Lackey Dam with the BVPC - May 16, 2023

Heading out on the pond

With Mother’s Day and our recent trip to Florida, it’s been a couple of weeks since I was out in my canoe. I decided to join the Tuesday night trip with the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club.

The Blackstone Valley Paddle Club was established in 2000 by the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor (now Park and Corridor) as a way to get folks out on waterways of the Blackstone River Valley. Over the years, the club has continued its Tuesday night summer trips getting thousands of people out on the water.

Up the Mumford River

This paddle would be on the Mumford River above the Lackey Dam. The Mumford River arises at Manchaug Pond in Sutton and Douglas, and flows 18-miles east until it joins the Blackstone River in Uxbridge. The many dams along the river provided power to 19th century textile mills. We had a good turn-out for this trip with 15 boats, including 2 canoes.

The crew was heading out when I arrived, so I paddled sweep with Cheryl and Tom. Early in the season the pond is clear, but later in the summer it will get choked-up with water chestnuts. We could see the young water chestnut plants growing up in the shallow water. We paddled up the pond into the Mumford River and up beyond Route 146. Fallen trees make this a little challenging once you get into the river, but you can actually make it quite a ways up.

Heading back down the pond to the put-in

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Lackey Dam - August 15, 2017

Julie and the water chestnuts

I haven’t done many Paddle Club trips this year, so it was nice to be able to get out and paddle the Mumford River at Lackey Dam.  This time if year, the pond is choked with water chestnut, but it is still a nice trip.  We paddled under Route 146, and up the Mumford River until the river was blocked by blow-downs.

Sunset over Lackey Pond

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Lackey Dam and the Mumford River - August 7, 2013

Jim and Rosco at the put in

We had another nice paddle with the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club above the Lackey Dam on the Mumford River in Sutton.

The Mumford River is an 18-mile river that arises from the Manchaug Pond in Sutton and Douglas, and flows east until it joins the Blackstone River in Uxbridge.  The many dams on the river provided waterpower to the mills that grew up along the river during the 19^th century.

We put in just above Lackey Dam and paddled upstream into the Lackey Pond.  This time of year the pond is full of weeds, but it was still an easy paddle.  Once we found the channel, we paddled up the Mumford River and up beyond Route 146.  Fallen trees make this a little challenging, but you can actually make it quite a ways up the river. 

Hard to believe that it is already August – just two paddle club trips left.

The canoe guys

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What happened to the rain?

For the past couple of days, the local whitewater message boards have been buzzing at the prospect of heavy rains and flash floods - no such luck. Last summer we had some great whitewater paddling in June and July. The Deerfield was at 2,400 cfs for the RICKA Whitewater School last June – no running Zoar Gap that weekend. Last July, we paddled the  Branch River at 540 cfs (its at 61 cfs today) and the Crystal section of the Farmington at 1,800 cfs (its at 291 cfs today). We will be doing the RICKA Whitewater School again this weekend - I think the water will be at a more reasonable level.

We did get a little rain for our Tuesday night paddle with the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club at the Lackey Dam. A few paddlers opted out, but we still ended up with 15 to 20 boats. Paddling is a water sport right?