Little Falls MD Side

The Maryland side of Little Falls is the left chute when you reach the island dividing the channel in two. This line consists of weaving in between or running two decent holes into a somewhat unpredictable runout. The first hole is just off the river left bank, right when you first enter the rapid, and can be missed by either hugging the shore on the left or by going around the right and then cutting back towards the left before the center island. When the river is above 3 feet, the first hole morphs into a breaking wave that is affectionately referred to as the "Welcome Wave" by local kayakers. When the Potomac is above 3 feet, this feature will quickly remind you why knowing the difference between high and low tide at Little Falls is important. At high tide, this will be a steep, but respectable little drop that will bounce a kayak up and down, resulting in smiles all around. At low tide, this will be a sheer drop into a breaking wave hole that will have a good 3-4 feet on the tallest of paddlers.   At higher water levels, the right line around the hole will try to push you straight into the island that divides the channel so make sure you keep a left angle and keep paddling till you are past this hazard. 
The second hole is halfway down the MD side and parallel to the center dividing island. It  has a tongue that runs from the center left to the right side of the hole that will let any paddler with a good angle right through without even getting their bow wet. It also is great fun to just plow straight through! At lower levels, watch for a rock dead center in the second hole that will give you a good jolt. Depending on the water levels and tides, the runout after the hole may be completely flat, or may have some chaotic and irregular waves that push towards a gnarly looking wave hole parallel to the end of the center island on river left.
 All these features are well spaced out and easy to avoid, but great fun to hit! This side is an easy class II-III at most levels until the water level goes above 3.5 feet, where a large wave train begins to develop.