Cold Spring Park - January 19, 2020

Upstream of the Woonsocket Falls Dam

We woke to 4-5 inches of nice light powder. It would have been a nice day for a hike with Papa Joe and the crew, but I had shoveling to do, so that was out. Instead, I went for a quick trip down at Cold Spring Park. The trip itself was uneventful. I paddled down to the Woonsocket Falls Dam and back. With the wind, I wasn’t motivated to paddle up to Blackstone. Instead, I dragged my boat over to the sledding hill to join the kids for a couple of runs. Unfortunately, a 30-pound kid on a sledding disc goes a lot faster that a 200-pound guy in a 14-foot canoe.  I did pack the snow down, though, so the kids went even faster when I was done.

On the sledding hill

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My Pictures

High Water, but no Paddling - January 13, 2018

Last weekend, Bill and I were snowshoeing along the bike path in Ashton, and the Blackstone was frozen solid. This weekend after the rain and the big warm-up, the ice was gone, and the river was cranking at at 8 feet, 4000 cfs at the Woonsocket Falls and Manville. 

Woonsocket Falls and Manville Dam from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

With higher water levels, I decided to go check out the Branch River.  It was running at 7 feet, 1800 cfs, but I knew it would start to drop quickly. The ice was gone, and the big tree that had previously blocked the Glendale Rapid had floated downstream and is now below the Nasonville Dam. The trees and the big pile of debris that had blocked the middle channel below Atlas Pallet (where Chuck pinned his boat during the first PARI attempt) is also gone. 

Branch River from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Unfortunately, the chill is back today, and no one is interested in paddling, so I am off to hike at Purgatory Chasm with Bill and the Papa Joe crew.

(p.s. This video was done on Saturday. By Sunday the river had dropped to 900 cfs, and by Monday was 500 cfs. The highest I had run it in the past was 600 cfs two days after the first PARI attempt. Monday would have been the day, but I had other stuff to do.)

Dams on the Lower Blackstone River

I was sorting through some old pictures yesterday, and was able to put together pictures of all the dams on the lower Blackstone River from Blackstone, MA down to Pawtucket, RI.

Rolling Dam - Blackstone Gorge

Saranac Dam - Waterford/Blackstone

Woonsocket Falls Dam
(seen through the South Main Street Bridge)

Manville Dam

Albion Dam

Ashton Dam

Pratt Dam - Lonsdale

Valley Falls Dam



Elizabeth Webbing Mills Dam - Central Falls



Slater Mill Dam - Pawtucket

Pawtucket Falls Dam
(Photo  by Cheryl Thompson Cameron)

All can be portaged, although some are much more difficult than others.  The dams along the Blackstone River Bikeway from Woonsocket to Valley Falls (Manville, Albion, Ashton and Lonsdale) can be portaged relatively easily.

The next dam upstream in MA is Rice City in Uxbridge.  I would have had a picture of that dam if I hadn't lost my camera on Saturday.  Above Plummers Landing is the dam at Riverdale, followed by the Depot Street Dam in Grafton. I'm not familiar with the dams further upstream in MA, but I want to get up there sometime. The section from Riverlin Street in Millbury down to Grafton is on my list of places to paddle.

Too low even for poling – August 7th

After a hot and humid couple of weeks, wasn't yesterday a great day – it actually felt like Fall. I had some errands to do in the morning, but spent a couple hours in the afternoon poling on the Blackstone River around River Island Park in Woonsocket.

When I got down to the river, I found that it was pretty low, even for poling (.64 feet, 75 cfs). The boat would hit rocks and get hung up in drops - I walked as much as I poled. I checked out the remnants of the old Globe Mill, poled underneath the Globe Bridge up to the Woonsocket Falls, and then I called it a day. 


River Island Park - the old Bernon Pond and the Woonsocket Falls from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

We had better get some rain soon, or I am going to have to take up sea kayaking.

Poling up to the Woonsocket Falls - May 30th

With the water levels low just about everywhere, I decided to do some poling today.  I put in at the Rivers Edge Recreational Complex and poled up to the Woonsocket Falls - about a mile.  The river was at a perfect level - 2 ft., 400 cfs.  - and I was able to push all the way up to the dam.  The only difficult spot was the shallow water just below the dam.


Poling on the Blackstone from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Going to meet Bob today for an early morning run - I'm thinking Route 122 to the Blackstone Gorge.

Links:
River Guide from the Blackstone River National Heritage Corridor

Same Old, Same Old - March 13th

Spent a couple of hours this morning paddling at River Island Park - a little "same old, same old".  Set up the camera on a wave below the hydro plant.


Same Old, Same Old from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

The river was about 3.5ft, 1,100 cfs.  Carried up to the falls and paddled down to the railroad bridge.

What a beautiful day – February 20th

After forgetting my PFD last weekend, I went back to River Island Park today to do some poling. Level was perfect (600 cfs, 2.5 ft), and the temperatures were in the high 40’s. I did a couple of laps around the island, and then pushed up through the bridge and right up to the dam.  Worked up quite a sweat, but it felt good.

Paddling below the Woonsocket Falls - January 23rd

It was a nice day today so I headed down to River Island Park for a couple of hours. I carried my boat up to the Woonsocket Falls and was surprised to see very little water coming over the dam. Almost all the water was running through the old Thundermist Hydroelectric plant. It's the first time I've seen that. To be honest, I thought the hydro plant was closed. There were a couple of waves below the hydro plant, but otherwise it was pretty low (800 cfs, 2.8 ft). I still had a good time.

Woonsocket Falls from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

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Paddling beneath the Falls in August 2009
Paddling beneath the Falls in October 2009