River Church - Alton to Bradford - February 23, 2025

Below the Alton Dam

After a long cold snap, the forecast was for warming weather on Sunday. We put-out the word, and got a group together for a trip down the Wood-Pawcatuck from Alton to Bradford – three boats, four paddlers, all canoes. It would be like "River Church".

The Wood-Pawcatuck watershed is one of the prettiest in RI. In 2019 it became part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System – the only river in RI to receive this prestigious designation. Included in the Wood-Pawcatuck designation are sections of seven rivers including the Beaver, Chipuxet, Green Fall-Ashaway, Pawcatuck, Queen - Usquepaugh, Shunock, and Wood.

Heading down the Wood River

We would be putting-in on the Wood River in Alton and paddling down the Pawcatuck River to Bradford. The Wood River arises near Sterling, CT and flows south for 25-miles to merge with the Pawcatuck River below Alton. There are two other sections of the Wood River that are popular with paddlers – the upper Wood River from Route 165 in Exeter to the Wyoming Dam with a portage at the Barberville Dam, and the lower Wood River from Switch Road to Alton with a portage at the Woodville Dam.

We met at the Alton Dam at 10:00 to unload our boats and run the shuttle down to Bradford. The river was at a nice level – 200 cfs, 2.75-feet on the Wood River Junction gage. We were concerned about ice on the river, but last weekend’s rain and snowmelt raised the river about a foot and cleared out any ice. The short section of the Wood River downstream of the Alton Dam twists and turns through a pretty forest. There were a couple of blow-downs to paddle around, but we made it through fine.

On to the Pawcatuck River

There are some differences of opinion on the name of river above the convergence with the Wood. Many guidebooks refer to Worden Pond as the source of the Pawcatuck River. In other guidebooks, the outflow from Worden Pond is a continuation of the Chipuxet River, which becomes the Charles River when it merges with the Queen - Usquepaugh just above Biscuit City, and becomes the Pawcatuck when it merges with the Wood River.

Whatever it is called, from its source at Worden Pond the river twists and turns for 34-miles to Westerly where it flows into Little Narragansett Bay. Some of the best paddling in RI is along the Pawcatuck including Great Swamp from Taylor's Landing to Biscuit City Landing, Shannock to Richmond, Richmond to Bradford, Bradford to Potter Hill, and Potter Hill to Westerly.

Running the broken dam
at Burdickville

Perhaps nowhere in Rhode Island has dam removal and river restoration been more active than along the Pawcatuck River. In 2010, the Lower Shannock Falls Dam was removed and replaced with a short rapid. In 2013, the Kenon Dam was replaced with fish weirs. In 2016, the White Rock Dam was removed and the riverbed restored. In 2017, the Bradford Dam was also replaced with fish weirs. Combined with fish ladders at Potter Hill and Upper Shannock Falls, the removal and modification of these dams has opened up the 34-miles of the Pawcatuck River to migratory fish, reduced portages, and created some fun rapids.

We took a quick break to check out the "boot-leg" site located at the convergence of the Wood and Pawcatuck Rivers. We are fortunate to have a several very nice campsites on the Pawcatuck including Stoney Point on Worden Pond, the Carolina Canoe Campsite just upstream from the Richmond Landing, this "bootleg" site at the confluence of the Wood River downstream from Alton Landing, and of course, the Burlingame Canoe Campsites upstream from Bradford Landing in the Burlingame Management Area.

Enjoying the fire at the
Burlingame Canoe Campsites

The Burlingame Wildlife Management Area extends north from Watchaug Pond in the Burlingame State Park to include a large woodland along the Pawcatuck River. The land is managed for both wildlife protection and recreation with hunting, trails for hikers and mountain bikers, and the Burlingame Canoe Campsites. These campsites are accessible from the river or by hiking in from the parking lot on Buckeye Brook Road or from the North South Trailhead on Burdickville Road.

The river opened up and was flowing well as we continued downstream. About a mile downstream is the broken dam at Brudickville. The dam can be portaged on the left, or run on the right. There was plenty of water flowing over the dam, so we decided to run it on the right. Everyone made it through fine. From there it is a short paddle down to the Burlingame Canoe Campsites where we stopped for lunch.

Heading down to Bradford

At the Burlingame Canoe Campsites there is an open field and five wooded sites. We hauled our gear up to the field and got a fire going in the large fire pit. We didn’t have time to cook on the fire, but we brought chairs to sit around the fire and backpacking stoves to heat up a hot meal. As one of our group said, “every trip is better if you can sit around the fire”.

From there, it is a short paddle down to Bradford Landing. We packed up our gear and sad our good-byes after another great trip.

The crew - Jeff, Chuck, Bill and Erik

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Wood River Junction Gage

Wood/Pawcatuck - Alton to Bradford - August 15, 2021

Running the broken dam at Burdickville

No trips on the calendar this weekend, so I posted a trip on the RICKA flatwater message board for the Wood/Pawcatuck from Alton to Bradford. Three canoes, two kayaks, and beautiful morning to be out on the water. The river was at 2.2 feet, 75 cfs on the Wood River Junction gauge, which made for a nice run through the broken dam at Burdickville. Also had fun swinging on the rope swing at the Burlingame campsites.

Below the broken dam at Brudickville

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Lower Shannock to Alton - January 26, 2020

The put-in at Lower Shanock

I knew the weather would be better on Sunday, and I needed another day to rest after getting sick last week, so I posted on the RICKA message board and Facebook for a flatwater trip. Jim S. responded that he wanted to do Lower Shannock to Alton with a campfire stop at the Carolina Canoe Campsite. Once Bill signed on the deal was done. 

Bill and I did this section with Jonathan back in September at a much lower level.  With the rain on Saturday the level was up around 3’, 260 cfs on the Wood River Junction gage. We met at Alton at 10:00 for the shuttle up to Lower Shannock Falls. We warned Jim about the current paddling up the Wood River to Alton, but he was OK with it.

Below Lower Skannock Falls

We put in around 10:30 below Lower Shannock Falls and headed downstream. I was the only one with a drysuit, and Bill’s objective was to stay dry in his shortly wetsuit, so running Shannock wasn’t an option. The day started sunny with temps in the mid-40’s – relatively warm for January. I didn’t need gloves, but I kept my hat on just the same.

Bridge construction on the Carolina Road Bridge (Route 112) above the Carolina Raceway continues through 2021. We scouted it for obstructions and ran through fine, but we will need to be careful going through there for a while. Portaging across the construction site would be a pain.

Construction at the Carolina Road Bridge

We stopped for lunch and a small campfire at the Carolina Canoe Campsite. I tried to think of something to bring that I could cook over the fire, but in the end decided to bring PB&J. The fire was still nice, and we got visit with our new friend Buck who was smoking his cigar on the bench when we pulled in.  

From there, we portaged the Richmond Dam and picked our way through the blow-downs down the Alton. The paddle up the Wood River was a bit of a slog, but we made it fine.

Enjoying the fire with our new friend Buck

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Wood River Junction Gage

Pawcatuck – Lower Shannock Falls to Alton – September 1, 2019

Running Lower Skannock Falls

I sent an email to Bill and Jonathan to see if they wanted to paddle on Sunday. Jonathan wanted to do something with current, so we decided on the Pawcatuck from the Lower Shannock Falls down to Alton. Bill wanted to paddle tandem, so I brought the Mohawk.

We met at 10:00 at Alton Landing to run the shuttle. The day was beautiful – sunny and warm, and the river was at a nice level – 2’, 70 cfs. on the Wood River Junction gage – low, but still fluid.

Lunch at the Carolina Canoe Campsite

We checked out the rapid at Lower Shannock Falls, and Bill and I decided that it was a little too low to run in the tandem. Jonathan ran it in the Courier, and made it look easy. From there, we continued down through the Carolina Raceway (moving pretty well) to the Carolina Canoe Campsite (getting overgrown) where we stopped for lunch. The Richmond Dam was too low to run, but the surf wave below it was prefect.  

Last year I ran a trip from Richmond down to Bradford, and the section below Richmond was full of blow-downs. Fortunately the WPWA has been in there with chainsaws and cleared a path. It was a bit of work paddling up the Wood River to Alton, and I felt bad for Jonathan paddling solo, but as always he managed fine.  Great day!

The crew at the take out below the Alton Dam

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Wood River Junction Gage

Alton to Bradford - May 20, 2018

Running the Broken Dam

The forecast was mixed with rain and thunderstorms early and late, but we were able to catch the window in the middle to run the Wood/Pawcatuck from Alton to Bradford. The river was at a nice level -3 feet, 250 cfs on the Wood River Junction gage.  

Due to work on the bridge below the dam, we had to lift our boats over construction barriers to get the put-in.  Once there, the river was flowing nice. We had an easy run through the broken dam at Burdickville, stopped for lunch and a fire at Burlingame Canoe Campsites (thanks Jim), and did a first run through the new dam at Bradford.

Lunch at Burlingame

I did a little research on the old Bradford Dam. The original dam was a stone and timber structure built between sometime 1819 and 1846 to divert water to the Bradford textile mills. Built on top of a natural falls, the 6-foot dam spanned the entire width of the river.  

Since removing the dam would drop the water level upstream by about 5 feet and negatively impact wetlands, the decision was made to replace the existing dam with the new rock ramp structure. This ramp is made up of 6 gradually ascending stone weirs, which serve like terraced steps. Pools between the steps give fish a place to rest on their way upstream. Gaps in the weirs create channels for water to flow and fish to swim, including the main current down the middle that forms a nice channel for paddlers.

Running the New Bradford Dam from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

New fish weirs at Bradford

The Bradford Dam is just one of a series of restoration projects on the Pawcatuck River. In 2010, the Lower Shannock Falls Dam was removed and replaced with a short rapid that allows fish to swim upstream, and paddlers to run downstream. In 2013, a rock ramp was built on the downstream side old Kenyon Dam. In 2016, the White Rock Dam in Westerly was removed. Combined with fish ladders at Potter Hill and Upper Shannock Falls, the removal or modification of these dams has opened up 31 miles of the Pawcatuck River to migratory fish.  

Hopefully the water will be at a good level when we do our Bradford to Potter Hill trip on August 18^th.  It will be nice to run down the weirs rather than portage like we had to do with the old dam.  

The crew at the put-in

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Wood River Junction Gage

Alton to Bradford - September 2, 2017

Below the Alton Dam

I knew it would be raining on Sunday, and I wasn’t sure what we would be doing on Monday, so when Frank suggested a paddle on Saturday, it sounded good to me.

The Blackstone would have been closer for both of us, but it is getting low, so we decided to run the Wood/Pawcatuck from Alton to Bradford.  We ran the shuttle, and put-in to the Wood River below the Alton Dam.  There were a few blow downs that we had to paddle around, but we made it through fine.  

Broken dam at Brudickville

The Wood River joins the Pawcatuck River about a mile downstream.  The level in the Pawcatuck was low, but fluid - 2 feet, 40 cfs on the Wood River Junction gage.   Because of the low water, we decided to carry around the broken dam at Burdickville rather than bounce down the rocks. 

We stopped for lunch at the Burlingame Canoe Campsites, and then paddled to the take-out at Bradford Landing.  The Bradford Dam is under construction, but I didn’t take the time to check it out – another time.

Approaching the Burdickville Road Bridge

Pawcatuck “Wilderness” Trip – June 24-25, 2017

Steve

Each spring, The RICKA Wilderness group does an overnight trip on the Pawcatuck River.  The idea is to give people a sense of what it takes to do more extended wilderness tripping from a canoe or kayak.  The Pawcatuck has a bunch of nice paddle-in sites, so it’s the perfect place for this type of trip. 

I didn’t have time to pack up on Friday, so I was rushing around on Saturday morning to get everything together. Usually with meals it is “everyone for themselves”, but for this trip we decided to do group meals, and I agreed to take breakfast.  The remnants of Tropical Strom Cindy would be coming through as well, so I packed tarps, clothes, and rain gear that I wouldn’t normally bring.  I had two big drybags stuffed with food and gear.

Enjoying the campfire

Just as I was about to leave the rain started, and it pored until about 11:00.  Then, just a predicted, the storm moved off and the sky cleared.  It turned out to be a beautiful day.  We met at the Richmond Landing (now called the Jay Cronin Access), ran the shuttle down to Alton, and then got on the river for an easy paddle down to the campsite. 

We camped at the bootleg site at the confluence of the Wood and the Pawcatuck.  When we arrived, the site was a mess – littered with beer cans and broken glass. The first job was to clean things up.  After that we set up the tents, took a hike down to the osprey nest (no osprey in residence) and cooked dinner.  Bill joined us around dinner time, and we settled in for a relaxing evening around the campfire. 

At the take-out at Alton Dam

Most of us were up early on Sunday, so we got the fire going, cooked breakfast, and sat around the fire before packing up to leave.  Once on the water we paddle up the Wood River to Alton.  Great trip.

The crew gets ready to leave

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Wood/Pawcatuck - Alton to Bradford - November 3, 2013

Saturday was sunny and warm.  Sunday was cloudy and cool.  Guess which day I got to go paddling.

After a slight mix up at the put-in location, we met at the Alton Dam around 10:15.  I was afraid I’d be doing this trip alone, but we ended up with four boats – me, Jim, Eric C. and Donna.  We put in below the Alton Dam and headed downstream.  It was cloudy and a little cool, but still nice.  River was at a nice level - 3 feet, 500 cfs on the Wood River Junction gage.

On the Wood River below the Alton Dam the river twists and turns though a pretty woodland.  Things open up when the Wood River joins the Pawcatuck about a mile downstream.  We ran the broken dam on the right, and stopped for a quick snack at the Burlingame Canoe Campsites before heading down to Bradford.  It was another nice day.

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Wood/Pawcatuck Foliage Tour - October 21, 2012

The rain took most of the foliage off the trees, but it was still nice to get out for Jim’s annual fall foliage trip on the Wood/Pawcatuck.  We had 17 boats paddling the section from  Alton to Bradford. With the rain on Friday, the river was at a nice level and relatively fast - even the broken dam at Burdickville had water (3 feet, 500 cfs on the Wood River Junction gage).  We stopped for lunch at the Burlingame campsites and pulled into Bradford around 1:30. Quick trip - nice day.


The Broken Dam at Burdickville from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

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