Lower Wood River - July 7, 2024

Heading out

It has been years since I've paddled the lower section of the Wood River. The first trip that I have record of was July 3, 2010 with Henry, but I know that I paddled it before that. The last time I was here was May 19, 2012 on a camping trip with Jim. Not sure why it took me so long to get back.

The Wood River arises in Sterling, CT and flows 25-miles to the Village of Alton where it merges with the Charles to form the Pawcatuck. It received Wild and Scenic River status in 2019. There are two sections of the Wood River that are popular with paddlers – the upper Wood River from Route 165 in Exeter to the Wyoming Dam with a portage at the Barberville Dam, and the lower Wood River from Switch Road to the Alton Dam with a portage at the Woodville Dam.

One of several blow-downs

I was the lector at 8:00 mass, so I wasn’t sure I would make it in time for the 10:00 shuttle. Fortunately, I did. We put in at around 10:30 from the Switch Road Wood River Access. In the first section the Wood River is… well… wooded. There were a couple of blow downs that we had to maneuver around, and one that we had to portage. The river was at a nice level - 150 cfs, 2.5 ft. on the Hope Valley gage.

The river opened up as we approached the deadwater from the Woodville dam. The banks were lined with white and yellow water lilies, purple pickerelweed, pink swamp roses and white swamp azaleas – very pretty. 

Below the Woodville Dam

We took a break for lunch at the Woodville Dam before portaging the dam. Below the dam there is a short wooded section, but then you enter a large marsh which is the deadwater for the Alton Dam. We stopped at the rope swing for a swim before continuing down to the take-out at the Alton Dam.

We saw a lot of other paddlers on the river, but none of them had on PFDs. I guess they don’t watch the NBC 10 News.

The crew at the put-in

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Hope Valley Gage

Wood/Pawcatuck - Alton to Bradford - August 15, 2021

Running the broken dam at Burdickville

No trips on the calendar this weekend, so I posted a trip on the RICKA flatwater message board for the Wood/Pawcatuck from Alton to Bradford. Three canoes, two kayaks, and beautiful morning to be out on the water. The river was at 2.2 feet, 75 cfs on the Wood River Junction gauge, which made for a nice run through the broken dam at Burdickville. Also had fun swinging on the rope swing at the Burlingame campsites.

Below the broken dam at Brudickville

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Pawcatuck River Overnight - September 28-29, 2019

Putting-in below the Alton Dam

I put in below the Alton Dam, and paddled down the Wood River to the bootleg campsite at the convergence with the Pawcatuck River. I thought I would be the first to arrive, but when I got there I found the RICKA crew already there and busy setting up camp.

Each year the RICKA Wilderness group does an overnight trip on the Pawcatuck to give members a chance to experience “wilderness” paddling in an easy setting. I did my first “wilderness” trip with RICKA back in 2012, and I've been hooked ever since. This year we had 10 folks on the trip including 6 newbies.

The tents are set up

The rest of the group met at the Jay Cronin Access in Richmond at around 10:30 for the paddle down to the campsite. That was a little early for me, so I put-in at around 2:00 below the Alton Dam. The group was well along setting up camp by the time I arrived, so I started gathering firewood for the evening fire. Before long we had a large pile that looked like it would last through the evening, with plenty left-over for the morning. 

After gathering wood (a sweaty job), I set up my tent and got cleaned up for the evening. When Bill arrived about 5:00 we got the fire started and enjoyed appetizers until around 6:30 when dinner (spaghetti and meatballs) was ready.  After that, we sat around the fire until around 10:00 when the last of us called it a night.

The crew ready to leave Sunday morning

I woke up at around 5:00 but didn’t get out of the tent until around 6:30 in order not to disturb others who might still be sleeping.  As it turned out, almost everyone was awake anyway. I started the coffee and the fire (in that order), and then started cooking breakfast – potato, onion, pepper, sausage and cheese frittata in the dutch oven. Some of the group took a hike over to see the osprey nest after breakfast (no osprey in residence), but I started breaking camp.

We go on the water for the trip down to Bradford at around 10:30. The river was low, but Bill and I were still able to do a relatively fluid run through the broken dam at Burdickville.  From there it is a short paddle down to Bradford.  Fun trip.


Camping on the Pawcatuck River from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

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Alton to Bradford - May 20, 2018

Running the Broken Dam

The forecast was mixed with rain and thunderstorms early and late, but we were able to catch the window in the middle to run the Wood/Pawcatuck from Alton to Bradford. The river was at a nice level -3 feet, 250 cfs on the Wood River Junction gage.  

Due to work on the bridge below the dam, we had to lift our boats over construction barriers to get the put-in.  Once there, the river was flowing nice. We had an easy run through the broken dam at Burdickville, stopped for lunch and a fire at Burlingame Canoe Campsites (thanks Jim), and did a first run through the new dam at Bradford.

Lunch at Burlingame

I did a little research on the old Bradford Dam. The original dam was a stone and timber structure built between sometime 1819 and 1846 to divert water to the Bradford textile mills. Built on top of a natural falls, the 6-foot dam spanned the entire width of the river.  

Since removing the dam would drop the water level upstream by about 5 feet and negatively impact wetlands, the decision was made to replace the existing dam with the new rock ramp structure. This ramp is made up of 6 gradually ascending stone weirs, which serve like terraced steps. Pools between the steps give fish a place to rest on their way upstream. Gaps in the weirs create channels for water to flow and fish to swim, including the main current down the middle that forms a nice channel for paddlers.

Running the New Bradford Dam from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

New fish weirs at Bradford

The Bradford Dam is just one of a series of restoration projects on the Pawcatuck River. In 2010, the Lower Shannock Falls Dam was removed and replaced with a short rapid that allows fish to swim upstream, and paddlers to run downstream. In 2013, a rock ramp was built on the downstream side old Kenyon Dam. In 2016, the White Rock Dam in Westerly was removed. Combined with fish ladders at Potter Hill and Upper Shannock Falls, the removal or modification of these dams has opened up 31 miles of the Pawcatuck River to migratory fish.  

Hopefully the water will be at a good level when we do our Bradford to Potter Hill trip on August 18^th.  It will be nice to run down the weirs rather than portage like we had to do with the old dam.  

The crew at the put-in

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Wood River Junction Gage

Pawcatuck “Wilderness” Trip – June 24-25, 2017

Steve

Each spring, The RICKA Wilderness group does an overnight trip on the Pawcatuck River.  The idea is to give people a sense of what it takes to do more extended wilderness tripping from a canoe or kayak.  The Pawcatuck has a bunch of nice paddle-in sites, so it’s the perfect place for this type of trip. 

I didn’t have time to pack up on Friday, so I was rushing around on Saturday morning to get everything together. Usually with meals it is “everyone for themselves”, but for this trip we decided to do group meals, and I agreed to take breakfast.  The remnants of Tropical Strom Cindy would be coming through as well, so I packed tarps, clothes, and rain gear that I wouldn’t normally bring.  I had two big drybags stuffed with food and gear.

Enjoying the campfire

Just as I was about to leave the rain started, and it pored until about 11:00.  Then, just a predicted, the storm moved off and the sky cleared.  It turned out to be a beautiful day.  We met at the Richmond Landing (now called the Jay Cronin Access), ran the shuttle down to Alton, and then got on the river for an easy paddle down to the campsite. 

We camped at the bootleg site at the confluence of the Wood and the Pawcatuck.  When we arrived, the site was a mess – littered with beer cans and broken glass. The first job was to clean things up.  After that we set up the tents, took a hike down to the osprey nest (no osprey in residence) and cooked dinner.  Bill joined us around dinner time, and we settled in for a relaxing evening around the campfire. 

At the take-out at Alton Dam

Most of us were up early on Sunday, so we got the fire going, cooked breakfast, and sat around the fire before packing up to leave.  Once on the water we paddle up the Wood River to Alton.  Great trip.

The crew gets ready to leave

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Paddle Across Rhode Island – Pawcatuck Camping – July 11, 2014

I drove straight from work to the Alton Dam so I could join the Paddle Across Rhode Island crew for at least one overnight on the river.  As I paddled out of the Wood River into the Pawcatuck River, it was great to see Chuck sitting on a rock waiting for me.  Actually, he was probably waiting for his cigarettes, but it was good to see him just the same.  Dave cooked fajitas for supper, and we sat around the campfire until it was time for bed.  The next morning, I cooked breakfast before the crew headed off on the next leg of their trip.

Cooking breakfast for the crew

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Wood/Pawcatuck - Alton to Bradford - November 3, 2013

Saturday was sunny and warm.  Sunday was cloudy and cool.  Guess which day I got to go paddling.

After a slight mix up at the put-in location, we met at the Alton Dam around 10:15.  I was afraid I’d be doing this trip alone, but we ended up with four boats – me, Jim, Eric C. and Donna.  We put in below the Alton Dam and headed downstream.  It was cloudy and a little cool, but still nice.  River was at a nice level - 3 feet, 500 cfs on the Wood River Junction gage.

On the Wood River below the Alton Dam the river twists and turns though a pretty woodland.  Things open up when the Wood River joins the Pawcatuck about a mile downstream.  We ran the broken dam on the right, and stopped for a quick snack at the Burlingame Canoe Campsites before heading down to Bradford.  It was another nice day.

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Upper Wood River - September 7, 2013

It felt like Fall when I headed out this morning, but it turned out to be a great day.  It always helps to start the day off with a morning paddle.  I got together with Jim C, Jeff, Sharon and Jim S to paddle the upper Wood River from Route 165 in Exeter to the Wyoming Dam  (Route 138) in Richmond.  The river was at a nice level – 2 feet on the Hope Valley gage and 3 feet on the Arcadia gage.

We put in at about 9:30 and headed downstream.  The river starts out narrow as it twists and turns through the Arcadia State Forest.  It finally opens up as it approaches Frying Pan Pond, which was full of yellow daisies.  We portaged the Barberville Dam on the right (not enough water to run the small rapids on the left) and headed down to the Wyoming Dam. 

The trip was done by noon, and I was home around 1:30 to do some work around the house – can’t beat that.

Daisies blooming in Frying Pan Pond

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Hope Valley Gage

Arcadia Gage

Wood/Pawcatuck Camping

I’ve been thinking about easy overnight camping, and for local trips you can’t beat the Wood/Pawcatuck.  There are actually three campsites on the Pawcatuck River - Stony Point on Worden Pond, Carolina Management Campsite below the Lower Shannock Falls, and the Burlingame Canoe Campsites.  There is also a bushwhack site at the convergence of the Wood and Pawcatuck and at the Grills Preserve of the Westerly Land Trust a couple of miles downstream from Bradford. 

It would be pretty easy to do a respectable 3-day trip on the Pawcatuck. It's probably a spring trip so you can get through Great Swamp.

Day 1 (6 miles)

• Taylor Landing to Worden Pond – 6 miles
• Camp at Stoney Point

Day 2 (12.5 miles)

• Worden Pond to Biscuit City – 5 miles
• Biscuit City to Shannock – 2.5 miles (portage Horseshoe Dam)
• Shannonck to Richmond – 5 miles
• Camp at the Carolina Canoe Campsite

Day 3 (8 miles)

• Richmond to Burdickville – 5 miles
• Burdickville to Bradford – 3 miles
• Bradford to Potter Hill – 7 miles 
  

You could extend the trip by going another 7-miles to Potter Hill or 13-miles to Westerly.  You could also camp at the Boot-leg site at the convergence of the Wood River or at Burlingame in night 2.

There are no official campsites on the Wood River, but there are a couple of bootleg sites.  It looks like the best is about 2 miles down from the Route 165 on the left side of the river up a steep bank.  It is located where the river takes a sharp right turn just before it opens up and enters Frying Pan Pond.  You could do a three-day trip that includes the Wood River, but there are a lot of dams to portage.

Day 1 (2 miles)

• Route 165 to bootleg site above Frying Pan Pond
• Camp at bootleg site

Day 2 (17 miles)

• Frying Pan Pond to Barberville – 2 miles (portage Barberville Dam)
• Barberville to Wyoming – 3 miles (portage Wyoming Dam)
• Wyoming to Switch Road – 1.5 miles (portage Hope Valley Mill Dam)
• Switch Road to Woodville – 4.5 miles (portage Woodville Dam)
• Woodville to Alton – 3 miles (portage Alton Dam)
• Alton to Burdickville – 3 miles
• Camp at Burlingame

Day 3 (16 miles)

• Burdickville to Bradford – 3 miles (portage Bradford Dam)
• Bradford to Potter Hill – 7 miles (portage Potter Hill Dam)
• Potter Hill to Westerly – 6 miles

Overnight trips are easier.  I have put-in at Switch Road on the Wood River, camped at Burlingame (actually, we camped at the bushwhack site at the convergence of the Wood and Pawcatuck, but don’t tell anyone), and took out at Bradford – nice trip. You could put in at Shannock, camp at the Carolina Management Area or Burlingame, and continue down the Pawcatuck as far as you like. 

Lots of options – I’d like to do at least one overnight trip this summer.

Wood/Pawcatuck Foliage Tour - October 21, 2012

The rain took most of the foliage off the trees, but it was still nice to get out for Jim’s annual fall foliage trip on the Wood/Pawcatuck.  We had 17 boats paddling the section from  Alton to Bradford. With the rain on Friday, the river was at a nice level and relatively fast - even the broken dam at Burdickville had water (3 feet, 500 cfs on the Wood River Junction gage).  We stopped for lunch at the Burlingame campsites and pulled into Bradford around 1:30. Quick trip - nice day.


The Broken Dam at Burdickville from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

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Wood/Pawcatuck Camping - May 19 - 20, 2012

Heading downstream

It only takes me a few minutes to pack for a business trip – throw a few cloths in the overnight bag and hope for the best. That was not the case as I prepared for my first canoe camping trip. I spent a couple of weeks getting my gear together.

The trip took place on a pleasant section of the Wood/Pawcatuck Rivers between Hopkinton and Bradford. The plan was to camp at the paddle-in campsites at the Burlingame Management Area. After running the shuttle, we put-in on the Wood River behind Dow Field. The river starts off narrow and we immediately had two large blow-downs to negotiate.

Lee running the first dam

Our first portage was also just downstream at the dam for the old Hope Valley Mill. We portaged on the left and put into the quickwater below the dam. Below the Hope Valley Mill is another low dam at the gauging station. Fortunately at this level (2.5 ft, 180 cfs at Hope Valley; 3.5 ft, 100 cfs at Arcadia), the river was high enough to run this dam.

By this time, we had been on the river for a couple of hours, but had only travelled a mile downstream. We stopped for lunch at the Switch Road Landing before continuing our trip.  Below Switch Road, the river is wooded and scenic. The river turned more marsh-like as it approached the second portage at the Woodville Dam. Below the Woodville Dam is river is deeper with good current.

Setting up camp

As we approached the final portage at the Alton Dam, we could see that a large group of boy scouts was already gathered at the take-out. We carried through the group, along the way learning that they also planned to stay at the Burlingame camp sites. We put-in down the steep bank at the bottom of the dam, and once we got back on the water, regrouped to discuss our plans for the night.

Knowing that the Burlingame camp sites would be crowded, we decided to change our plans and camp a little further upstream at a boot-leg site at the convergence of the Wood and Pawcaturck Rivers. Up a small hill we found a large fire ring and a pleasant pine grove. There was plenty of room for three tents and two hammocks. We set up camp, cooked supper and sat back to enjoy the evening campfire.

Running the broken dam

On Sunday, we broke camp early and began our trip down to Bradford Landing. We ran the broken dam at Burdickville and stopped to check out the Burlingame campsites. While there were some open sites, we all agreed that we made the right decision to camp upstream.

We continued downstream to Bradford which was the official end of our trip. Jim and I decided to extend the trip a little longer and continue down the Pawcatuck to check out the campsites at the Grills Preserve of the Westerly Land Trust just downstream. It was pleasant paddle down, but a little more work paddling back up against the current to our cars. I arrived home by 1:00 after a great weekend trip.

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Wood River gage near Hope Valley
Wood River gage near Arcadia

Gear is packed and I’m ready to go...

I have my gear together and I’m ready to go on my first overnight canoe trip on the Wood/Pawcatuck Rivers. We will put-in at Dow Field in Hope Valley and portage 3 dams on the Wood River (Old Switch Road, Woodville and Alton). We will then paddle down the Pawcatuck, running the broken dam at Burdickville before setting up camp at the canoe site in Buringame State Park. Take-out is at Bradford Landing. Should be fun.

Gear is packed and ready to go

Upper Wood River - May 6, 2012

After several weekends filled with yard work, I was looking forward to getting out on the water, but there weren’t a lot of options. I was thinking about Fife Brook, or maybe Otter Brook, until I saw a post for the upper Wood River on the RICKA Flatwater Message Board.

The Wood River flows 25 miles from its source near Sterling, CT to the Village of Alton where it merges with the Pawcatuck. There are two sections of the Wood River which are popular with paddlers – the upper Wood River from Route 165 in Exeter to the Wyoming Dam with a portage at the Barberville Dam, and the lower Wood River from Hope Valley Landing to Alton with a portage at the Woodville Dam. I had done the lower section a couple of times in the past, but had never paddled the upper section, so the upper Wood River it would be.

I arrived at the put-in on Route 165 at 10:00 and was surprised to see that most of the paddlers had already arrived. I was also surprised at the number of canoes on this trip. In total there were 13 boats – 9 canoes and 4 kayaks. Maybe we should rename the club the Rhode Island Canoe Association.

We ran the shuttle and were on the water by 11:00. The river starts off shallow (2.5 ft, 118 cfs at Hope Valley; 3 ft, 50 cfs at Arcadia) and twists and turns through the woodlands of the Arcadia Management Area. After a couple of miles, the river openned up as we paddled into Frying Pan Pond. A Bald Eagle soared overhead – the first I had seen in Rhode Island.

We stopped for lunch at the Barberville Dam which is also the headquarters for the Wood Pawcatuck Watershead Association. There are two portages around the Barberville Dam. The right portage allows paddlers to avoid the quickwater below the dam. Chuck and I took the left portage and ran the short rapid below the Barbarville Dam.

The quickwater continued below the dam until Skunk Hill Road where the impoundment for the Wyoming Dam begins. We paddled into a strong headwind until we reached the Wyomingt Dam. I had a beer with Chuck and Jim before heading home. Another great day.

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Wood River gage near Hope Valley
Wood River gage near Arcadia

Wood/Pawcatuck - July 3rd

Had a good time yesterday on the Wood/Pawcatuck Rivers. We had 10 boats – 5 canoes (1 tandem) and 5 kayaks. Trip was about 11 miles with 2 dams to portage (Woodville and Alton) and a broken dam that we ran (Burdickville).

We put in on the Wood River around 10:30 from the Switch Street (Hope Valley) Landing. In this section, the Wood River is… well… wooded. The river got shallow in spots, but there was always plenty of water (50 cfs, 2 ft. on the Hope Valley gage).

The river opened up as we approached the deadwater from the Woodville dam. I was looking for the Mountain Laurel blooms which supposedly line these banks, but we must have missed them. I did see plenty of purple pickerel weed and white water lilies.

We portage the Woodville dam and continued downstream. There is a short wooded section just below the dam, but then you enter a large marsh which is the deadwater for the Alton Dam. Wild roses lined the river in this area. We stopped for lunch at the rope swing before continuing down to the dam.

Beyond the Alton Dam, there is another short wooded area before the Wood River joins the Charles River to form the Pawcatuck. From here, the Pawcatuck is wider and deeper. After a couple of mile of easy paddling we approached the broken dam at Burdickville.  We ran the chute on the right without incident and continued downstream, arriving at the Bradford Landing around 3:30.

Scouting the Upper Wood River - July 3rd

I was a little early heading down to yesterday’s trip on the Wood/Pawcatuck Rivers, so I decided to check out the put in for the upper Wood River off Route 165 in the Arcadia Management Area. I definitely want to do this section of the Wood River sometime soon.