Open Boat, Moving Water - A Paddler's Journal: Salmon River

Monday, January 15, 2024

Salmon River - January 14, 2024

Comstock Covered Bridge

Seven inches of rain and 5 inches of snow melt had all the rivers up this weekend. I was busy on Saturday, but tried to get the local crew together for a Branch River run on Sunday. I had no takers since the day was cold and the river was high (6 feet, 1,200 cfs) and full of wood. There were lots of other options, so I reached out to Paul D. and we decided to do a run on the Salmon River. Paul posted on Where's the Whitewater at? and Dave and Tim joined us as well.

The Salmon River is formed at the confluence of the Blackledge and Jeremy Rivers in Colcester and runs about 10 miles to join the Connecticut River. It’s a pretty river that cuts a steep valley through the hills of southeastern Connecticut. We would be running a 3-mile section in the Salmon River State Forest that was the site of the old Salmon River Slalom race.

The new "Old Dam" Rapid above
Route 149 on the Jeremy River

The Salmon was one of the first whitewater rivers that I ran with Mike B. back in 2007. After that, I ran it a few times with Matt M. including a (shortly after) Christmas run in 2009. The last time I ran it was a summer run back in 2013. At lower levels (600-800 cfs) it is a technical class II with lots of rock-dodging. At higher levels the rocks get buried and there are more long wave trains.

We met at the covered bridge on Comstock Bridge Road in East Hampton. The original Comstock Bridge was built in 1840 and is one of only three remaining covered bridges in Connecticut. Paul and Dave were there when I arrived, and Tim arrived shortly after. I could see from the parking lot that the river was at a great level.

Running a ledge on the Jeremy

We decided to take-out across the street at the Salmon River Picnic Area off Gulf Road. We knew that we wanted to put-in on the Jeremy River, but figured there would be strainers in the upper section. Rather than putting-in at the commuter lot at the intersection of Routes 2 and 149, we decided to put-in at the old mill site where the dam was removed at Route 149 and Paper Mill Road.

You can also put-in on the Blackledge, which is mostly quickwater so it is little less exciting than the Jeremy. The put-in for the Blackledge is the Blackledge Fishing Area off South Main Street near the intersection with Jerry Daniels Road in Marlborough.

A pretty section of the Salmon

As I was getting dressed, I ripped the latex bootie on my NRS drysuit again. I had this drysuit repaired last year, so this was a new bootie. Fortunately, Paul and Tim had duct tape so I could tape it up. Even so, I decided not run the "Old Dam" Rapid (class II+/III-) below where the dam was removed. Instead, I tried to take video of Paul and Tim from the Route 149 bridge, but only managed to get Tim.

At this level (4.8 feet, 1,000 cfs), the Salmon/Jeremy is a nice class II run - mostly long wave trains with some rock dodging and nice surf spots. The banks are lined with hemlock trees and mountain laurel, and small water falls tumbled down the banks into the river. We enjoyed the waves as we worked out way down to the largest rapid on the river – the broken dam.

Tim lining up to run the broken dam

The broken dam is a class II+/III- rapid with 3 drops - each around 2’. I went first in hopes of getting some pictures of the rest of the crew coming through. I took the usual line (slot on the right) and filled up the boat in the large standing waves below. By the time I got to shore, Paul had already run through. I was ready to get some video of Tim and Dave, only to have the battery in my camera die – oh well. They looked good, but you will just have to trust me.

The best surf wave on the river is just below the broken dam. I checked it out with Paul on the way to the take-out. It started to snow as we were loading up, and it was snowing pretty good on the ride home, but I made it home with no problem. Another great trip.