St. Paul Street to the Dam at Canal Street - June 19th

I’ve been doing a lot of local paddling lately – working my way through different sections of the Blackstone River. Since I never put my tandem boat away after last Tuesday’s Paddle Club trip, I decided to do some poling yesterday. The river was low - 200 cfs, 7 ft. on the Rt. 122 gage – a perfect level for poling.

I decided to try a section in Blackstone, MA from St. Paul Street up to the dam at Canal Street. Its short – less than a mile – but there are lots of rocks and a few small drops to make it interesting. I parked at the baseball field behind the Blackstone Municipal Center, and carried my boat over the flood control levy to put in just below the St. Paul Street Bridge.

Starting at the St. Paul Street Bridge and continuing up to the dam, there are a series of 5 or 6 small drops – some easy, some a little more challenging. I worked my way through the drops up to the dam, and then enjoyed the ride back down.


Poling - St. Paul Street to the Dam at Bridge Street from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Its too bad that there isn’t better access to this section - in higher water there would be a couple of fun play spots.