Cheat River at Rowlesburg Park (Lower)

Click Here to Sponsor a Cheat River Access Site Support FOC's Monitoring Efforts $10 per month

**This site is temporarily closed. Please use Rowlesburg Park (Upper) until further notice.**

Rowlesburg Park is the last public river access point along the Cheat River Water Trail. Due to a combined sewage overflow (CSO), this site is temporarily closed until issues are resolved by the city. Wilderness Voyageurs is allowing us to access the Rowlesburg Park (Upper) site as a temporary public access point located upstream of a combined sewage overflow (CSO). Do not swim at the park if water is discharging from the CSO.

Our monitoring location is at the carry-in boat launch just adjacent to the baseball fields.

The parking area is owned by the city of Rowlesburg. The public park offers playground equipment, restrooms, and a pavilion. It is home to the Rowlesburg Ox Roast (Labor Day Weekend), WV Chestnut Festival (October), and River City Festival of the Arts (Memorial Day Weekend).

Check out www.cheatriverwatertrail.org for more information and tips for planning your trip.

Note: this is not a designated swimming area. Swim at your own risk.

Get directions to this beach

COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

Met water quality standards less than 60% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on October 5th, 2022. Friends of the Cheat updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on October 10th, 2022 at 5:06 PM.

For water quality icon legend, click:

Report Pollution

Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Friends of the Cheat staff, interns, and volunteers monitor water quality in this region. Friends of the Cheat monitors river recreation sites of the Cheat River.
Sites are monitored for E. coli and total coliform as well as temperature, pH, and conductivity.

Bacteriological samples are analyzed using the IDEXX Quanti-Tray/2000 method
Samples are collected throughout the year. Water is monitored twice per month during peak river recreation months (April – September) and once per month during the off-season (October – March). Samples are generally collected on Wednesdays and results are posted on Fridays.

Advisory issued when E. coli concentration is greater than 410 CFU/100 mL.
A beach is Green when E.coli is less than 410 CFU/100 mL.
A beach is Red when E.coli is equal to or more than 410 CFU/100 mL

Water Quality Graph