 |
| Upper Narrows |
This summer has been dry and the rivers have been low. Two flatwater trips that I was scheduled to lead for
RICKA this summer had to be cancelled due to low water –
Pawcatuck (Bradford to Potter Hill) and
Charles (Needham to Wellesley). I had a trip on the calendar today at
Tully Lake, but even that was low. Rather than cancelling again, I decided to move today’s trip to the
Narrow River. It is tidal, so I knew there would be water.
The Narrow River, also known at the Pettaquamscutt River, is the tidal extension of the Mattatuxet River. It begins below the Carr Pond Dam at the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and flows south for 6-miles forming the border between South Kingstown and Narragansett before entering Pettaquamscutt Cove and flowing out into Narragansett Bay above the Narragansett Town Beach and the Dunes Club.
 |
| Gilbert Stuart Stream |
There are five distinct sections of the Narrow River – the Upper Pond, the Lower Pond, the "Upper Narrows" from Bridgetown Road and Middlebridge Road, the “Flats” at Pettaquamscutt Cove, and the “Lower Narrows” at Cormorant Point where the river flows into the sea.
My original plan was to do a round-trip on the section from the Sprague Bridge on Boston Neck Road to Bridgetown Road – about 6-miles. The tide was high at 11:30, so we would launch around 10:30 and paddle up on an incoming tide and back down on an outgoing tide. As it turned out, we didn't follow that plan.
 |
| Birds at Pettaquamscutt Cove |
We put in at the Sprague Bridge and headed upstream into the "Flats" at Pettaquamscutt Cove and the
John H Chafee National Wildlife Refuge. Established in 1973, the refuge includes over 300-acres of saltmarsh around Pettaquamscutt Cove that provides habitat for shore birds like gulls, egrets, herons, and cormorants.
We continued past Middlebridge Road and the Narrow River Fishing Area on Pollock Avenue. This is also a good put-in, but has limited parking for a group. From there we entered the Upper Narrows between Middlebridge Road and Bridgetown Road. This section of the river is lined with boat docks and summer houses.
 |
| Cormorant Point |
When we got to Bridgetown Road we decided to change the plan and keep going. We paddled up the Lower Pond, through Casey's Sill, across the Upper Pond, and up Gilbert Stuart Stream as far as we could before turning around.
The trip back was a bit of a slog. The wind picked up and it actually takes several hours for the tide to turn that far upstream - who knew. We were paddling into a headwind and against the tide. Once we got back to Sprague Bridge, Tony and I paddled down to the beach at the Lower Narrows. Total distance for the day was around 12-miles - glad I was in my sea kayak.
