Crystal - June 7, 2025

Punch Brook

My original plan was to do the RICKA Flatwater trip on the Upper Wood River, but it got cancelled due to rain. My second option was the RICKA sea kayak trip at Potter Cove, but it got postponed until tomorrow. I needed to paddle today, so I sent an email to Paul D. to see what he was doing. We decided to do an early run on the Crystal section of the Farmington River to beat the rain.

The Farmington arises near Otis, MA and flows generally south and east for 47 miles through Connecticut until it flows into the Connecticut River near Windsor. There are several sections of the Farmington that are popular for whitewater boating – New Boston - class III/IV (1, 2, 3), “Tville” or the Tariffville Gorge - class II/III, Riverton - class I, Satan’s Kingdom - class I/II(III), and of course Crystal - class II.

Ledge above Route 4

I met Paul at the put in at 9:00. We unloaded the boat and ran the shuttle down to the Red Barn. The river was running at 6.5 feet, 1,100 cfs – a great level with lots of play spots. The run is a series of class I/II rapids that start off easy and get more difficult as you move downstream.

The first major rapid is the site of the Punch Brook Slalom. From there, the rapids continue as a series of rock gardens and wave trains. We spent a lot of time surfing and ferrying through the rock gardens. The largest rapid is the ledge above the Route 4 Bridge that we ran to the right. The run took about 3-hours and I was on the road back home by 12:30. We beat the rain on the river, but it poured on the way home.

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My Pictures

Unionville Gage

Day after Turkey Paddle – Crystal – November 24, 2023

Crystal/Punch Brook Rapid

Like the New Year’s Day Paddle, the Day after Turkey/Black Friday Paddle is becoming a bit of a tradition around here - skip the shopping and get out on the river to burn off calories from of that turkey dinner. When I saw that Paul D. was running a CTAMC leaders choice class II trip on Black Friday, I decided to join.

We got some rain on Tuesday that brought up a lot of rivers up and gave us hope for some interesting options. Paul’s initial list included the Salmon, Shepaug, Naugatuck and Housatonic, along with several class II sections of the Farmington - Riverton, Satan’s Kingdom, and Crystal. Unfortunately, by the time Friday came, most of the rivers had dropped, so we ended up on the Crystal section of the Farmington River – fine with me.

Surf wave at the wall

The Farmington arises near Otis, MA and flows generally south and east for 47 miles through Connecticut until it flows into the Connecticut River near Windsor. There are several sections of the Farmington that are popular for whitewater boating – New Boston - class III/IV, “Tville” or the Tariffville Gorge - class II/III, Riverton - class I, Satan’s Kingdom - class I/II(III), and of course Crystal - class II.

Back in the day I took many trips out to Crystal to paddle with Matt and Scott. It’s a long drive for a relatively short run, so I hadn’t been there for years when COVID hit. With the Farmington River Trail running alongside, Crystal was an easy bike shuttle, so Paul and I ran it three times in three months (January, February, March) in 2021. By April most people were vaccinated and the car shuttles started up again. This would be my first time back since then.

Bernackie Rapid

We arrived at the put-in (185 Canton Road, Burlington, CT - 41.794267, -72.925324) at 10:00 to run the shuttle down to the Red Barn. The river had peaked at just over 6.5 feet, 1,000 cfs. on Wednesday, but had dropped back down to 5.5 feet, 700 cfs. by the time we got on the river - low, but still runnable.

The run is a series of class I/II rapids that start off easy and get more difficult as you move downstream. The first major rapid is the site of the Punch Brook Slalom. From there, the rapids continue as a series of rock gardens and wave trains. We spent a lot of time surfing and ferrying through the rock gardens. The largest rapid is the ledge above the Route 4 Bridge that we ran to the right. The run took us about 2 1/2-hours and I was home by 4:00. Sure beats shopping.

Seal Launch from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:

My Pictures

Unionville Gage
River Description from American Whitewater

Crystal - March 14, 2021

I hadn't been to Crystal for years, and now I have been there three times in two months. Nice run, easy bike shuttle, and a paddling partner in Paul who is great to paddle with have made this an easy choice. It’s also nice to get my whitewater boat out.

Crystal is the 3-mile section of the Farmington River from the Route 179 River Trail parking lot in Burlington to the recreational parking area on River Road in Unionville. There are eight rapids that start out easy, and get progressively more difficult as you move downstream. We tend to spend a lot of time surfing and ferrying through the rock gardens. River was at a nice level - 6.2 feet, 1,000 cfs. Paul’s GPS said we paddled 4.5-miles on this 3-mile section, so that is a lot of paddling into the current.

Links:

My Pictures

Crystal Gage

River Description from American Whitewater

River Church at Crystal – February 28, 2021

I decided to head out for a little "River Church" today with Paul at the  Crystal section of the Farmington. With yesterday's rain and snowmelt, the river was forecast to hit 700 cfs., but with the cold night it didn’t get close. It topped off at 5.8 ft., 500 cfs. - as low as I have ever run it. 

Some of the rapids were a little boney at the top, but there was usually water by the time you got to the middle. We spent over 2-hours on the river, so we found things to do. Bike shuttle on the road had a little more elevation than the bike path, but it was fine.  

Links:

My Pictures

Paul's Pictures

Crystal Gage

River Description from American Whitewater

Crystal - January 17, 2021

Bike shuttle

So far this winter has been pretty good for paddling – lots of rain and not particularly cold. With the MLK holiday this weekend I wanted to get out to paddle at least one day. I sent an email to Paul, and he suggested Crystal. It’s been a couple of years since I had paddled there and it would be another opportunity to get my whitewater boat out, so it sounded good to me. 

Crystal is one of several whitewater runs on the Farmington River including New Boston (class III/IV), “Tville” or the Tariffville Gorge (class (II/III) and Riverton/Satan’s Kingdom (class I/II). Back in the day I took many trips out to Crystal to paddle with Matt and Scott. Its a long drive for a relatively easy run, so lately I have been out there less frequently.

Running one of many ledges

In these days of COVID, though, Crystal is a great alternative due to the easy bike shuttle on the Farmington River Trail that runs along side. We left our cars at the parking lot below the Red Barn off River Road and biked the 3-miles back to the put in on the bike path – it was great.

The river was at a nice level – 6.5’, 1,200 cfs. The day was warm, but there was a strong, gusting wind that almost blow me over in the flats above the Route 4 Bridge. 

Running the Route 4 Ledge

The run is a series of class I/II rapids that start off easy and get more difficult as you move downstream. The first major rapid is the site of the Punch Brook Slalom. From there, the rapids continue as a series of rock gardens and wave trains. 

Paul and I surfed and ferried our way down through the rapids. I think 1,200 cfs is about the perfect level – any higher and it starts to wash out, any lower and it starts to get boney. The largest rapid is the ledge above the Route 4 Bridge that we ran to the right. The run took about 2 ½ hours.

Below the Route 4 Ledge

Links:

My Pictures
Crystal Gage

River Description from American Whitewater
Farmington River Trail

Thursday Night Crystal? - May 16, 2019

It is usually "Thursday Night Tville", but due to high water levels the Thursday night CTAMC trip got moved to Crystal. It took me two hours to get there avoiding rush hour traffic in Hartford, but it was a beautiful night to be on the water. The river was at a nice level - around 7 feet, 1500 cfs. The seal launch hill looks a little stepper without the snow.


Crystal Seal Launches from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

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My Pictures
Crystal Gage

Crystal Section of the Farmington - April 6, 2019

Milana

It’s been 4-years since I took a trip out to the Crystal (Collinsville to Unionville) section of the Farmington.  When I saw a trip posted by New York-Northern New Jersey Chapter on the AMC website, I decided it was time for a return visit.  

The Farmington arises near Otis, MA and flows generally south and east for 47 miles through Connecticut until it flows into the Connecticut River near Windsor. There are several sections of the Farmington that are popular for whitewater boating – New Boston (class III/IV), “Tville” or the Tariffville Gorge (class (II/III), Riverton/Satan’s Kingdom (class I/II), and of course Crystal (class II).

Neil

The river was dropping on Friday as final plans were being made, so we met at the commuter lot off Route 8 in case we needed to change to a different river.  As it turned out, rain on Friday night brought the river back up to a nice level – 6.2 feet, 800 cfs.  

We had eight boats for the trip - six canoes (me, Neil, Paul, Charles, Stephan and Mary Ann) and two kayaks (Oleg and Milana). It was raining when I left Rhode Island, but sunny and warm when we put in at the river.

Oleg

We put-in just below the Collinsville Dam and began our run. This section is about 3-miles long and includes a series of class I/II rapids that get more difficult as you move downstream. The first major rapid is the site of the Punch Brook Slalom, and the gates were being installed as we paddled through. I was able to hit most of the gates, but it wasn't easy, and I certainly wasn’t fast.  

From here, the rapids continue as a series of rock gardens and wave trains. The largest is the ledge above the Route 4 Bridge that we ran to the right. The run took us about 4-hours. We took-out at the bike trail parking lot below the Red Barn.

Charles

Links:

My Pictures

Unionville Gage
River Description from American Whitewater

AMC – New York-Northern New Jersey

Punch Brook Slalom

Crystal - March 15, 2015

Below Crystal Rapid

It’s finally starting to warm up here in southern New England.  It rained most of the day on Saturday, which got the local crew thinking that we’d have some paddling options on Sunday.  Unfortunately, even with the warm temperatures and rain, most of the rivers are still iced over or have dangerous ice shelves along the banks.  One of the few exceptions was the Crystal section of the Farmington River in CT. 

I’ve run this section of the Farmington many times before.  It’s an easy class I/II run with some rock gardens and a ledge at the end.  There were some huge sheets of ice on the banks, but the river itself was clear and ice free.  The put-in also has one of the best seal launching hills around.  It was definitely nice to be out on the water.

Crystal Seal Launches from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:

Seal launching video 

My Pictures

Day after Christmas Paddle - Crystal/Boateater on the Farmington - December 26, 2014

Santa was good to me this year with a new PFD, helmet, river knife, whistle and gloves, so I decided to go out and try out my new gear.  I saw a post on the Yakkers Facebook group that Matt, Scott, Tim, Paul and Dave were going to paddle the Crystal section of the Farmington.  It’s been a while since I’ve had my whitewater boat out, so I decided to join in.

The day was relatively warm and the river was at a decent level – 1,100 cfs, 6.5 feet on the Unionville gage.  We put-in off Rt. 179 near Collinsville.  Even though there was no snow, Scott gave the seal launch hill a try.

Scott - seal launch at Crystal from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

The run is about 5-miles long and includes a series of easy class I/II rapids with lots of rock gardens with places to play. The first major rapid is Crystal, which is the site of an annual spring slalom race. Its about a quarter mile long and terminates in a nice surf wave. Below Crystal is the Ledge at the Rt. 4 Bridge that we ran to the right. After a short section of flatwater comes the Boateater Rapid – a long wavetrain that we ran just right of center. 

The run took us about 3 hours with no swims – pretty good for us.  Either our skills are getting better, or we are getting old and not taking as many chances.

Surfing above the Crystal Rapid

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My Pictures

Scott's Seal Launch

Unionville Gage

Crystal Section of the Farmington - May 27, 2012

Bob and I headed west to run the Farmington River from Collinsville to Farmington. The river was at a nice level – 6.5 feet, 1200 cfs. on the Unionville gage - less that that and it starts to get boney, more that that and it starts to wash out. We had six boats – two canoes (me and Matt) and four kayaks (Bob, Ed, Sharon and Dennis). 

The section from Collinsville to Unionville is generally known as the Crystal section and is the site of an annual spring slalom race.  Rock gardens interspersed with pools make for a fun and relaxing couple of miles.  Just before the Route 4 Bridge is a ledge with a fun surf wave that is generally run on river right.  After a longer stretch of flatwater is the Boateater Rapid - a long wave train which is a great way to end the day.

Surfing the Crystal Rapid

Links:

My Pictures 

River description from American Whitewater 

Unionville Gage

Crystal Section of the Farmington - December 22, 2011

Scott

It’s been a while since I paddled with my good friends Matt and Scott, so I made it a point to get together with them yesterday to paddle the Crystal section of the Farmington River.

Over the years, I’ve made this trip many times. I did my first trip with Matt and Scott on the Riverton section of the Farmington in November 2006. Since then, we’ve done many runs on the Riverton and Crystal sections, and many park and play sessions at Satan’s Kingdom.

Matt

The drive to the Farmington takes about an hour and a half (Rt. 6, to Rt. 101, to Rt. 44, to Rt. 74 to Rt. 84, to Rt. 4, to Rt. 179). It always amazes me how many great river there are along this route. About a half hour away is the Quinebaug River. I pass right by the canoe launch in Dayville which is the take-out for the run from Putnam. About 45 minutes away is the Natchaug off Rt. 198. In addition to Diana’s Pool, there is also a nice poling run through the Natchaug State Forest. Finally, about an hour away is the Willimantic – a fun quickwater run. It’s been a while since I have paddled any of these rivers.

It was poring rain as I left Rhode Island, but the sun was out by the time I passed through Hartford. I met Matt, Scott and Charlie at the ball fields off Wannowmassa Lane around 10:30. We ran the shuttle and were on the water by 11:00. With the rain the previous night, the river was at a great level – 1,800 cfs on the Unionville gage.  Air temperature was is the mid-40’s. Water temperature was 43°.

Erik

We put-in off Rt. 179 near Collinsville. In the snow, there is a great seal launch hill here, but nobody tried it yesterday. The run is about 5-miles long and includes a series of class II drops and pools – nothing difficult, but lots of great places to play. The first major rapid is the Crystal Rapid which is the site of an annual spring slalom race. Its about a quarter mile long and terminates in a nice surf wave. Below Crystal is the ledge at the Rt. 4 Bridge. In lower water, this ledge is run on the right. Yesterday there was enough water to run the ledge on the left. After a short section of flatwater comes the Boateater Rapid – a long series of standing waves which is run to the right.

The run took us about 3 ½ hours and included two swims – not bad for us. I swam at the bottom of Boateater trying to find a place to take a picture. The other swimmer will remain nameless, but he knows who he is.

Surfing below the Crystal Rapid

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My Pictures

Crystal Section of the Farmington - February 19th

There was good new, and there was bad news…

The good news was that there was more water than I expected (the gage was frozen, but probably 6', 700cfs). It was still low, but at least we weren’t bouncing off rocks. The bad news was that it was much colder and windier than I expected (temp's in the low 30's with 50 mph gusts). By the time I reached the take out, my boat was covered in a thin layer of ice. The wind was unbelievable – it sounded like a train coming down the tracks, and often blew us downstream sideways - at least it was a tail wind.

I missed Matt’s launch down the bank, but here’s a video of Tim, Scott and I:


Seal Launches from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

It was definitely good to see Matt again – it had been too long. I had to avoid a couple of blown-down trees on the way home (yes, it was very windy), but I still made it in time to go Family Weekend at my daughter’s college - another great day.

Links:
My Pictures
Matt's Pictures

A New Year Begins - Farmington River - Jan. 1st

Jeff, Andy, Steve and I headed out to the Farmington River yesterday for a New Year’s Day run from Collinsville down to Route 4 in Farmington. The open boats were outnumbered on this trip – 3 canoes, 13 kayaks - but definitely a nice group. The level was OK (950 cfs), but nothing spectacular – mostly a class I. Crystal had some nice surf waves, and Boateater was a fun ride.

I can report that the First Swim Award for 2010 goes to.....(insert drum roll here).....Andy - but only to check for leaks in his new drysuit. No leaks were reported.

Scenery was pretty with new snow on the ground, but it was colder than I expected.

Hope everyone has a great 2010.

Links:
My Video
River Description from American Whitewater

It was a busy couple of months in 2008

I have been uploading old videos to my Vimeo account and found these three videos from February and March 2008:

Crystal Rapids on the Farmington River with Matt, Aaron and John - February 2nd

Farmington River from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Shepaug River with Matt, Aaron, Bob and Scott - February 24th

Shepaug River from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Branch River Icebreaker with the RICKA crew - March 15th

Branch River Icebreaker from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

I caught the paddling bug in the spring of 2005, and started paddling year-round in the spring of 2006. Since May of 2006, I’ve paddled every month except February 2007.  I did paddle inside at the RICKA rolling clinic that month, but that doesn’t count. Its nice to be able to look back through my old pictures.

Looks like we have some snow coming for Christmas.  I'm hoping for some warm weather and rain after Christmas to bring the river levels up so I can do some paddling next week.

Farmington - Collinsville to Unionville – July 26th

Jim, Paul, Jeff and I took a ride out to CT to run the Farmington from Collinsville to Unionville with CT locals Matt, Scott and Aaron. You couldn’t have asked for a nicer day – sunny and warm. The river itself is a nice class II with lots of boulder gardens and a couple of fun rapids.  At 1,700 cfs, it was as high as I had ever seen it.   I took the only significant swims. The first was a long one - probably a quarter mile through the entire Crystal rapid. Here's Matt's description from P-net:

“My local run was quite high for a few weeks, and Aaron and I were paddling daily. The normal class II turned into a much different animal. So the weekend comes and I'm really up for heading out of town, trying something else, but I get an e-mail from my favorite paddling bud in the whole universe wanting to come over and play. Okay, we'll hit this run again. We come into the very start of the longest biggest rapid and this bud of mine goes into a hole and starts side surfing. Gee, I think, that hole looked too big all week, but hey, if my bud can do it, I sure can, so I start to eddy out and wait my turn. Well, all the sudden...WHOOOMP, and my bud gets windowshaded, paddle looking like a turbine fan blade, over he goes. Boat goes one way, buddy goes another at a rock, Jeff Budz rights the boat ONE HANDED, and only lets go when I tell him what's ahead. My anonymous bud has a long long swim. The rest of us eddy out at a bend, my spot takes me along a bank where a family is having a cookout. Eck’s canoe comes bouncing down the river, eddies itself out next to me. Two kids look at the canoe and ask "is that for rent?" I point to the blue helmet bobbing down the river, slightly bloody body attached, fortunately still alive and kickin', and say "ah, it's already spoken for."

My second was in the Boateater rapid trying to get a picture of Jim. Just as I snapped the picture, I hit a rock and went over. Jim thought it was funny as you can see by the picture below.

All in all, a great day with great company.

Links:
Jeff's video
River description from American Whitewater