Veteran's Day on the Sudbury and Concord Rivers - November 11, 2026

Heading out from the Lincoln Canoe Launch

Each year, Ozzy does a paddling trip to commemorate Veteran’s Day. This year the trip was on the Sudbury and Concord Rivers from Lincoln to Bedford.

I paddled tandem in my Explorer 17 with Bill, and offered to bring my Spirit II for Jonathan and Gwen. The only way I can carry two tandem boats on my rack is to stand them on edge like kayaks. It’s not a big deal for a short trip but is a little nerve racking on the highway with big trucks speeding by. It turned out fine.

Crossing Fairhaven Bay

We met at 9:00 at the Lincoln Canoe Launch on the Sudbury River to unload our boats and run the shuttle down to the Bedford Boat Ramp on the Concord River. We got on the water al little after 10:00. We had nine boats – 3 tandem canoes, 5 solo canoes and one kayak.

We paddled out into the Sudbury River section of the Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge and through Fairhaven Bay. The Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge stretches along 12 miles of the Sudbury and Concord Rivers. It is a 3,800-acre wetland that provides habitat for more than 220 species birds. From there, the river enters a more residential section of Lincoln.

Time for lunch

We paddled under several historic stone-arch bridges before stopping for lunch at the Old Calf Pasture across from Egg Rock, where the Sudbury River converges with the Assabet River to form the Concord River. Carved into Egg Rock is an 1885 inscription honoring the indigenous people who lived along the river before European settlement.

On the hill Nashawtuck
At the meeting of the rivers
And along the banks
Lived the Indian owners of
Musketaquid
Before the white men came

Egg Rock was a frequent gathering spot for notable Concord folks like Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson (author of the "Concord Hymn") and Daniel Chester French (sculptor of the 1875 Minute Man Statue).

Old North Bridge

After a great lunch of shrimp and kielbasa, we continued down the Concord River, past the Lowell Road Boat Ramp and under the Old North Bridge, which is commemorated in Ralph Waldo Emerson's historic poem the “Concord Hymn”.

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The bridge is part of the Minute Man National Historical Park and is a replica of the wooden bridge that stood on the site on April 19, 1775 during the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

Approaching the Bedford Boat Ramp

We continued downstream past the Concord River section of the Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge on the eastern shore, and Mass Audubon’s Brewster's Woods Wildlife Sanctuary on the western shore. Brewster Woods is a 130-acre nature preserve located on the country estate of the first Mass Audubon president - William Brewster. We saw lots of people hiking in both properties.

The river opens up for the last couple of miles before the Bedford Boat Ramp, but we were lucky that the winds were calm. We all packed up our boats and headed out after another great trip.

The crew takes a break for lunch

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