Sugar River - April 5, 2025

The crew at the put-in

There were a few different options for today, but I decided to join the NHAMC for a run on the Sugar River. We would be paddling the section from Corbin Road to Route 103 that I fist paddled as a student in NHAMC Whitewater School back in April 2005.

The Sugar River originates at Lake Sunapee and flows generally west for 27-miles to join the Connecticut River in Claremont, NH. My father was an active NHAMC member, so when I first got into paddling I signed up for their whitewater school. It was a two-day class with the first day spent on flatwater and the second day on this river.

Running Sweet Tooth

Today, the river was at a nice level – 3-feet, 1,000 cfs on the West Claremont gage. I was the only open boater paddling with 6 kayakers. We put-in at the covered bridge and headed downstream. The river starts off with easy class I/II rapids until you reach Sweet Tooth – the largest rapid on this section of the river

Sweet Tooth takes its name from two large boulders just left of center with the easier line to the right, and the spicier to the left. Four of us ran it successfully on the right. Three chose a spicier route left resulting in one out of boat experience. From Sweet Tooth to the take-out is a fun section that is pretty much continuous class II.

Links:

My Pictures

West Claremont Gage

River Description for American Whitewater

A “Twofer” in Newport – March 9, 2024

Put-in at the Corbin Covered Bridge

Not Newport, RI - Newport, NH. I joined the NHAMC Class III Step-up trip on the Sugar River and Croyden Brook. As usual, I was the only open boater paddling with 21 kayakers.

The Sugar River originates at Lake Sunapee and flows generally west for 27-miles to join the Connecticut River in Claremont. Tributaries of the Sugar River include the South Branch and the North Branch. The North Branch, known as Croyden Brook on American Whitewater, originates in Grantham and flows south for 10-miles through the town of Croydon to join the Sugar River in Newport.

Running Sweet Tooth

The morning started with a run on a section of the Sugar River that I first paddled as a student in the NHAMC Whitewater School back in 2005 - Corbin Road to Route 103. The river was at a nice level – 4-feet, 1,500 cfs on the West Claremont gage.

We put-in at the covered bridge, divided in groups and headed downstream. The river starts off with easy class I/II rapids until you reach Sweet Tooth – the largest rapid on this section of the river

Heading down Croyden Brook

Sweet Tooth is a jumble of large and small rocks. The rapid takes its name from two large boulders just left of center. Smaller boulders block the left side, so the usual route is just to the right of the large “Sweet Tooth” rocks. You can eddy out behind “the tooth”, or ride the standing waves downstream.

From Sweet Tooth to the take-out is pretty much continuous class II. We took a break for lunch before the second half of our trip – Croyden Brook. I have signed up for the trip on Croyden Brook several times with Joe O’Neil, but it always gets cancelled due to lack of water.

The big drop on Croyden Brook

The whitewater section of the Croyden Brook is 3 miles north of Newport on Route 10. We consolidated our boats and shuttled up to the take-out where Route 10 crosses the river. After leaving some cars we headed up to the put-in 1.7-miles up the road across from Glidden Road at an abandoned bridge.

Croyden Brook is narrow and creek-like with wave trains and lots of rock to dodge. It reminded me of the Shepaug or the Jeremy in CT, or the Mighty Quin in MA. The largest rapid on the river can be seen from the road just upstream of the take-out. The river takes a sharp right turn and through a series of ledges. The line is to the right. I actually walked this drop so I could get some pictures of the rest of the crew going through. 

Running Sweet Tooth on the Sugar River

Links:
My Pictures – Sugar
My Pictures – Croyden Brook
Sugar River Gage – West Claremont
American Whitewater – Sugar
American Whitewater Croyden Brook

NHAMC Whitewater School – Sugar River – April 21, 2013

At the put-in

I visited my alma mater yesterday.  No, it was not high school, or even college.  It was whitewater school.  I paddled with the OC1 group at the NHAMC Whitewater School on the Sugar River in Newport, NH.

My father was an active NHAMC member, so when I first got into paddling in 2005, I signed up for their whitewater school.  Just like the RICKA program today, it is a two-day class with the fist day spent mostly on flatwater, and the second day spent on the river.  I am fortunate that my teacher from that 2005 class is now a frequent paddling companion – Tommy Taylor.  I was looking for a place to paddle on Sunday, and he was looking for some safety boaters, so it worked out great.

Heading downstream

We would be paddling the section from Corbin Road to Route 103 that I last paddled as a student in 2005.  The river was at a nice level – 3.3 ft, 1200 cfs on the West Claremont gage.  It’s a fun class II river with one class III drop – Sweet Tooth.  We had a nice group – 5 students, 3 safety boats, and Tommy.

As we put in at the covered bridge, the students looked a little tentative.  On flatwater, most of them said that they found their whitewater boats to be difficult to control.  Things seemed to get easier for them as they got into moving water.  With each rapid their eddy turns, peal outs and ferries got more confident.  About two thirds of the way down the river we approached Sweet Tooth – the largest rapid on the river. 

Running Sweet Tooth

Sweet Tooth is a jumble of large and small rocks.  The rapid takes it’s name from two large boulders just left of center.  Smaller boulders also block the left side, so the route is just to the right of the large Sweet Tooth rocks.  At lower levels, submerged rocks at the bottom of the rapid can be a problem, but at yesterday’s level these rocks were buried.  It was pretty much a straight shot down the right side. 

Tommy went through the rapid first and eddied out to the left behind Sweet Tooth.  The rest of the group followed, most taking the line down the middle.  With the big rapid behind them, everyone’s confidence seemed to surge. 

The crew at the take-out

The last third of the river is pretty much continuous class II, and it was amazing to see the change in the students.  A couple of times I looked back up stream and saw the entire group ferrying across the river looking for waves to surf.  The eddy turns weren’t always crisp and pretty, but that will come with time and practice. 

It’s amazing what good instruction and a little practice can do.  It brought me back…

Running Sweet Tooth as a student in 2005 - photo by Tommy Taylor

Links: 

My Pictures

Sugar River Gage – West Claremont, NH

River description from American Whitewater