Assabet - Maynard - March 12, 2026

Surfing below the ben Smith Dam

Rain and warm weather brought all the rivers up this week. When Dan told me about a trip on the class II section of the Assabet through Maynard, I decided to take the day-off and join in.

The Assabet River arises in Westborough and flows approximately 34 miles west to converge with the Sudbury River at Egg Rock in Concord to form the Concord River. There’s lots of great flatwater paddling on the Assabet including the section from Gleasondale to the Ben Smith Dam, and from the PowdermIll Dam down to Egg Rock. The section through Maynard is an easy class II with a couple of rapids at the bridges, and some nice surf waves by the Ben Smith Dam and along Walnut Street near the mills.

Center arch of the Mill Street Bridge

In 1847, textile manufacturer Amory Maynard purchased land in what is now Maynard from a farmer named Ben Smith and built a dam to power his textile mills. Originally known as Assabet Village, this became the town of Maynard in 1871. Maynard’s downtown textile mills, now Clock Tower Place, were the home of Digital Equipment Corporation from the 1960’s to the 1990’s. Digital was a major computer company with 140,000 employees in 1987.

I met Dan, Ozy, Rick and Bob on Taft Avenue to run the shuttle. The river was at a nice level – 4-feet, 650 cfs on the Maynard gage. We played in the waves below the Ben Smith Dam before heading downstream. There are six bridges over the Assabet River as it flows through Maynard. The first is the double arch Great Road Bridge. Either side is runnable, but we went to the left. A pipe runs along the downstream end producing a surfwave that can be caught from the left side.

Above the Walnut Street Bridge

The next bridge is the triple arch Mill Street Bridge. We ran the center arch, cutting to the left after the bridge to avoid the rock in the middle of the river. After some easy riffles comes the Florida Road Bridge. The river then turns right along Walnut Street and mills. There are a couple of nice surfwaves before you reach the Main Street Bridge.

Downstream from the Main Street Bridge, the river turns left as it goes under the Walnut Street Bridge. There are a few more riffles and one more substantial rapid as you approach the Waltham Street, which we ran to the left. With my sore knee, I only did one run. The cortisone shot helped, but it was still sore to kneel.

Links
My Pictures
River Description from American Whitewater
Maynard Gage