Paddling between the rain drops - Assbet River from Acton to Concord - June 24, 2023

At the picnic site below Damondale

Bill and I were scheduled to run a RICKA trip on the Sudbury River through Great Meadows today. Unfortunately, the forecast was for rain and possible thunderstorms and there is no shelter in that wide open marshland, so the Sudbury trip got cancelled. Instead, we decided to run the Assabet River from Acton down to Concord.

The Assabet River arises in Westborough and flows approximately 34 miles west to its convergence with the Sudbury River to form the Concord River. I’ve done a couple of sections of the Assabet including the flatwater section from Gleasondale to the Ben Smith Dam and the whitewater section through Maynard.

Al and Bill navigate the blow-downs

Al had checked the forecast and advised that we should have a window of storm-free weather from 11:00 to 4:00. I met Bill at 9:30 for the drive up to Acton, and it rained the entire time. We ran the shuttle at 10:30, and the rain had stopped by the time we got on the water at around 11:00 – Al was right. I was paddling tandem with Jonathan in my Mohawk - first trip for Jonathan after his hip surgery. Bill was paddling tandem with Al in his Wenonah – first trip for Al in a canoe in years.

The river was low - 1.8 feet, 60 cfs - so finding the deep channels and avoiding rocks and strainers was the order of the day. We ran through the site of the old Damondale Dam, and took a break for lunch at the new picnic site just downstream.

Erik and Jonathan at Egg Rock

From there we entered a section with numerous blow-downs. A couple were tricky, but we were able to paddle over or around them all without getting out of the boat. We stopped again at the boat ramp in West Concord and walked over to D&D for a coffee - it was an leasurly trip. (There is also a new picnic site downstream of the bridge in West Concord). From there it is an easy paddle down to Leaning Hemlocks with its memorial to paddler and poet George Bartlett with the words from his poem Floating Hearts. We continued down to Egg Rock at the convergence of the Assabet and Sudbury Rivers.

As is tradition, we continued down the Concord River to the Old North Bridge and the Minute Man National Historic Park. It was approaching 4:00, and sure enough the rain started up again. It was a brief shower and we took refuge under the Old North Bridge until it passed. It did rain for much of the ride home. Our timing was good.

Jonathan and Erik at the Old North Bridge

Links:
My Pictures
Maynard Gage
Floating Hearts – Poem by George Bartlett

Assebet - Acton to Concord - November 20, 2020

Bike shuttle from Lowell Road

I was checking my vacation time and realized that I still have three weeks of vacation, but only six weeks left in the year to take it. Nice problem to have. I sent an email to Jonathan to see if he could do some weekday paddling. The forecast for Friday was sunny and warm but maybe a little windy, so we decided to paddle the Assabet from Acton to Concord – 5-mile bike shuttle, 6-mile paddle.

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

No more rapids at the Damondale Dam

I was on my way up to Acton when I got a call from Jonathan to tell me that he had a family issue and wouldn’t be able to make the trip. Fortunately Conrad had signed on as well, so at least I wouldn’t have to do the trip alone. We dropped off out boats at the Acton Canoe Launch at around 10:00 and drove down to Lowell Road for the half-hour bike shuttle back.  

We got on the water a little before 11:00 and headed downstream. The river was low, but still fluid - 1.8 feet, 60 cfs on the Maynard gage.  This would be my fist trip since the removal of the Damondale Dam.  The easy rapids through the breach in the old broken dam were my favorite part of this trip. Oh well - still a great day.

Lowell Road Take-Out

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My Pictures

Maynard Gage

Assabet – Acton to Concord – November 18, 2017

Had a nice trip today on the Assabet River with Mena, Tommy, Marshall and Jonathan.  We paddled from Acton to the Old North Bridge in Concord.  The level was 2 feet, 100 cfs – great for poling, not bad for padding.  Stopped for a beer and burger after at the Battle Road Brew House.

At the Old North Bridge on the Concord River

Links

My Pictures

Maynard Gage

Assabet - Acton to Concord - March 26, 2017

Running the Damondale Dam

I got a nice surprise on Friday – an email from Jonathan looking to do some paddling.  I couldn’t paddle on Saturday, but Sunday was open, so I sent an email off to Suasco Al, Tommy and Bill, and we set up a trip on the Assabet. Tommy brought Mena, and Lora and Pat joined from Facebook, so we had a nice group.

We would be running the section of the Assabet from Acton to Concord.  It’s a pretty section that is mostly flatwater except for the broken dam at Damondale.  The river was at a nice level – 2.5 feet, 200 cfs.  We had quite a mixture of boats – Bill and I paddled tandem in my Mohawk; Tommy in his Osprey and Jonathan in his Courier paddled solo; Mena was poling in Tommy’s Souhegan; Lora and Pat were in whitewater kayaks; and Al had his long boat.

Through the blow-downs

We put in at around 10:30 at the Acton Canoe Launch.  The morning started off sunny and warm, but gradually clouded over and got chilly.  We spent a little time playing at the broken dam at Damondale before heading downstream. 

There were quite a few blowdowns below the dam, including the river wide strainer that gave us trouble last time we were here.  The canoes had better luck getting over than the kayaks, so I got out into waist-deep water to help - drysuits are wonderful things! We stopped for lunch in West Concord, and it started to rain just as we pulled into the take out at Lowell Road in Concord at around 2:00.  Nice trip.

Taking a break at Leaning Hemlocks

Links:

My Pictures

Maynard Gage
Al's post at Trashpaddler's Waterway Wonderings

Assabet through Maynard - January 7, 2017

Ben Smith Dam

There was snow in the forecast for the afternoon, so a morning run that was close to home was in order.  Fortunately, the class II section of the Assabet River in Maynard was running, so that is where we went. 

The Assabet River arises in Westborough and flows approximately 34 miles west to meet 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 some nice surf waves by the Ben Smith Dam and along Walnut Street near the mills. 

Brooke below the Ben Smith Dam

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 became a major computer company with 140,000 employees in 1987. 

I met Andy and Brooke at around 10:00 in the parking lot on the left side of the Ben Smith Dam to run the shuttle. The river was at a nice level – 3 feet, 400 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 runable.  A pipe runs along the downstream end producing a surfwave (Crack Baby) that can be caught from the left side. 

Andy at the Mill Waves

The next bridge is the triple arch Mill Street Bridge.  We ran the far left arch due to wood on the right side.  Generally, all three arches are runable.  After some easy riffles and flatwater comes the Florida Road Bridge.  The river then turns right along Walnut Street and mills.  There are a couple of nice surfwaves (Mill Waves) before you reach the Main Street Bridge.  

Downstream from the Main Street Bridge, the river then turns left as it goes under the Walnut Street Bridge.  There are a few more riffles an one more substantial rapid as you approach the Waltham Street Bridge and the take out at the Elks Hall.  We spent about and hour and a half on the river, and it just started to snow just as we finished up.  Fortunately, we were close to home because the roads were slow for the drive home.

Here's another poem by Tom (canoeswithduckheads) that was posted on P-net.

Ole Blackfly don't mind the cold,
he runs red hot when rivers fold,
with liquid motion he flows on yet,
some take that Option Assabet.
TW

Snow falling and water on the lens, but still a happy crew

Links:

My Pictures

River Description from American Whitewater

Maynard Gage

Assabet - Acton to Concord - June 4, 2016

We had a nice group for our annual RICKA trip on the Assabet River.  We ran the section from Acton to Concord.  The river was definitely low (1.6 feet, 35 cfs), so we got some new scratches on the composite boats.  The Damondale Dam was runnable on the left.  There were lots of blowdowns, but we only had to portage one, and we probably would have made it over that one if there was more water.  Would have been a great level for poling.

Running the broken dam at Damondale

Links:

My Pictures

Maynard Gage

Assabet - Acton to Concord - May 17, 2015

Taking a break for lunch

On Saturday I paddled the Pemi in Bristol.  On Sunday I led a RICKA flatwater trip with Sharon on the Assabet River from Acton (Acton Canoe Launch, 63 Powder Mill Road) to Concord (Old Calf Pasture, 250 Lowell Road). It was a good weekend.

The Assabet was a little on the low side for this trip - 2 feet on the Maynard Gage.  We we made it through fine, but I wouldn’t want to run it much lower.  It did make the run through the Damondale Dam easier. Below Damondale, the Assabet slows and we encountered a number of blow-downs.  We stopped for lunch in West Concord, and then continued downstream.

Running the Damondale Dam

There was a lot of erosion along the banks of the Leaning Hemlocks section, but it looked like someone had propped up the stone with the memorial to George Bartlett.  Egg Rock was high and dry where the Assabet converges with the Sudbury to form the Concord.  From there, it is just a short paddle up into the Old North Bridge and the Minute Man National Historic Park. Good day. 

At the Old North Bridge

Links: 

My Pictures

Maynard Gage

Assabet/Concord - Acton to Concord – May 31, 2014

Green tunnels

Last Sunday I paddled though Powder Hollow on the Scantic River – site of the Hazard Powder Company.  Yesterday, we put-in below the Powder Mill Dam on the Assabet River in Acton. Fortunately, the gun powder mills on both of these rivers are gone, and there were no explosions on either day.

Yesterday, I led a RICKA trip in the Assabet River from Acton (Acton Canoe Launch, 63 Powder Mill Road) to Concord (Old Calf Pasture, 299 Lowell Road).  We had twenty boats including two special guests – SuAsCo Al and Tommy T. 

Running the broken dam

We met at the Acton Canoe Launch at 9:30 to unload boats and run the shuttle.  The shuttle was actually the toughest part of the trip, but we got back to the put-in at around 10:45, and began launching the boats.  The river was at a nice level – 2.5 feet on the Maynard gage.  About halfway through the process, I looked up and saw Tommy T. paddling upstream.  He had put-in at the Route 225 Bridge on the Concord River, and paddled upstream about 10 miles to meet us. 

We finally got all the boats in the water around 11:00 and began our decent down through the quickwater below the Powder Mill Dam.  About a mile downstream from the Powder Mill Dam is the broken dam at Damondale.  This dam is breached on river right, and we queued up to run the shoot through the breach before continuing downstream. 

Egg Rock

Below Damondale, the Assabet slows and large trees shade the river forming “green tunnels” along several sections of the river.  It seemed too early for lunch, so we passed the usual lunch spot in West Concord and continued downstream.

Folks were starting to get hungry as we paddled through the Leaning Hemlocks section.  We found the memorial plaque to George Bartlett, checked out the plaque at Egg Rock where the Assabet converges with the Sudbury to form the Concord, and stopped for lunch at the Old Calf Pasture. 

Minute Man Statue

From there, it is just a short paddle up into the Old North Bridge and the Minute Man National Historic Park.  We posed for a picture below the bridge before heading ashore to check out the historic sites including the Minute Man Statue, the 1832 Monument and the Old Manse. 

Tourist gathered on the Old North Bridge as we posed for a picture

Links

My Pictures

Maynard Gage

Al’s blog

Minute Man National Historic Park

Old Manse

Assabet River – Stow to Maynard - December 9, 2012

We had a good time yesterday paddling the 5.5 mile section of the Assabet River from Gleasondale in Stow (Gleasondale Road, Rt. 62 near Rockbottom Road - 42.404478,-71.526532) to the Ben Smith Dam in Maynard (Maynard DPW yard entrance near intersection of Winter Street and Boeske Avenue - 42.425389,-71.467738).   We did it as a down-river run, but there is also an intermediate put-in off Sudbury Road (42.41156,-71.508508).  Sudbury Road is just about in the middle so you can easily section paddle in either direction. 

After running the shuttle (which always takes longer than expected), we launched from below the Gleasondale Dam.  With yesterday’s rain, we got a little bump in the water level – 2 feet on the Maynard gage. The river quickly enters pretty marshland and meanders through it for much of the trip. About a mile downstream we took a side trip (river right) through a square culvert and up to a huge beaver dam on Fort Meadow Brook.  About a mile further downstream (also river right) is an outflow stream from Lake Boon. According to Al, the best place to access Lake Boon is from the state launch site on Sudbury Road. While you can paddle up the outflow fairly close to Barton Road, there is no easy way to get up to the roadway.

We took a short break at Crow Island and watched a small plane practice take-offs and landings before heading downstream.  The trip took us about three hours and would make a nice RICKA flatwater trip.

Paddling on the Assabet River with Frank, Paul, Jim, Al and Paul

Links:

My Pictures

Al’s Trash Paddler Blog

Maynard gage

RICKA Trip on the Assabet - June 3, 2012

The rain held off, and we had a nice group on the Assabet River – 18 boats – 3 canoes, 15 kayaks.  With the rains on Saturday, the river had come up nicely – 3 feet on the Maynard gage.  We ran the section from the Acton Canoe Launch to Lowell Street in Concord. Everyone made it through the broken dam.  Trip ended at Minuteman National Park.  Great day

The Red Coats are coming - Erik, Tom and Jim
at Minuteman National Park

Links:

Al’s blog
Cheryl's pictures
Susan's pictures

Maynard gage

Assabet - Acton to Concord - May 28, 2012

I met up with Al today to scout the Assabet from Acton to Concord for next weekend’s flatwater trip. This section is mostly flatwater, but has enough quickwater to keep things interesting.  Level was 2' on the Maynard gage - much less and it would start to get scratchy.  Here is Al running the broken dam.

Links:
My pictures
Al's blog
Maynard gage

Six Bridges – the Assabet River through Maynard – January 28, 2012

It was an absolutely beautiful day, so Andy and I decided to check out the class I/II section of the Assabet that runs through the old mill town of Maynard. We put-in off Taft Road just below the Ben Smith Dam. The river was as a nice level – 4', 600 cfs on Maynard gage.

We surfed the waves below the dam before heading downstream. Six bridges cross this 1½ mile section of the Assabet as it flows through downtown Maynard.

• Great Road Bridge – ran to the right through a 2’ drop
• Mill Street Bridge – ran through the center, but the right arch is also an option
• Florida Road Bridge – flatwater under the bridge, but there are some nice waves just downstream
• Main Street Bridge – some easy waves leading up to it, but it can be run anywhere
• Walnut Street Bridge – fast moving current under the bridges pushes right, some nice wave below the bridge
• Waltham Street Bridge – ran in the middle since the left and right arches were blocked by construction steel

The river also runs by a collection of restored mill buildings now known as Clock Tower Place.  At one time, this was the world headquarters of computer pioneer Digital Equipment Corporation. 

We took out at the Elks Hall on Route 62 and shuttled back to Taft Road for another run. Good time, but I wouldn’t want to run it any lower.

Andy running the drop below the Great Road Bridge

Links:
My Pictures

River Description from American Whitewater
Maynard Gage

Assabet - Acton to Concord - December 31, 2011

Al running the broken dam

As 2011 came to a close, I got out for one last run with Al, Tommy and Jeff on the Assabet River. We ran the section from the Acton to Concord. The level was great - 3’, 300 cfs on the Maynard gage.

On the way to the put-in, I checked out the class II section of the Assabet that runs through Maynard. It starts below the Ben Smith Dam just upstream of where Route 117 splits off of Route 62. There are a few features by the big clock in Maynard center (Walnut St.). The last bit and the gage can be seen from the parking lot where the river goes under Routes 62 and 27. The take out is at the Elks Hall on Route 62.  Minimum lever for running this is 250 cfs.  It looked fun at 300 cfs.  It's a short run, maybe a mile.  The Boston AMC use to do their Spring Ice Breaker run here.

Tommy practicing peal-outs

We put in at the Acton Canoe Launch which is on Route 62 (Powder Mill Road) near Moscarriello's Equipment and the intersection with  High Street.  The day was cloudy and damp, but it never rained.  It was colder than I expected, and we found 1/2 inch thick ice on some of the standing water.

The river starts off as flatwater with the occasional riffle until we reached the broken dam at Damondale.  This is a class I drop with a big big rock in the middle and a big eddy on river left.  Jeff and I ran it first followed by Tommy and Al.  Everyone made it through without difficulty.

Approaching the Old North Bridge

We continued downstream passing by the Leaning Hemlocks and the Memorial to George Bartlett (who arranged many outings on the SuAsCo rivers in the 19th century) before reaching Egg Rock where the Assabet River converges with the Sudbury River to form the Concord River. We paddled up to the Minute Man National Historic Park before taking out at the Calf Pasture on Lowell Road in Concord.  Great day.

Links:
Al's Trash Paddler blog entry
Assabet River Gage in Maynard
Minute Man National Historic Park

A soggy run on the Sudbury – June 11, 2011

The rain started early, and at times was a torrential downpour, but 10 hearty RICKA paddlers (4 canoes, 6 kayaks) still completed a soggy run on the Sudbury River from Wayland to Concord.

A light drizzle was falling as we put in at Sherman’s Road Bridge in Wayland and headed out into the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. That light drizzle turned into heavy rain by the time we reached Lee’s Bridge on the Concord line. The downpour continued as we stopped for a cold, wet lunch on Brooke Island in Fairhaven Bay.

Fortunately, the rain let up shortly after lunch leaving a pretty mist hanging over the river as we paddled under the stone arch bridges in Concord. We posed for a couple of pictures at Minute Man National Historical Park before taking out at the Old Calf Pasture on Lowell Road.

It was nice to have Suasco Al along, and I wish I could have stayed longer to paddle up the Assabet with him.  Hopefully another time.

RICKA crew at the Old North Bridge

Links:
My Video

SuAsCo River Paddling – June 3, 2011

Suasco Al - the Trash Paddler

I took the day off last Friday and headed up to Wayland, MA to paddle the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord Rivers with Suasco Al – the Trash Paddler. I’ll be leading a RICKA trip there next Saturday, and Al was nice enough to help me scout the trip.

We put in on the Sudbury River at Sherman’s Bridge Road in Wayland (N 42 degrees 23.803', W 071 degrees 21.867'), and paddled down to the Old Calf Pasture on Lowell Road in Concord at Egg Rock (N 42 degrees 27.893',  W 071 degrees 21.496') where the Sudbury converges with the Assabet to form the Concord. For much of the trip, the Sudbury meanders through marshland that is protected as part of the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge – there were birds everywhere. We stopped for lunch at an island at Fairhaven Bay.


Four bloggers - Al, Jackie, Sue and Erik

After lunch we continued downstream into a strong headwind which kicked up small waves and made the river look like it was flowing upstream. I was glad to get into Concord, MA where the river is more protected from the wind. At Egg Rock we met up with fellow bloggers Sue (Water-lily) and Jackie (Saratoga Woods and Waterways), had a nice chat, and posed for a quick picture. Once back on the river, we paddled a couple of hundred yards up the Assabet River just so I could say that I did. Then we paddled down the Concord River to the Old North Bridge in the Minute Man National Historical Park.

Minute Man statue

Being a history buff, it was cool to see the restored Old North Bridge from the water. There were a lot more people at the park than I would have thought. We pulled our boats ashore and checked out the 1837 Monument and the famous Minute Man statue before walking up to the Visitor Center. We snapped a couple of pictures of the Old North Bridge from the water before heading back to the take-out at Egg Rock.

Sure beats working – great day. Thanks Al.

In front of the restored Old North Bridge

Links:
Al’s blog – the Trash Paddler
Lisa's blog - Waterlily

Spring Planning - RICKA Flatwater trips for 2011

A couple of weeks ago, I sent an email to Cheryl with some trip suggestions for the RICKA Flatwater group for 2011.

In June, I’m planning to lead a trip on the Sudbury, Assebet and Concord Rivers. At the suggestion of Al the Trash Paddler, we will put-in on the Sudbury River at Sherman's Bridge Road in Wayland. Just downstream at Weir Hill is the headquarters of the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge where there is a museum with a nice exhibit on local wildlife. After paddling another couple miles downstream, we will stop for lunch at a small island in Fairhaven Bay where Ospreys are often seen. We will continue downstream to Egg Rock where the Sudbury River converges with the Assebet River to form the Concord River. We will paddle up this short section of the Assebet River which Nathaniel Hawthorn described as:

A more lovely stream than this, for a mile above its junction with the Concord, has never flowed on earth.

From there, we will continue down the Concord River to the take-out at the "Calf Pasture" at Lowell Road in Concord. Those who are interested can paddle another half mile down the Concord River to the Old North Bridge in the Minute Man National Historical Park.

In August, I’ll lead a trip on the Deerfield River below the Zoar Gap. Its a 9-mile run from the Zoar Picnic Area to the take out across from the Charlemont Academy. The trip has a little bit of everything – flatwater, quickwater and class I-II rapids. It was a good time last year.

Concord and Sudbury Rivers

I've been saving this description of the Concord and Sudbury Rivers from Tommy T. 

The Concord and Sudbury Rivers have very slow current from Framingham to North Billerica. It's pretty easy to paddle both upstream and down. They tend to be open with lots of Buttonbush marsh.

Fairhaven Bay is a pretty pond in the Sudbury with wooded shores and the section just down stream of the Old North Bridge in Concord is wooded and more protected.

I've put on the Sudbury where it crosses Rt 20 in Wayland, at the Lincoln Canoe Launch on Rt 117 just above Fairhaven Bay and in on Lowell Road in Concord where the Sudbury and Assabet meet to form the Concord. If you put in there and head downstream on the Concord you will soon come to the Old North Bridge and then the wooded section I mentioned.

Further down the Concord there is a boat launch on Rt 225 in Bedford and a somewhat rougher launch at a small park on Rt 3A in Billerica. You may find fishermen in powerboats anywhere in there though I've never seen more than a few.

My favorite parts are between Rt 225 and Lowell Road on the Concord and Fairhaven Bay.

You might also consider the Assabet between Pine Street in West Concord and Lowell Road. That is more wooded and the trees would give you some protection from the rain. There are other nice paddles on the Assabet with somewhat trickier conditions or access. Give a yell if you want to hear about them.

~Tommy

One of these days, I'm going to get up there and do some paddling. I thought I'd be able to do it this month, but it hasn't worked out that way.