Back Creek is on the northeast side of Bodkin Creek just inside the mouth. A boatyard is in the upper part of the creek. Gasoline and slips are available. Hull and engine repairs can be made; marine railway, 50 tons; lift, 5 tons.
Main Creek is separated from Back Creek by Spit Neck. Both branches have depths of 7 to 9 feet almost to their heads and are much used by pleasure craft.
Several marinas are on Graveyard Point, on the south side of Main Creek 0.2 mile above the mouth. Gasoline, diesel fuel, slips, and some marine supplies can be obtained. Hull and engine repairs can be made. Largest haul-out capacities are: railway, 55 feet; lift, 5 tons.
A marina at the entrance to Perry Cove, 1.3 miles above the mouth of Main Creek, has gasoline and some marine supplies. Hull and engine repairs can be made; lift, 30 tons.
Wall Cove empties into the southeast side of Rock Creek along the south side of Fairview. In 1991, centerline controlling depths of about 10 feet were reported available for most of its length but gradual shoaling to about 5 feet had occurred near the head of the cove. The Maryland Yacht Club piers on the Fairview side of the entrance have depths of about 13 feet at their outer ends.
There are several marinas and boatyards in Wall Cove and along Rock Creek where marine supplies, gasoline, diesel fuel, pump-out station, launching ramp, storage, water and ice can be obtained. Largest haul-out capacities for hull and engine repairs are: marine railway, 60 feet; lift, 50 tons.
Stony Creek, on the southwest side of Patapsco River 5 miles above Bodkin Point, has depths of 12 feet or more almost to the head. The channel along the west side of the entrance is about 70 yards wide and marked by a light and buoys; the east side is obstructed by rocks, some of which bare at all stages of the tide. The State Route 173 highway bridge 0.8 mile above the mouth of Stony Creek has a 40-foot bascule span with a clearance of 18 feet. The bridgetender monitors VHF FM channel 16 and works on channels 13 and 68. A marina on the north side just above the bridge has gasoline.
Nabbs Creek, a tributary on the northwest side of Stony Creek, 1 mile above the mouth, has depths of 12 feet almost to the head. A marina near the head of the creek has gasoline, diesel fuel, berths, and marine supplies. Hull and engine repairs can be made. A marine railway can handle craft up to 60 feet; a 15-ton lift is available.
Back Cove, on the north side of Nabbs Creek near the mouth, has depths of 12 feet to a boatyard 0.3 mile above the entrance. The marine railway can handle craft up to 60 feet for hull and engine repairs; gasoline is available.
North Point Creek and Jones Creek, which empty into the northeast and northwest corners of Old Road Bay, respectively, have depths of 4 to 6 feet. Approach both creeks by passing eastward of the light off the north shore of the bay, being careful to avoid the reported underwater obstruction about 150 yards south of the light. Small-craft facilities are in both creeks.
A highway bridge 0.5 mile up Bear Creek has a bascule span with a clearance of 25 feet. The railroad bridge 0.9 mile above the fixed bridge has a swing span with a clearance of 8 feet.
Lynch Cove, on the northwest side of Bear Creek 1 mile above the fixed bridge, has general midchannel depths of 8 feet or more for about 0.6 mile, thence shoaling to 1 foot to the head 0.8 mile above the entrance. There are several small-craft facilities in Lynch Cove.
Schoolhouse Cove, 1.6 miles above the fixed bridge, has depths of 7 feet to near the head. A small boatyard in the cove can haul out boats up to 45 feet for hull and engine repairs. A yacht club is on the east side of Bear Creek just below Schoolhouse Cove.
Baltimore Harbor consists of the entire Patapsco River and its tributaries; a part of the waterfront thus included lies outside the municipal limits of Baltimore, but by State law is within the jurisdiction of the Maryland Port Administration.
Patapsco River joins the west side of Chesapeake Bay between Bodkin Point and North Point, 4 miles to the northward; the midchannel point in the entrance, 2 miles northwest of Sevenfoot Knoll Light, is 142.1 miles above the Virginia Capes, and 54 miles from Delaware River by way of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.
Federal project depths are: 50 feet in the main channel between the Virginia Capes and Fort McHenry, Baltimore; thence 42 feet in Ferry Bar Channel (east section); thence 49 feet in Northwest Harbor East Channel and turning basin; thence 40 feet in Northwest Harbor West Channel and turning basin; and 50 feet in Curtis Bay Channel. The Federal project in the main channel between the Delaware Capes and Baltimore via the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is 35 feet.
Baltimore, one of the major ports of the United States, is at the head of tidewater navigation on Patapsco River. The midharbor point, at the intersection of Fort McHenry and Ferry Bar Channels 0.6 mile southeast of Fort McHenry, is 8 miles from the mouth of the river.
