Piscat Drawdown and BBQ - October 25, 2025

Surf wave

Not a lot of interest from the local crew (Paul and Pat were going to the Little Suncook), so I joined the NH/AMC group for the annual Piscat Drawdown and BBQ. I was paddling solo in my Millbrook Outrage.

The Piscataquog River arises in Deering, NH and twists and turns for 35-miles before flowing into the Merrimack River in Manchester. We would be running the class II section below the Gregg's Falls Dam. I met the group at the dam at 9:00, and we ran the shuttle down to the road behind the prison. The release started at 10:00, and we got on the river at around 10:30.

Last rapid above the take out

With the government shut-down not all the gage features were working, but it did confirm that the release was 5.5 feet, 811 cfs, which is the typical release level. This section is about 3-miles long with the most consistent rapids in the first mile. There is a rocky set of rapids below the put in, another under the power lines, and another leading up to the surf wave above the Henry Bridge. I tried my luck at surfing, but stayed out of the the biggest part of the hole.

From there is it mostly quickwater down to the take-out. There is a squirt line with the strong recirculating current where the river takes a sharp right turn, and one last rocky drop just above the take out. After a second run we headed back to the dam for the BBQ – hamburgers, hot dogs and good company.

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River Description from American Whitewater

Pcat Drawdown and BBQ - November 3, 2024

Matthias and Greg

For 21-years, the MVP and NHAMC have been sponsoring the annual Drawdown and BBQ on the Piscataquog River. Jonathan and I were doing a tandem run, so we decided to round up a tandem boat posse. We ended up with the nice group – 4 tandems ( me and Jonathan, Marcy and Cathy, Matt and Tom and Matthias and Greg), 2 solos (Pierpaolo and Jerico) and one kayak (Paul).

The Piscataquog River arise in Deering, NH and twists and turns for 35-miles before flowing into the Merrimack River in Manchester. We would be running the class II section below the Gregg's Falls Dam. I met Paul at the MacDonalds in Uxbridge for the trip up to Goffstown. We dropped off our boats at the dam, met the group, and ran the shuttle down to the road behind the prison.

Matt and Tom

The release was 5.5 feet, 800 cfs. This section is about 3-miles long with the most consistent rapids in the first mile. There is a rocky set of rapids below the put in, another under the power lines, and another leading up to the surf wave above the Henry Bridge. We took out time heading down, and Jonathan and I tried our luck at surfing.

From there is it mostly quickwater down to the take-out. There is a squirt line with the strong recirculating current where the river takes a sharp right turn, and one last rocky drop just above the take out. After a second "bomber run" we headed back to the dam for the BBQ – hamburgers, hot dogs and good company. Great day as always.

Jonathan and I going into the surf wave

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Goffstown Gage

Halloween BBQ on the Piscat - October 28, 2023

The crew at the put-in

For 20-years the MVP and NHAMC have been sponsoring a Halloween Paddle and BBQ during the fall drawdown at the Gregg's Falls Dam on the Piscataquog River. I did my first whitewater trip here in 2005 after taking the NHAMC Whitewater School and purchasing my first whitewater boat, and have padded here many times since. This year would be the third time paddling tandem with Jonathan in my Mohawk Whitewater 16.

The Piscataquog River arise in Deering, NH and twists and turns for 35-miles before flowing into the Merrimack River in Manchester. We would be running the class II section below the Gregg's Falls Dam. I met Paul at the MacDonalds in Uxbridge for the trip up to Goffstown. As usual, I missed the exit in Manchester and we arrived late after taking the long way around the reservoir. Jonathan was already there, and Conrad and Ellen arrived shortly after.

Paul at Powerline

We dropped off our boats at the dam and ran the shuttle down to the road behind the prison. By the time we got back to the put-in there was a long line waiting to launch. The release was a little lower than usual due to issues with the dam – 5’, 700 cfs. The day was sunny and in the low 80’s – can’t beat that.

This section is about 3-miles long with the most consistent rapids in the first mile. The section just below the dam was a little boney at this level. Conrad and Ellen got hung up on the rocks, but Jonathan and I made it through fine. We did get into the big eddy for the surf wave below the power lines, but got flushed downstream before we could catch the wave. We did our best to turn the boat into a submarine at the surf wave above Henry Bridge, but didn’t swim!

Surfing the wave above Henry Bridge

From there is it mostly quickwater with a couple of easy rapids on the way down to the take-out. There is a squirt line where the river takes a sharp right turn. We pulled into the eddy, and got spun around on the strong eddy line. The last rapid is a rocky drop just above the take out. We got into the eddy on the left, but once again got flushed downstream before we could catch the surf wave.

After the run we headed back to the dam for the BBQ – hamburgers, hot dogs and good company. Great day as always.

Piscat Tandem Surfing - 2023 from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

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Surfing above the Henry Bridge in 2023

Surfing above the Henry Bridge over the years

River description from American Whitewater

Goffstown Gage

First Swim of the Year – Piscat Step-up Paddle – March 6, 2022

Downstream from the put-in

With the COVID pandemic, I’ve done a lot less whitewater paddling over the past two years. When I saw that the NHAMC was doing a series of class III step-up trips aimed at class II paddlers, I registered right away. It seemed like a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone – ease back into some more challenging whitewater and paddle some rivers up in NH that I don’t get on very often.

I did my first whitewater training at the NHAMC Whitewater School back in 2005. Since then, I haven’t paddled with them as much as I would like, so this would also be a good opportunity to reconnect. The trips are limited to 6 student paddlers with a 1:1 coaching ratio on 8 different rivers in March and April. Some of the rivers that caught my attention were the Suncook - Suncook Dam to Center Barnstead, Souhegan - Greenville to Route 101, Ashuelot - Gilsum Gorge to Shaw's Corner, Croyden Brook - Newport, Swift - Bear Notch Road to Rocky Gorge, and the Ammonoosuc - Bretton Woods to Twin Mountain and Twin Mountain to Pierce Bridge.

Lots of ice on the banks

The first trip was originally schedule to be the Upper Souhegan, but it had to be moved due to ice and low water. Instead, we went to the Piscataquog River in Goffstown. This was the first trip that I did as a Whitewater School graduate in 2005, so it seemed appropriate. I have padded it many times since then at the annual Piscat Drawdown and BBQ.

We met at the Greggs Falls Dam at noon and ran the shuttle down to the parking lot for the Goffstown Railtrail at the Hillsborough County Offices. The day was warm but it was pouring rain as I drove up Route 3 to Goffstown. Fortunately, the rain cleared and the sun came out by the time we launched our boats.

Surf wave above the bridge

We had 10 boats – 9 kayaks and one canoe (guess who). The river was lower than the usual release level. The gage was 5’, 500 cfs when I left home, but dropped to 4.5’, 300 cfs by the middle of the day. It was boney in places but there were still surf spots to find.

We surfed the first rapid below the put-in before heading downstream. At this level, I was able to surf the wave below the powerlines. We had two swimmers at the ledge above the bridge – including me. In typical fashion, I got turned sideways and window-shaded. We had one more swimmer in the recirculating eddy downstream. We took out below the rapid behind the prison, and dragged our boats up the hill to the cars. It’s a class IV take-out, but it was definitely worth it.

The crew at the put-in

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River Description from American Whitewater
Goffstown Gage

Piscat Drawdown and BBQ - October 28, 2017

I had a good time with Jonathan, Sandy and Brian at the Piscat Drawdown and BBQ. With the recent rains water was flowing over the dam when we arrived, and the release was a little higher than usual - 6 feet, 1,000 cfs. The higher water made for bigger waves, fewer eddies and a quicker runs. Jonathan and I did two tandem runs in the Mohawk, and we had two successful surfs at the playspot above the bridge - no swims.


Piscat - tandem surfing in the playhole from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Steak tips were great as usual.

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Goffstown Gage
River Description from American Whitewater

Piscat Drawadown and BBQ - October 22, 2016

Paul

The last dam release of the year is on the Piscataquog River in Goffstown NH. It’s not a tough paddle, and the run is short, but there are a couple of fun play spots. It has also become a bit of a ritual for the RICKA crew to attend this event, and this year the crew was me, Paul and Dan.

The day was warm, and the river was at its usual release level – 5.5 feet, 800 cfs.  This year, arrangements were made to take out at Henry Bridge Road, which eliminated the flatwater section at the end, and allowed us to do a couple of runs before the BBQ. 

Dan

The water turned on at 10:00, and we headed downstream around 10:30. I started off with a swim at the very first rapid. I wasn’t paying attention and flipped on a rock as I was grabbing my camera for a picture.  The water was only knee deep, so I was quickly back in my boat with little more than a bruised ego.  

We worked our way down to the surf wave at Henry Bridge Road.  I did my usual side surfing flip in this rapid.  This year I lasted about 45 seconds before the inevitable swim.  Good news was that we had time for another run.

The inevitable swim...

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Goffstown Gage
River Description from American Whitewater

P-netters on the P-Cat in NH - October 24, 2015

You never know where you’ll meet another P-netter. I’ve been paddling the P-Cat Drawdown and BBQ on the Piscataquog River in Goffstown, NH for years. In fact, it was one of the first whitewater trips that I did when I started paddling back in 2005. It’s a short class II with a great BBQ after.

I usually attend this trip with the local RI crew, but none of them were interested this year. Instead, I signed up for the trip with the NHAMC and ended up in the “open boat group” – 4 tandems, 3 solos, 2 duckies and one kayak. One of the leaders was HikingMike (hope I got that right) from P-net. The river was at it's usual release level - 5.5 feet on the Goffstown gage.

I paddled tandem, which was a nice change. I got the bow, and Jonathan (also a solo open boater) got the stern. We made a good team and clicked pretty much right away catching eddies, ferrying and surfing. To me, the highlight of this trip is a playspot that has a habit of pulling open boats in sideways, and then spitting them out. I’ve had lots of practice demonstrating how not to side surf in this particular hole.

I warned Jonathan about my luck, but he was willing to venture in anyway. We did pretty well on our first attempt – stayed straight and backed out without incident. Now figuring that a 16’ tandem wouldn’t get pulled in sideways, we got a little more aggressive on our second attempt. As the bow got sucked down into the hole we immediately got spun sideways. We lasted for a couple of seconds before getting “window-shaded”. My 100% swim rate at this hole is safe for another year.  Great trip as usual.

Surfing with Jonathan

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Goffstown Gage

Piscat Drawdown and BBQ - October 26, 2013

The annual Piscat drawdown and BBQ has become something of a ritual.  It's not a very difficult paddle, but the steak tips are sure good.

This was actually the first whitewater trip that I did after I attended the NHAMC Whitewater School back in 2005. It seemed much bigger then, and I was glad just to make it down the river without swimming.  It got me started on a great hobby, so it holds a special place in my heart.

We had the usual crew for this trip - me, Paul, Andy and Jeff, and one new addition - Mike.  We met at the dam at 9:30 and ran the shuttle to the new take out behind the County Center and Prison.  It was nice to skip the long flatwater section at the end.  Level was 5.5 feet on the Goffstown gage.

I don't think it was as crowded this year as it has been in the past. There were still a lot of people, but fewer that I knew.  There were definitely fewer canoes.  We put in around 10:00 and headed down stream.  There are a couple of short wave trains, and a couple of nice surf spots along the way.  The best is a great hole for side surfing just above the bridge.  It has become a bit of a tradition for me to swim in this hole.  It seems that I do it every year, and this year was no exception.  At least every year my swims get a little longer.  

I headed into the hole and worked my way over the the side surfing spot.  Once in, I got spun around, but managed to back paddle into a back surf.  I got spun again, this time with my paddle downstream, so I decided to do some side surfing.  It lasted a little while before I did my traditional swim.

We paddled the rest of the way down to the take out and got of the water around 12:30.  The rest of the crew went to the BBQ.  I went to Family Weekend at St. A's. Another good day. 

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Goffstown gage

Halloween on the Piscat - October 27, 2012

Had a good time yesterday with Paul, Jeff and Bob at the MVP/AMC Halloween Release and BBQ on the Piscataquog River in Goffstown. Release was 5.5 ft, 850 CFS.  Nice crowd as usual, and the steak tips at the BBQ were great. I was 50/50 on my surf attempts above the bridge – 4 attempts, 2 swims. It was nice to paddle with Mike Rock and to see Marshall Moore who was doing some poling down by the take out. Great day as always.

MVP/AMC Halloween Release/BBQ from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Halloween on the Piscat - October 30th

Had a good time Saturday on the Piscataquog in Goffstown, NH. We had a group of 7 (2 canoes – Erik and Jeff, and 5 kayaks – Andy, Tom Jr., Tom Sr., Bob and Paul). I think the river was a little lower than last year – 5.5’ on the Goffstown gage. It was definitely crowded – anyone who stopped to surf ran the risk of getting run over by downstream paddlers. I ran over Tom Sr., and got run over trying to surf at the Toilet Bowl. No swims for me this year – or anyone else. We obviously weren’t trying hard enough.

Links:
Last Year’s Video
River Description form American Whitewater

Halloween on the Piscat - October 31st

Had a fun day today at the MVP/AMC year-end paddle and BBQ on the Piscataquog in Goffstown, NH.  RICKA was well represented with eight boats - six kayaks (Tom Jr., Tom Sr., Paul, Bob, Andy and Steve) and two canoes (me and Jeff). We were the first group on the river, and the last group to reach the take-out.  The Piscat is an easy class II with a couple of nice surf waves. I was doing pretty well on this one until I got spun sideways with my paddle on the upstream side (end of video).

Halloween on the Piscat from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

I didn’t get to stay to enjoy the BBQ, but I did get home in time to give out candy for Halloween.

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My Video
River description from American Whitewater