Ammonoosuc, New Hampshire, US
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1. Top-of-The
| Usual Difficulty |
V (for normal flows) |
| Length |
4 Miles |
Upper Falls
Upper FallsPhoto of Dave Livingston by Mark Lacroix taken 08/06/03 @ low
Gauge Information
| Name |
Range |
Difficulty |
Updated |
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River Description
Beta from Jan Wojtasinski:
The pictures on AW show the Upper Falls area. It is around 2 miles up Base Station Rd. (the
location of the putin, shown below), and there is a pullout and forest service sign there. It is
a popular swim spot in the summer. Upper Falls is the "big one" that drops into a
basin, and about 300 yards downstream is a gorge with more drops in it. Upper Falls does not need
much water to run, and can usually be bumped down at low flows. There is a nice swirly room of
doom in there, and at higher water some of the holes become very dangerous, causing several
drownings of swimmers. Also some of the walls appear to be undercut.
Below Upper Falls, about 300 yards down is another gorge that is fun. At lower water the bigger
drops in it are not runnable. At higher flows they are runnable and fun, but the drop in the
middle is shallow, and has a rock i believe on the left side of the landing (don't take my word
for it). The second gorge is also commonly wood-choked; make sure you scout it before
committing.
I would consider this more of a park and huck, put-in above Upper Falls and run maybe a mile down
through the end of the gorge. It is fun when nothing else is running, and holds water late in the
spring due to Mt. Washington runoff. At low flows Upper Falls is a 5 and the gorge is 4-5. At
high flows I would say all 4+ - 5.
I am not sure what is above Upper Falls. If you check it out, let us know!
Back down by Rte. 302 is Lower Falls (the location of the takeout listed below), a large slide
that is runnable at low flows as well. At higher flows, when the Ammo gauge is above 1500
cfs, Lower Falls becomes huge, and in my opinion pretty scary. A few scary rooms form on the left
and the hole at the bottom is huge. At higher flows below Lower Falls is a fun class 3+-4 boogie
run with some sizable holes. Very continuous, but short. A few miles down the road from Lower
Falls is another fun runnable class 3-4 boogie section.
I'm not sure what's between Upper Falls and Lower Falls; there is gradient in there so I would
imagine some drops.
Have fun!
StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2011-05-13 03:05:35
No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
