Shawsheen River Kayak Trip - Tewksbury to Andover

View Shawsheen River - Tewksbury to Andover in a larger map
I took my first official kayak trip this weekend on the Shawsheen River.  The trip was sponsored by the Merrimack River Watershed Council and the Shawsheen River Watershed Association.  There were about a dozen boaters on the trip, a few in canoes, the rest in kayaks.  I have been wanting to get on the Shawsheen river so when I saw the MRWC was running this trip I had to jump on it.

This was a one way trip downstream for a total distance of about 6 miles.  Our put in was on Main Street in Tewksbury (behind the Knights of Columbus) and our take out was at the Ballardvale Mill pond in Andover.  The trip took a little over two hours to complete.  These trips put on by the MRWC are great as they organize shuttles from put in to take out so you don't need to paddle back upstream or need someone you pick you up.

Put In - Main Street Tewksbury

The were thundershowers in the forecast for the day of our trip but they held off long enough to give us a picture perfect morning.  Shawsheen is a narrow river with a fairly strong current, not sure I would want to paddle upstream with the water levels where they are right now.  As the crow flies the distance between put in and take out is only about 3 and a half miles but the river twists and turns through meadows and woods extending the trip out to about 6 miles.

Heading out - Meadows Section

The first couple miles of the trip is mostly meadow and wetlands where there are lots of birds and other wildlife to view.  The next section of the trip takes you through a some wooded sections bordering some houses.  There are a couple areas in this section to be careful of.  Upon entering the first wooded portion of this trip there was a section of quickwater with a small dropoff.  Expect to get a bit wet.  There is also a section with some fairly large rocks that a couple of us (including myself) got hung up on.  Also there were at least three large trees across the river.  None of them required portage, just some limbo bending acrobatics to get under them.  One member of our party capsized and went for a swim when going under the lowest one, luckily she was wearing a wetsuit.

First downed tree

Lone paddler

The next couple sections alternate between meadows and woods for a couple miles until you pass under route 93.  There are a couple short alternating sections of woods and meadows and then you will pass under a couple rail bridges and then enter the flats section which is a big, wide backed up section called Mill Pond at the Ballardvale dam. 

1st Rail Bridge

2nd Rail Bridge

Andover St Bridge before takeout

The takeout is right before the Ballardvale dam at the intersection of River Street and Andover Street.  There is a private lot along the banks of the river with plenty of parking.  This trip was a great start to my kayaking season.   A pretty relaxing trip with a few sections to get your heart pumping.  If you have any interest in kayaking the Shawsheen I encourage you to visit the SRWA website.  They have lots of great information and maps of the river.