Piscataquog, North Branch, New Hampshire, US |
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| Usual Difficulty | II-IV (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Length | 7.2 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 42 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 92 fpm |
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PISCATAQUOG RIVER BL EVERETT DAM, NR E WEARE, NH | ||||
| usgs-01090800 | 165 - 1800 cfs | II-IV | 01h10m | 77 cfs (rc= -0.1 ) |
This is a 5 mile, class III-IV combination of technical drops, swiftly moving water and flat water through scenic countryside. The river is narrow, less then 20' wide in many spots, providing a tight-but-passable run with many branches and blow downs that can protrude into the river. At times a paddler has to move carefully and occasionally pull off to scout or to portage an obstacle.
The river starts with a bang in swiftly moving water, channels through the trees, and few eddies.
It quickly takes paddlers to the first class IV drop, Slab City Ledge, and short-but-intense
abrupt drop visible from the second bridge. Most paddlers opt to paddle center or far-left just
kissing the wave-hole along the edge. The right side is full of rocks.
The next drop, Woodbury, offers a technical slide for the canoers and a creeky side run for the
kayakers. It's followed by a number of smaller rapids.
About half-way down the river is the 'Big One'. It is a river wide double-ledge slide with a run out through more rapids and holes. Most paddlers follow the curler down a rocky bouncy route and then through some holes at the bottom. The river is shallow here, expect plenty of bouncing and scraping off rocks and the river bed.
Buzzell’s is the most challenging rapid on the river; it's a medium length technical rapid. It requires that the paddler line up on staggered chutes that ultimately drop him or her into a garden of large boulders, deep holes and a gnarly curler.
Many paddlers have trouble (and roll or swim) when they hit the big curler and get knocked over 3/4 of the way down.
After reaching the upper takeout, you'll enter a relaxing and one of the nicest parts of the river - a flatwater paddle through farmland and old homesteads. The river descends through a few more class I -III rapids to the middle takeout.
Below there the river travels through wooded areas, more class I-III rapids, and finally to the
bottom takeout just above Everett Lake.
For an excellend view of the biggest rapids look at this YouTube video.
This river is very small and tends to collect a lot of downfalls every year. Local groups of
paddlers usually remove several of the trees every fall before the annual drawdown, but be aware
new one constantly alpear. Also a note of caution there are the remains of dozens of old milldams
along this stretch. Some of these contain rebar.
Technical info
Drop per mile
Mile 1 .............54'
Mile 2 .............92'
Mile 3..............7'
Mile 4..............35'
Mile 5..............23'
Mile 6..............40'
Mile 7..............39'
Average 42' per mile
Max 92' per mile
Put in elevation 628'
Take our elevation 338'
Total drop 290'
We took a walk along the Middle Lower Upper North Branch of the Piscataquog (heretofore known as
the "Middle Lower Upper Branch") and found it absolutely beautiful! The snowshoeing was
luscious and the ice was glacial. While the ice obstacles are significant they are not
insurmountable. Ice out is a ways off but not nearly as bad as I anticipated.
This is the stretch from where the river leaves River Rd. to where it crosses East Weare Road
(this is the beginning of the dirt road into the Everett Dam Flood Control Area). This is not
passable by car in winter (snow trail) or spring floods.
We hiked the stretch above the bridge to River Rd. This consists of slower stretches, deeper
water and unspoiled scenery. Keep your eyes open for wildlife, especially birds (pheasant and
grouse in particular). We found tracks of a hydrophilic rodent, possibly a beaver or fisher,
leading from pool to pool. There are occasional drops of a foot or two to keep things
interesting.
If you want some sweet paddling with a real newbie, put-in at River Rd. and takeout at the bridge
on East. Weare Rd.
Located between Lake Horace (also called Weare Reservoir) and the Everett Lake. This section is dam controlled but "run of the river" flows are usually the norm. During high water events the the Army Corps of Engineers flood control dam may hold back and flood the lower sections also known as Everett Reservoir. You can get a good idea of the flow on the North Branch by going to the Army Corps of Engineers Everett Dam Flood Control data page. Look under the "inflow" heading on the tabular data. The Everett-Hopkington flood control system is rather complicated actually linking two different river basins. During high water one or both flood control dams could be shut down complicating interpretation of the data on the graph. Just remember that the river segment we are speaking of is upstream of the dam so flood control operations holding large amounts of water back could flood out the lower portions of the run.
Best time to run the north branch is in March during the spring thaw, and during the annual fall drawdown of Everett Lake which usually provides a flow of 400-500 cfs.
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PISCATAQUOG RIVER BL EVERETT DAM, NR E WEARE, NH | ||||||||||||
| usgs-01090800 | 165 - 1800 cfs | II-IV | 01h10m | 77 cfs (rc= -0.1 ) | ||||||||
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| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBP [NH] |
NBP Class IV rapid
|
medium | Tom Currier | |
| Piscataquog, North Branch [NH] |
Chase Mill Rapid
|
2.25 (350 cfs) | Mark Lacroix | |
| 111d15h31m | /Piscataquog, North Branch-Lake Horace to Everett Reservoir [NH] |
Sally Blauvelt at Slab City Ledge
|
n/a | Bill Blauvelt |
| 4y116d09h39m | Piscataquog, North Branch [NH] |
Woodbury
|
2.25 (350 cfs) | Mark Lacroix |
| 4y116d09h39m | Piscataquog, North Branch [NH] |
Pat at Buzzell Hill
|
2.25 (350 cfs) | n/a |
| 6y316d17h39m | Piscataquog, North Branch [NH] |
First Drop
|
medium | Bob Dunn |
No Comments
Users can submit comments.| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.7 | Slab City Ledge | IV |  |
| 0.7 | Slab City Surf | III |  |
| 1.1 | Gage | N/A | |
| 1.5 | Chase Mill Rapid | III | |
| 1.9 | Woodbury | III | |
| 2.4 | The Big One | IV | |
| 3.4 | Buzzell Hill Rapid | IV | |
| 3.8 | Turnover Ledge / Hole | III | |
| 4.2 | Upper Take-out | N/A |  |
| 5.2 | Middle Take-out | N/A | |
| 7.2 | Lower Take-out | N/A | |
Pat at First DropThis is the site of a former dam. The drop is about 8 vertical feet and is best run slightly river left of center right into a ski jump roostertail. If you run too far right of center you will piton off a piece of protruding ledge. Just below the drop there is a good eddy on river left right beside a great play hole/wave (Slab City).
Slab City SurfGreat play spot just downstream of the First Drop Ledge. Eddy out river left to access the hole/wave.
The gage is painted on the downstream side of the river-right bridge abutment on the John Conner Road bridge.
Chase Mill RapidFour-tenths of a mile after the gage the river passes under the New Hampshire Route 114 bridge. Shortly thereafter at mile 1.5 is the start of Chase Mill Rapid. Named after the mill site that once occupied this stretch of river. Chase Mill is rather straight forward with multiple routes through broken ledge and boulders. Be careful here since strainers are common.
WoodburyAnother quarter mile paddle will bring you up to Woodbury Rapid. Once again this is another mill site that washed out in the great flood of 1938, there is evidence of the former mill buildings on river left of the rapid but be respectfull of the current landowners property here. The rapid starts out with a small constricted ledge drop at river center and continues through a series of holes and drops right up to the Woodbury Road bridge. Keep in mind that this rapid is also notorious for collecting strainers.
Joe at the Big OneAt a hard left turn you will come up to the most visually impressive drop on the North Branch. The Big One is the site of yet another former mill dam. At the very top of the drop is a nice playable river wide hole/wave but be aware of the chaos that awaits you below. Since the river is fairly wide here it takes a lot of water to keep you from scraping your hull. The most fluid run is just left of center over a couple good ledge drops then continues another 50 or so yards over a gradual downhill slide. The water here is shallow and chaotic. Near the bottom there is a large hole jutting out from river right that is easy to punch through. Far river left there is a smaller hole jutting out from river left that can be very sticky at certain levels.
Pat at Buzzell Hill After "The Big One" you will pass under the New Hampshire Rt 77 Bridge. Another mile or so of class IIish water will bring you up to a rusty steel truss bridge that carries River Road. Just under the bridge is the top of Buzzell Hill Rapid. This rapid is fairly long with a series of ledge drops each followed by a hole. A competent boater should be able to boat scout the entire drop. At the bottom there is a nice recovery eddy.
Turnover LedgeA little less than half a mile from Buzzell Hill you will encounter Turnover Ledge. This is a fairly straight forward double ledge drop with a rather sticky but playfull hydraulic at the bottom on river right. This hole is quit dynamic and will flip boaters end to end hence lending its name... Turnover.
The first take-out is where the river passes under Peaslee Road. There is limited parking here and no privacy. The river below this point is class II-III with quickwater and some flatwater between each rapid.
The middle take-out is where the river passes under East Weare Road (dirt), a quarter-mile from the main road (called Barnard Hill Road on some maps). This road is full of deep potholes and water hazards due to beavers. It is sometimes gated on both ends requiring a long carry to your car.
The lower take-out is another 1.5 miles down East Weare Road from the middle take-out; or from Route 77, turn right on South Sugar Road, drive to the end, then left and a short distance to the take-out. This is just above where the river flows into Everett Lake.
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Lake Horace to Everett Reservoir, Piscataquog, North Branch New Hampshire, US (mobile)
