The Savage is probably Maryland’s most famous whitewater river and is the site of national championships in the 1972 Olympic Trials, international races, and the 1989 World Whitewater Championships. On this trip you will run the Piedmont Dam but use discretion if the river is above 1,000 cfs. Below the dam is a narrow concentration of turbulent whitewater known as the Triple Drop, then Memorial Rock Rapid, recognized by a large, pointed boulder sticking out of the water near the left bank. Below this, the really big pressure is off but the river continues to be exciting and pushy. The best take-out is on the North Branch Potomac on the left a few yards below the mouth.