French Creek Water Trail

 Pennsylvania Water trails  are recreational and educational corridors between specific locations that can be used for both single day and multiple day trips. They are comprised of access points, boat launches, day use sites, and — in some cases — overnight camping areas. They provide safe access to and information about Pennsylvania's waterways while also providing connections to our diverse history, ecology, geology, heritage and wildlife!

The French Creek water trail begins at the Union City Dam in Erie County and flows 78 miles to the confluence with the Allegheny River. Continue to scroll to explore our interactive trail map, download trail PDF's, and learn more about paddling and fishing on French Creek!

• Float times between water trail access points will vary and are dependent on several factors, including river height and volume of water flow, changing characteristics of the river between points (riffles and runs vs deep lake-like channels), daily weather (headwinds vs tailwinds – headwinds are more common on French Creek), and paddler skill level and speed. The general rule of thumb is a speed of 2 to 4 mph, depending on the combination of all the above factors, can vary with conditions, and can even fall outside of that range on any particular day.

• Union City Dam Recreation Area to State Rt 6N and 19—10 river miles, 3.5 to 5 hours
• Routes 6N and 19 to Cambridge Springs— 15 river miles, 5 to 7.5 hours
• Cambridge Springs to Conneautee Creek confluence 3 river miles, 3/4 hour to 1 hour
• Conneautte Creek confluence to Saegertown: 10 river miles, 3 to 5 hours
• Saegertown to Meadville: 7 river miles, 2 to 3 hours
• Meadville to Wilson Shute— 5 river miles, 1 to 2 hours
• Wilson Shute to Shaw’s Landing—4 river miles, 1 to 2 hours
• Shaw’s Landing to Cochranton — 4 river miles, 1 to 2 hours
• Cochranton to Utica – 8 river miles, 2.5-4 hours
• Utica to Franklin— 10 river miles, 3.5 – 5 hours

The 88 fish species that are found in the French Creek Watershed not only represent a number of rare specimens, but also a wide variety of panfish and game fish prized by anglers. French Creek harbors muskellunge, northern pike, smallmouth bass, walleye, pickerel, perch, sunfish, and blue gills. These species are also found in the watershed’s lakes, ponds and reservoirs.

Stocked trout streams in Crawford County include upper Muddy Creek, Woodcock Creek, and Little Sugar Creek. Trout stocking occurs throughout Crawford and Venango Counties’ Sugar Creek Watershed, while Mercer County is home to North Deer Creek, a trout stocked, French Creek tributary.