Merrimack River Kayak Trip - Manchester NH to Merrimack NH

View Merrimack River - Manchester to Merrimack in a larger map

Last Saturday I participated in another paddling trip with the Merrimack River Watershed Council.   I was really looking forward to this trip as it was a section of the river that I have not yet paddled and it offers a few sections of class II whitewater.  Having little whitewater experience this was a great trip for  me as it allowed me the opportunity to hit some pretty big rapids with some very experienced whitewater paddlers from the AMC.

I would highly recommend a spray skirt for this trip.  There were some on the trip without one who ended up with quite a bit of water in their boats when running through the big rapids.  My spray skirt isn't really watertight and I found myself needing to pump out a couple times.  There were about 20 people on this trip in various types of boats, there were 2 canoes, a half dozen or so whitewater boats, a sit on top kayak and the rest were in recreational kayaks, some with spray skirts some without.  Before starting our trip we were given some basic instruction on what to do in the event of a capsize and other basic class II whitewater techniques.  We were told at least 2 of us would end up on the water on this trip, I thought surely it would be me but I managed to stay in my kayak.  Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures of the first half of the trip as my camera was stowed safely in my drybag.  Someone in our group did have a waterproof camera and got some pictures of the group hitting the last section of rapids so I will post them when I get them.

Put in at Amoskeag Fishways

So we started the trip behind the the Amoskeag Fishways Visitor Center in Manchester, NH.  The visitor center is located just off exit 6 on 293 and has a cool fish ladder with large windows for viewing the fish swimming by.  This is also the site of Amoskeag falls and Amoskeag dam.  Our put in was a short walk down a trail to the water.  After shuttling the cars to the take out points we got underway.   We first paddled past Amoskeag falls on the left which is the site of some Class IV rapids called "Facial Abrasion" which are only navigable in the spring.  It isn't much more than rocks at this time of the year.  Less than a mile into our paddle we encountered our first major set of rapids.  This first set of rapids is located in front of Arms Park and is also know as crack pipe.  Not sure exactly how it got that name but I have to say I was a bit intimidated coming up upon it.  It is a pretty large drop followed by a series of large waves.  After watching a couple others make it through unscathed I went for it.  It was quite a rush, I kept my kayak straight and stayed upright.  I was completely soaked, including a few inches of water in my kayak where my new bilge pump came in handy.

Crackpipe

This section of the river is fairly industrial with mills on both sides of the river.  Except for the random shopping cart the river was fairly trash free, I was told this section used to be a lot worse.  After the first three miles the banks of the river become less industrial and more residential.  There are various small islands along this stretch and the river banks become a bit more wooded.  A bit past the 4 mile point of the trip at the route 293 overpass are the second large set of rapids.  There is a large rock island in the middle of the river at this point where we got out to scout the rapids and the trip leader advised us which line to take through the rapids.  She also told us there was no shame if we wanted to portage around this section.  I briefly considered it but decided that I didn't come out here to walk.  I went into the rapids planning to take a conservative line but somehow got sucked over the large wave in the middle but I again made it though upright.  I actually paddled back up and re-ran the bottom section of these rapids a second time.  A woman in a kayak identical to mine capsized in this section but the leaders got her back in her boat fairly quickly.

Scouting the 293 rapids

The final section of class II rapids we encountered is called Goff's falls.  This was probably the lesser of the three rapids but had a bit longer section of rapids.  I again made it through this section upright, a mother and son in a canoe weren't so lucky and ended up capsizing and floated quite a way downstream before being rescued.  This was about the half way section of the trip where we stopped for lunch.  About half of our group finished their trip here at the Moore's Crossing takeout in Bedford. The rest of us continued on for a few more miles. 

Goffs Falls Rapids

The remainder of the trip was a bit more relaxing.  A few class I rapids were encountered but the river is more remote and slow moving in this section.  Apparently we passed a lock that survived from the old Middlesex Canal system but I somehow paddled right by without seeing it.  We also passed the landing approach for Manchester Airport.  Kind of cool seeing the large jets fly by right over your head.  Our takeout was at the Depot Street Boat ramp in Merrimack.  This is also the site of Reeds Ferry, named for Wilbur Reed who ran a ferry on this section of the Merrimack in the 1700s and 1800s. 

Smaller set of rapids

Depot Street - Takeout in Merrimack NH

Ramp at Depot Street takeout

I have paddled a bunch of new sections of local rivers this year but I have to say this was my favorite trip so far.  The total distance of the trip was just over 10 miles.  We paddled through the towns of Manchester, Bedford and Merrimack.  Including a spot for lunch and trip took us about 5 hours.  This is not a trip that should be paddled solo.  I would love to run this section again but I wouldn't dare without the company of some experienced whitewater paddlers.  Also a spray skirt and bilge pump are absolute musts.  Overall a great way to start the holiday weekend.