Pawcatuck – Bradford to Potter Hill – August 15, 2020

Bike shuttle from Post Office Landing

By now, we have all developed pretty good COVID-19 paddling habits - wear your mask, keep your distance, and no car shuttles. As a river paddler, though,  there are times when I just want to go downstream. Without a car how do you make that happen. Easy – just hop on your bike.

Bike shuttles work just like car shuttles except for the part when you all crowd into one vehicle to get back to the put-in. Instead, you hop on your bike. It’s a fun addition to the trip, and you get some great exercise. 

Running the Bradford Fish Weirs

Lately I have been looking for trips with a relatively long paddle and a relatively short, flat bike ride. The way our local rivers twist-and-turn there are many, but some of the best are on the Pawcatuck – RI’s only Wild and Scenic River.

The Wood-Pawcatuck watershed encompasses 300 square miles in southwestern RI and southeastern CT. Its seven major rivers include the Beaver,  Queen - Usquepaug, Wood, Chipuxet, Shunock, Green Falls - Ashaway, and Pawcatuck. It is one of the largest remaining natural areas along the northeast corridor between New York and Boston, and received Wild and Scenic River status in 2019. 

Paddling through the Grills Preserve

The Pawcatuck River itself arises at Worden Pond in South Kingstown and flows 34-miles south and west to Westerly where it flows into Little Narragansett Bay on Long Island Sound. We would be paddling the section from Bradford to Potter Hill – about 7-miles.  Unlike some of the sections upstream, there is plenty of water here all summer long. 

Jonathan, Bill and I dropped off our boats at Bradford at around 9:30, and drove to take-out at Potter Hill. Parking is available at Post Office Landing – a DEM boat launch across the street from the take-out. It looks like someone’s driveway, but it is a public access point. At least they have now put up a sign.

Polly Coon Footbridge

We left our cars at the take-out and had an easy 4-mile bike ride back to Bradford. It doesn’t take that much longer than arranging a car shuttle. When we arrived back at Bradford, Sharon and Paul were waiting for us. Sharon had arranged her own shuttle, and Paul would do the bike ride after the trip. 

The river was low, but there was still plenty of water – 21 cfs, 1.75 feet on the Wood River Junction gage.  Surprisingly, there was even enough water to run the Bradford fish weirs, which replaced the old Bradford Dam in 2018.

Lunch at the beach

The old Bradford Dam was a 19th century stone and timber structure that provided power to the Bradford textile mills. Built on top of a natural falls, the 6-foot dam spanned the entire width of the river. Since removing the dam would drop the water level upstream by about 5 feet and negatively impact wetlands, the decision was made to replace the existing dam with a new rock ramp structure.

The new dam is made up of 6 gradually ascending stone weirs, which serve like terraced steps. Pools between the steps give fish a place to rest on their way upstream. Gaps in the weirs create channels for water to flow and fish to swim, including the main current down the middle that forms a nice channel for paddlers.

Bill the triathlete - bike, boat and swim

After running, lining or portaging the Bradford Dam we continued downstream. From Bradford to Route 3 the river twists and turns through the woodlands of the Grills Preserve owned by the Westerly Land Trust and Hopkinton Land Trust. We passed under the Polly Coon Footbridge and continued downstream stopping at the beach off Narragansett Way for a break and a socially-distanced lunch. 

Below Route 3 there is more development as the river meanders though open marshland to the Potter Hill Dam. The take out is on the Westerly side of the river just above the Potter Hill Road Bridge at the Whiteley Preserve - a Westerly Land Trust property. We loaded our boats and drove back to Bradford to pick up our bikes after another great trip.

Approaching Potter Hill

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My Pictures

Wood River Junction Gage