Recreational opportunities in the watershed include the D&H Trail and Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 236.

It eventually turns in a roughly southerly direction for a few miles, crossing Pennsylvania Route 374 and entering Union Dale.

In Union Dale, the river continues to flow south, receiving Fiddle Lake Creek, its only named tributary, from the right after several tenths of a mile.

A few tenths of a mile further downstream, it enters Stillwater Lake and reaches its confluence with the Lackawanna River.

[1] Fiddle Lake Creek joins the West Branch Lackawanna River 1.20 miles (1.93 km) upriver of its mouth.

However, approximately 7.25 miles (11.67 km) upriver of its mouth, there is a reach where it has cloudy waters due to siltation caused by cows in the river.

Two small pipes made of PVC discharge clear water into the river at road crossings.

[5] On November 10, 1950, the discharge of the West Branch Lackawanna River near Union Dale was measured to be 22.6 cubic feet per second.

[6] In the early 1900s, the average annual rate of precipitation in the watershed of the West Branch Lackawanna River was 35 to 40 inches (89 to 102 cm).

[1] The mouth of the West Branch Lackawanna River is at Stillwater Dam, which was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1960.

[7] The channel of the West Branch Lackawanna River is sinuous and flows through rock formations consisting of sandstone and shale.

[10] The watershed of the West Branch Lackawanna River is largely undeveloped, with farms, small communities, and residential areas.

[5] A wetland complex of regional significance exists in the watershed of the West Branch Lackawanna River.

[3] The West Branch Lackawanna River was entered into the Geographic Names Information System on August 2, 1979.

[8] This name appears on a United States Geological Survey map of Susquehanna County dating to 1944.

[11] However, in 1968, David G. Lappin of the United States Geological Survey was unable to verify the variant name.

[12] The Newburg Turnpike, one of the earliest roads in its vicinity, historically crossed the West Branch Lackawanna River at Herrick, near where Pennsylvania Route 374 is today.

[5] In the early 1900s, the major industries in the watershed of the West Branch Lackawanna River were mainly agriculture and ice harvesting.

Around this time period, major communities in the watershed included Union Dale, Herrick Center, and Burnwood.

[7] A prestressed box beam or girders bridge carrying Pennsylvania Route 374 over the West Branch Lackawanna River was built in 1958.

[5] The Herrick Township Swamp, which is in the watershed of the West Branch Lackawanna River, is designated as an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society.

In the early 2000s, the Lackawanna River Watershed Conservation Plan recommended further improvement of this rail trail.