Bigelow Brook – March 15, 2026

Heading out from the put in

With the recent rain and snow melt, Mike put a trip on the whitewater message board for Bigelow Brook. It would be rare chance to do a natural flow run on this very pretty Connecticut river. The last time Mike ran it was about 10-year’s ago.

Bigelow Brook arises at the Mashapaug Lake in Union and flows generally south/southeast through Bigelow Hollow State Park, Bigelow Pond and Myers Pond. It then forms the border between Ashford and Eastford before joining the Still River to form the Nachaug River. We would be running the section from Westford Road to the Natchaug State Forest.

Below the Route 44 Bridge

I met Mike and Aaron at the commuter lot at the intersection of Routes 44 and 198 in Eastford to run the shuttle. We put in at Westford Road and headed downstream. The river twists and turns through pretty woodlands lined with Hemlock trees and Mountain Laurel. It is mostly quickwater with some easy class I/II rapids – the largest being under the Route 44 Bridge. Dodging rocks and staying in the deepwater channel was the order of the day.

We continued downstream past the confluence with the Still River and on to the Natchaug River. We took out at the Natchaug State Forest – about a 6-mile trip. The gage on the Natchaug River above Diana’s Pool spiked at about 1,000-cfs last week, and was about 300-cfs today. There is no gage on Bigelow Brook itself.

Taking a break at the confluence

Links:
My Pictures

Aaron's Video
Natchaug River - Marcy Road (Diana’s Pool) Gage

Lower Natchaug – March 28th

The RICKA crew was heading off to run the Quabaug, but I didn’t have time, so I hooked up with Dan to run the lower Natchaug. I’ve been wanting to try this river since I scouted it in January. We got on the river by 11:00, paddled for a couple of hours, and were on our way home by 1:00 - perfect.  We put in at Diana's Pool and took out at the bridge on Station Road.  There is a small parking area to the right on Old Wilimantic Road.

The river was at 3.8 feet on the Marcy Road gage which was which was a low but runnable - would have been great with another foot of water. I definitely want to come back when its around 4.5 feet. At that level, the lower section would be a nice class II with lots of long wave trains.  Diana's Pool would be a solid class IV, comparable to the dryway - I'd skip that.  This would also be a great river to combine with the Salmon, and I still want to do the upper section.

I didn't get many pictures, but I did get a video of Dan running Michaud's Hole - he made it look easy.


Dan running Michaud's Hole on the Natchaug River from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Scouting the Natchaug River

There are so many nice rivers in eastern CT that I have yet to paddle.  I checked out one yesterday on my way out to the Farmington - the Natchaug.  There are three sections of the Natchaug in the AMC River Guide and American Whitewater.  The river runs along Route 198 and Route 6, so the put-ins and take-outs are easy to find.

The upper section is about 5 miles long.  The run starts at the bridge off General Lyons Road and continues down to the bridge at England Road.  It runs through the Natchaug State Forest and is the site of an annual spring poling clinic.  At higher water levels (the river was at 3.5 feet on the Marcy Road Gage yesterday), it looks like this section would be mostly quickwater with a couple of class I/II rapids.

The middle section starts at England Road and runs down to the Diana's Pool Fishing Area (Diana's Pool Road off Route 198).  This section starts out with flatwater and some class II rapids, and ends with a series of small falls and cascades rated class III/IV.  This is a popular run for local kayakers.

The Lower Section is about 3 miles long.  It starts below Diana's Pool and ends at the bridge off Station Road on Route 6.  I couldn't see much of it from the road, but the river guides rate this section as quickwater/class II.

Definitely a river that I'd like to try this year.