Sine Run
★ Harness Run
★ Hawk Run
★ '
Capon Springs Run'
★
★ Himmelwright Run
★
★ Dry Run
★ Yellow Spring Run
★ Falling Run
★ Loman Branch
★ Crooked Run
★ Old Man Run
★ Kale Hollow Run
★ '
Mill Branch'
★ '
Dillons Run'
★
★ Gunbarrel Hollow Run
★
★ Parks Hollow Run
★ '
Edwards Run' and Edwards Run Lake
★ Cold Stream
★
★ Frog Hollow Run
★ Bloomery Run
★
★ Ivy Run
★ '
North River'
★
★ '
Grassy Lick Run'
★
★ '
Tearcoat Creek'
★
★
★ '
Bearwallow Creek'
★ Bowers Run
★ Wolf Hollow Run
★ Critton Run
★ Falling Spring Run
★ Stony Creek
★ Constant Run
★
★ Whisners Run
★ Connor Hollow Run
List of cities and towns along the Cacapon River
★
Bubbling Spring
★
Capon Bridge
★
Capon Lake
★
Cold Stream
★
Davis Ford
★
Forks of Cacapon
★
Great Cacapon
★
Hooks Mills
★
Intermont
★
Largent
★
Wardensville
★
Yellow Spring
External links
★
The Cacapon Institute
★
Friends of the Cacapon River
★
West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
See also
★
List of West Virginia rivers
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