Housatonic - River Road to Housatonic Meadows - May 20, 2023

Jeff D. running the slalom course

It was slalom race weekend on the Housatonic, so I decided to join Paul D. for his trip on the Covered Bridge section so I could try my luck on the race course. It’s a 3-hour drive from my house, so I needed to get an early start.

The Housatonic originates in the Berkshire Hills of western MA and flows south for 150 miles along the western border of MA and CT before emptying into Long Island Sound. There’s a lot of great paddling on the Housatonic River. The best-known whitewater section is a class IV run known as Bulls Bridge - it's well above my skill level. There are also a couple of nice flatwater sections - one in MA - Sheffield to Ashley Falls, and one mostly in CT - Ashley Falls to Falls Village that we paddled as a fall foliage trip a few years ago.

Rescue practice

We would be running the quickwater section from River Road in Cornwall to the Picnic Area at Housatonic Meadows State Park in Sharon. We met at the picnic area and ran the shuttle up to River Road. This section is about 6-milles of quickwater with a couple of class II rapids – the Covered Bridge Rapid where the slalom course was set up, and the Ledges. The river was low and scratchy (2.5 feet, 500 cfs.) – I don’t think I’d make the trip again at that level. We put in on River Road, and paddled down to the Covered Bridge to run the slalom gates.

In whitewater slalom, racers compete to run a course of upstream and downstream gates set up in the rapids. Each gate consists of two poles hanging from a wire strung across the river. There are 18-25 numbered gates in a course that must be run in the proper order, with green gates being run downstream and red gates being run upstream. Upstream gates are typically placed in eddies. Downstream gates are often offset to require ferries or rapid turns. If a gate is hit a 2-second penalty is given. If a gate is missed a 50-second penalty is given. The paddler’s head and part of the boat must pass through the gate. In New England, slalom races are organized as part of the New England Slalom Series.

Surfing at the Ledges

I brought my Yellowstone Solo, so I knew running the gates would be a challenge – it was. I missed 6 of the 22 gates. The Yellowstone Solo doesn’t spin or side slip as fast a dedicated whitewater or slalom boat, but it was a lot more comfortable when I was running the quickwater sections downstream. Due to the low water, all of the gates were set up as downstream gates, which was unusual. Typically, there are 4 to 6 upstream gates included in the course.

After running the slalom course, we took some time practicing rescues and boat recoveries before heading downstream. We stopped for lunch at the Housatonic Meadows State Park Campground. It was pouring rain for the second half of our trip, the ride home, and most of the night. Over two-inches of rain fell, which gave the river a much needed boost for the slalom race today. Oh well, it was still a fun day.

The crew at the put-in above the Covered Bridge

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