A Bike Path Runs Along It - Lonsdale to Manville - June 21, 2020

I did my first bike shuttle yesterday on the bike path from the Lonsdale Drive-in to Manville - 6.5 miles up on the bike, about 7 miles back down in the boat, and 3 portages (Albion, Ashon and Lonsdale). It took my about 4-hours.  Nice way to spend Father's Day morning.

Manville to Lonsdale from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Lonsdale to Ashton - Canal/River Loop - March 22, 2020

With everything going virtual, I decided to do a virtual tour of my morning paddle from Lonsdale to Ashton on the Blackstone Canal/River Loop. Great level – 2.5 feet, 800 cfs. Several blowdowns in the canal - one I had to get out and carry around. The run down the river was fun, but my battery died half way down. 

Canal/River Loop - Lonsdale to Ashton from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Ashton - Canal/River Loop - May 5, 2019

It was a rainy morning, but I decided to go down to Ashton to paddle down the river, and back up the canal.  The river is clear, but there are a couple of bad blow-downs in the canal.


Ashton - Canal River Loop from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

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River Description from BRVNHC

Canal/River Loop - Lonsdale to Ashton - May 26, 2018

It was such a nice day that I decided to skip the gym and go paddling. I did the canal/river loop from Lonsdale to Ashton. There were a lot of blow-downs in the canal, but I only had to get out of the boat for one. The river was at a nice level – 2 feet, 500 cfs on the Woonsocket gage. I took a lot of video, but unfortunately I deleted it before down loading it to the computer. Here is all I ended up with.  

Aston Dam from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Snowshoeing on the Bikepath in Ashton - January 5, 2018

It was an unbroken trail...

With 18’” of nice light powder on the ground, and all the rivers frozen, snowshoeing seemed to be the order of the day.  With a high temperature of 6°, gusty winds, and wind chills well below zero, the list of potential hiking partners was short.  Fortunately, Bill was game, so we met at noon at the Visitor Center on Route 295 in Lincoln. 

We headed down the bikepath until we reached the ridge above the Ashton Dan.  From there, we hiked down the ridge, and along the river to Route 295 before climbing back up the ridge on the way back to the visitor center.  We were out about an hour and a half, and hiked about mile – that was plenty. Lunch afterward at Jacky’s Galaxie in Cumberland was a nice reward.

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Lonsdale Ashton Loop – April 22, 2017

It was gray and rainy, but the water levels were great, and we are starting to see some green on the trees.

Blackstone Canal in Ashton

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Albion to Ashton - November 26, 2016

I usually get out to paddle on Black Friday, but the weather was bad and nothing was running.  Instead, I put up Christmas decorations.  On Saturday, I decided to stay local, so I put-in below the Albion Dam and paddled down to the Blackstone Canal in Ashton. I portaged the Ashton Dam on the left to catch the wave below the dam before portaging over to the canal.  The Blackstone River Watershed Council cleared out the canal a couple of weeks ago, and it looks great.

Reflections on the Blackstone Canal

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Ashton to Manville Loop - September 18, 2016

I haven't done one of these in a while, but here's a video of yesterday's trip on the Blackstone from Ashton up to Manville and back. Two portages on the way up, two portages on the way back down, and I carried my boat up to the Manville Dam for the run back down. The water was low below the Ashton and Albion Dams, but otherwise it wasn't bad. I didn't paddle much of the canal, but it didn't look bad either.

Ashton to Manville from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Canal River Loop - May 15, 2016

There were lots of people on the bike path, but as usual, I had the only boat on the water.  I put-in in Lonsdale to do the canal/river loop.  The fish were jumping and the turtles were out sunning themselves as I paddled up the Blackstone Canal.  I followed a Herron up the canal, until he finally got tired of me and flew off.  The river was at a nice level (2.5 feet, 600 cfs) - especially for the play spot below the Martin Street Bridge.    

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Trip Description from the BRVNHC

Ashton - Blackstone River/Canal Loop - March 5, 2016

I needed to stay close to home, so I ended up down in Ashton to paddle the canal/river loop. The river was pretty high (3', 1,000 cfs in Woonsocket). There was water coming over the Ashton Dam, not just through the spillway, which doesn’t happen very often.  The canal had a few trees down, but I was able to get over or around them without getting out of the boat.

Ashton Dam with Route I-295 in the background

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Blackstone - River Island Park to the Pratt Dam - July 12, 2015

Bernon Mill in Woonsocket

After spending some time working in the yard yesterday, I decided to run something local today.  Michelle said that she would pick me up at the end, so I decided to run the Blackstone from River Island Park in Woonsocket to the Pratt Dam in Lonsdale.  The river was at a good level (2 feet,500 cfs) – just fluid enough to keep from bouncing off rocks.

I put in at River Island Park and headed downstream past the old Bernon Mills, which were built in 1828 and 1831.  I enjoyed the riffles and stopped to play in the waves under the Bernon, Court Street and P&W Railroad bridges.  After that it is about 4 miles of flatwater down to Manville.

Manvill Dam

Manville is one of the oldest industrial sites on the Blackstone River.  Industrial activity started there in the late 17th century when the Wilkinson family established a foundry on the site – Unity Furnace.  In 1811, the Unity Manufacturing Company was established to manufacture cotton cloth. By the 1920s, the Manville Mill was the largest textile mill in the United States with over 5,000 employees.  It was significantly damaged in 1955 during the floods resulting from Hurricane Carol, and completely destroyed in a fire a few weeks later.

I portaged around the Manville Dam on the bike path to the right.  The access to the river below the dam is steep and covered in poison ivy.  At 500 cfs the water is flowing pretty good below the dam, so I snapped a couple of pictures and continued downstream to Albion.

Albion Dam

Although you can’t see it from the river, the Albion Mill Village is one of the best preserved of the Blackstone River’s original mill villages.  The first mill was built here in the 1820s, and was expanded several times after.  The Valley Falls Company constructed the main section of the current mill in 1908.  After a couple of miles I portaged around the Albion Dam. On the bike path to the right and headed downstream to Ashton. 

The section of the Blackstone between Albion and Aston is one that I don’t paddle very often - probably because it is such a short trip. The most prominent features on this section of the river are the two huge bridges that carry traffic from Route 295 over the river. On the Cumberland side, the pike bath takes landlubbers on a pleasant trip along the river. On the Lincoln side, the banks are steep with huge rock outcroppings that plunge down into the river

Ashton Viaduct

The portage around the Ashton Dam is a two-step process.  First, portage from the river into the Blackstone Canal.  Then, portage for the Blackstone Canal back into the river.  I paddled out into the deeper water below the main spillway and headed downstream under the Ashton Viaduct and into the old Ashton Mill Village. 

The large Ashton Mill was built by the Lonsdale Company in 1847.  They also built the Berkley Mill about a mile downstream, and owned mills on the Lincoln and Cumberland side of the river in Lonsdale. 

I took out at the Pratt Dam and carried my canoe down the bike path to the parking lot in Lonsdale where I found Michelle waiting.  It’s about a 9 mile trip, and it took me 3 ½ hours.

Pratt Dam

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Woonsocket Gage

Blackstone Canal/River Loop - Lonsdale to Ashton - May 3, 2015

I had a busy weekend, and the only time I could paddle was early Sunday morning, so I got out to run the Blackstone Canal/River Loop from Lonsdale to Ashton.  I thought that the canal would be clogged with blow-downs, but it was actually clear. 

Last week, a couple in a canoe apparently flipped trying to get under the buoys to run the tube at the Pratt Dam – not a smart idea.  What’s left of their canoe is still pinned on a log in front of the dam.  Fortunately they got to shore without incident. If you are going to do this run, the take out is to the right above the buoys.

Canal/River Loop - Lonsdale to Ashton from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Canal/River Loop - Ashton to Lonsdale - April 13, 2014

How many blow-downs does it take to ruin a trip?  I’m not sure, but I came close to finding out yesterday when I ran the canal/river loop from Lonsdale to Ashton.  There was lots of water in the river, but the canal was low, and there were lots of blow-downs.  I was able to pick through most of them, but it made for a long trip.  Nice day otherwise.

First Snow of 2014 - Ashton Snowshoeing - January 3, 2014

Fresh snow on the Bike Path

The first big snow storm of 2014 turned out to be a dud.  We got 6” to 8” instead of the 12” that was forecast.  Still. after shoveling out the driveway, I decided to head down to the bike path in Lincoln to do some snowshoeing.

I accessed the bike path at the Visitor Center on Route I-295.  This is a good starting point because it is always plowed. The temperature was around 15° when I arrived, but as long as you stayed out of the wind, it didn’t seem that cold.  I was the first one on the bike path and got to break a trail through the fresh snow. 

On the ridge overlooking the Ashton Dam

Once on the bike path, you can head south down around the Kelly House and the Blackstone Canal, or north along the river under Route I-295.  I decided to go north and was surprised to see the Blackstone River frozen over above the dam.  Along this section thickets of mountain laurel grow on the rocky slopes that lead down to the river – very pretty.  I always find lots of deer tracks when I come here, and today was no exception.  Maybe sometime I’ll see the deer.

I did a loop from the Visitor Center, down to the Blackstone River and back.  Enjoy it while you can!

Snow and ice on the Ashton Dam

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Blackstone Canal/River Loop - April 20, 2013

I was suppose to go up to NH to run the class II section of the Ammo with the NHAMC, but the trip got cancelled.  Instead I did an early morning loop on the Blackstone Canal/River from Lonsdale to Ashton and back.

Blackstone Canal/River Loop from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Ashton Snowshoeing - February 10, 2013

Seven brave souls (Jim K, Don and Jan, Peter S. and Angela, Susan and me) broke a new trail in 24” of nice light powder on the Bike Path today in Lincoln.  We did about 2 miles from the rest area on I 295 to the Kelly House and back.  It was a great day to be outside. 

The crew - Jim, Jan, Peter, Angela, Don Susan and me

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Blackstone Canal/River Loop – August 12, 2012

With the rain we had last week, the Blackstone River came up enough for a run on the Canal/River loop.  I put in at the Bike Path in Lonsdale and paddled up the Canal to Ashton.  I was surprised at the number of trees that were down in the Canal, although I was able to paddle over or around all of them.

I crossed over into the Blackstone River below the Falls in Ashton.  The river was low but fluid.  A couple of fishermen were taking advantage of the rare summer flow to cast their lines in the shallow water below the Falls.  

Lots of people on the Bike Path, but I only saw one other boat on the water – a couple with a big tandem canoe took out above the Pratt Dam just as I did.  They were taking a rest before portaging that beast over the dam to the Canal - better them than me.

Fishermen below the Ashton Dam

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Blackstone Canal/River Loop - Jun 9, 2009

Got up early, skipped the gym, and headed out to paddle the canal/river loop from Lonsdale to Ashton. River was little low (2 ft., 550 cfs. on the Woonsocket Gage), but not a bad level.

 
Blackstone River/Canal Loop from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Blackstone Canal/River Loop - April 10, 2011

It was another busy weekend, but I did get out for a couple of hours yesterday on one of my local runs - the Blackstone Canal and River from Lonsdale to Ashton. Lots of people on the nearby bikepath, and lots of fishermen in the river with the start of fishing season.

Blackstone Canal & River Loop - Ashton from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Following the Deer Tracks - January 22nd

I had some free time today, so I decided to do some snowshoeing down at the bike path in Lincoln. I started at the visitor center on Rt. 295 since I wasn’t sure if the parking lot down by the Kelly House would be open. I hadn’t been there before, but the visitor center is a great place to access the bike path - and there's a Dunkin Donuts.

The bike path was well traveled with a couple of well-compacted paths right down the middle. I stayed in the fresh snow off to the side, and followed the bike path down to the river to check out the Ashton Dam. Conditions were great - I'd say 6' of light powder on top of a foot of slightly more packed snow. Temperatures were in the 20's, but it didn't seem that cold. The Blackstone Canal was frozen over, but the river was running below the dam. Above the dam, the river was iced over.

From the Ashton Dam, I went up the Lincoln side of the river as far as Rt. 295. This area is absolutely covered with mountain laurel - it must be beautiful when its blooming in the spring. Wikipedia says that mountain laurel grows in large thickets on rocky slopes in forested areas. Well, this area definitely fits the bill. I followed some deer tracks up the slopes and through the mountain laurel. Those deer are very sure-footed - it was quite a climb. I saw lots of tracks and a couple of bedding spots up on the slopes, but no deer.

I was only out for a couple of hours, but it was a good workout. One of my snowshoeing books says that you burn 1,000 calories per hour in powdery snow on hilly terrain, and I believe it.

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