Upper Pawtuxet - May 13, 2025

Paddling with Cheryl in the Spirit II

I paddled tandem with Chery at the traditional Blackstone Valley Paddle Club season opener with the Southern New England Paddlers on the Upper Pawtuxet. With last weekend’s rain the river was flowing well. There is no gage on this section of the river, but the gage downstream at Fiskeville was at 1-foot, 250 cfs.

The North Branch of the Pawtuxet River, also know as the Upper Pawtuxet, originally arose at the confluence of the Ponaganset and Moswansicut Rivers in what is now the Scituate Reservoir. Today, the river emerges from the bottom of the massive Scituate Reservoir Dam and flows south for approximately 9-miles to West Warwick where it joins the South Branch of the Pawtuxet River to form the main stem of the Pawtuxet River.

Launching at Hope Landing

The main stem then flows east for approximately 12-miles to empty into Narragansett Bay at the Pawtuxet Cove. Collectively, all three branches played an important role in the development of the textile industry in Rhode Island, and numerous dams still block their course.

We put-in at Hope Landing above the Hope Furnace Dam (15 Hope Furnace Road in Scituate). We had 16 paddlers for the 2-mile paddle upstream to the base of the massive earthen dam that creates Scituate Reservoir. The first part of the paddle took us through the winding marshland created by backwater from the Hope Dam. Eventually the river narrowed and we followed its tree-lined course and tricky currents up to the Scituate Reservoir Dam.

Spillway at the base of the dam

The Scituate Reservoir was formed by the construction of this large earthen dam in 1925. The Scituate Reservoir is now the largest artificial body of water in the state and provides water to more than 60-percent of the state’s population.

With last weekend’s rain, there was water flowing down the spillway from the top of the dam. There were trees down in the channel, so we decided not to paddle the short section from the spillway to the dam. From there, it was a quick trip back down to the put-in.

The crew at the put-in

Links:
My Pictures
Fiskeville Gage
Hope Landing from Rhode Island Blueways

North Branch of the Pawtuxet – May 14, 2024

Heading upstream

I joined the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club for its season opener with the Southern New England Paddlers on the North Branch of the Pawtuxet above the Hope Dam. After what seems like weeks of cold, rainy weather, it was nice to get out on a relatively warm evening. There is no gage on this section of the river, but the gage downstream at Fiskeville was at .75-feet, 150 cfs.

The North Branch of the Pawtuxet River originally arose at the confluence of the Ponaganset and Moswansicut Rivers in what is now the Scituate Reservoir. Today, the river emerges from the bottom of the massive Scituate Reservoir Dam and flows south for approximately 9-miles to West Warwick where it joins the South Branch of the Pawtuxet River to form the main stem of the Pawtuxet River.

Water coming down the spillway

The main stem then flows east for approximately 12-miles to empty into Narragansett Bay at the Pawtuxet Cove. Collectively, all three branches played an important role in the development of the textile industry in Rhode Island, and numerous dams still block their course.

We put-in at Hope Landing above the Hope Furnace Dam (15 Hope Furnace Road in Scituate). From there it is an easy 2-mile paddle upstream to the base of the massive earthen dam that creates Scituate Reservoir. The first part of the paddle took us through the winding marshland created by backwater from the Hope Dam. Eventually the river narrowed and we followed its tree-lined course up to the Scituate Reservoir Dam.

At the base of the dam

The Scituate Reservoir was formed by the construction of this large earthen dam in 1925. The Scituate Reservoir is now the largest artificial body of water in the state and provides water to more than 60-percent of the state’s population.

With all the rain, there was water flowing down the spillway from the top of the dam. While there were some trees down in the channel, we were able to paddle up to the base of the massive dam. From there, it was a quick trip back down to the put-in.

The crew at the put-in

Links:
My Pictures
Fiskeville Gage
Hope Landing from Rhode Island Blueways

North Branch of the Pawtuxet – August 15, 2016

I led the RICKA "Meeting on the Water" on the North Branch of the Pawtuxet last night - 14 boats.  I had never done this paddle this late in the summer, and was surprised how much grass was growing in the river - good thing Chuck was there to lead the way.  It was a hot night, and fog was rising off the cold water up near the dam.  It was like a natural air conditioner.

Dam at the Scituate Reservoir 

Links:
My Pictures
Hope Landing - Rhode Island Blueways

North Branch of the Pawtuxet – May 10, 2016

Henry, Rosco and Cheryl

The Blackstone Valley Paddle Club began it's season with a joint paddle with the Southern New England Paddlers on the North Branch of the Pawtuxet. We put in above the Hope Furnace Dam (15 Hope Furnace Road in Scituate) and paddled upstream to the Scituate Reservoir. 

After a week of cold rainy weather, it was great to get out on a relatively warm evening – it almost felt like spring.  There is no gage in this section of the river, but the gage on the main branch of the Pawtuxet in Cranston was 4.3 feet, 335 cfs. We had about 14 paddlers in a mixture of boats,

Spillway from the dam

We paddled upstream into the backwater of the Hope Furnace Dam.  Eventually the river narrows as you approach the Scituate Reservoir Dam.  It got shallow in spots, but we all made it up to the dam.  With last week’s rain, there was a lot of water coning to the dam’s spillway – it looked like a waterfall.  From there we turned around and came back down. 

Heading back

Links:

My Pictures

Gage - Main Branch of the Pawtuxet River – Cranston

River Description from Rhode Island Bluejays

Southern New England Paddlers

Blackstone Valley Paddle Club