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Blackwater - Route 127 to Snyder's Mill


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Blackwater,

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Route 127 to Snyder's Mill

Usual Difficulty II-IV (may vary with level)
Length 2.5 Miles
Avg. Gradient 32 fpm
Max Gradient 65 fpm

Just below Blackwater dam


Just below Blackwater dam
Photo of Butch Mixon by Mark Lacroix @ 800 cfs



River Description

The Blackwater is located in Webster NH just west of Concord. The river alternates between flat water and violent drops. From the put in to Clothespin bridge the river has a few class I and II drops with play waves. Once Clothespin bridge comes into view, then its time for the novices to take out. The river then becomes more difficult with each drop. See description below. There is a class V-VI rapid just below Blackwater dam just upstream from the normal put-in. This rapid is short but very steep requiring a lot of manuevering around pinning rocks and big holes.

Technical info 

Put in elevation........470'
Take out elevation......350'
Total drop..............120'
Average drop/mile.......32'
1st mile................10'
2nd mile................30'
3rd mile................30'
3.8 mile................50'
Distance................3.8 miles
River width average.....35'
River geology...........Granite ledge, small to medium boulders
River water quality.....Good to excellent, clarity good to excellent.
Scenery.................Good forested scenery, a few homes and camps along the way. 
Wildlife................Deer, Merganzers, Blue herons.

Directions


Put in

Interstate 93 to exit 17 north of Concord.
Take the US-4 exit, exit number 17, towards US-3/PENACOOK/RT-132/BOSCAWEN.
Keep RIGHT at the fork in the ramp.
Go west on US-4 for approximately 4.5 miles
Turn LEFT onto WATER ST proceed for 5 miles. Water street turns into Long street
At the intersection of NH 127 take a left.
In less than 2 miles look for the Webster elementary school on your left shortly after you cross over the Blackwater river.
The put-in is behind the school.

Take out

Continue heading south on 127 pass the school for approximately 2 miles.
Shortly after the intersection with Tyler Road, park on the left where you can see the river down the embankment.

StreamTeam Status: Verified
Last Updated: 2008-03-02 15:08:51

Editors

Stream Team Editor
Mark Lacroix
Thornton, NH


Just below Blackwater dam

Detail Trip Report Edit  Just below Blackwater dam  Blackwater, NH(20.55KB .jpeg)

Finale Ledge drop at Eggbeater Rapid

Detail Trip Report Edit  Finale Ledge drop at Eggbeater Rapid  Blackwater, NH(33.46KB .jpeg)

Clothespin

Detail Trip Report Edit  Clothespin  Blackwater, NH(24.19KB .jpeg)

Clothespin - Blackwater

Detail Trip Report Edit  Clothespin - Blackwater  Blackwater, NH(1.48MB .jpeg)

BlackWater - Clothespin

Detail Trip Report Edit  BlackWater - Clothespin  Blackwater, NH(1.45MB .jpeg)


Gauge Information

Gauge Description:

The flow through this section is regulated by a flood control dam just upstream from the put-in. There are two weekend releases scheduled for the last two weekends in April. Control releases are approximately 600-900 cfs. The river is runnable at other times, see below for a general idea of when the river can be run. USGS gage located 1.5 miles downstream on river left above a small class II drop.
Estimated chance (%) of finding the river runnable.
 

Month............% chance......comment 

January ............ 5%........Frozen. 
February............ 5%........Frozen. 
March...............50%........Ice shelves wash out late in the month. 
April...............90%........Most dependable month.
May ................40%........Flows start dropping back with leaf out. 
June................15%
July................ 5% 
August.............. 5%........Lowest water month
September...........10% 
October.............30%
November............40%........Fall rains, dormant trees 
December............30%........River starts freezing around Christmas.


Be aware this is averaged out over several years. The % chance refers to the probability of finding the river running on any given day. For instance a 5% probability for August means on average you can only expect about 1-1/2 days of water. One year there could be 3 days in August with water, other years none. Spring levels are usually higher than fall levels. Also be aware that the river is regulated depending on expected precipitation. Drawdowns may precede a major storm in order to allow more storage capacity. At other times the dam may hold back after a major storm to prevent flooding downstream.

 

2008 Blackwater releases

Date

Time

Flow

 Notes
Fri April 18th 11:00am-until water is depleted 700 cfs 25th annual

Blackwater slalom ( if not enough water, release only on Sat and Sun)
Sat April 19th
Sun April 20th

 

Note: The April 19th thru 20th weekend is the date for the 25th annual New England series whitewater slalom to be held at the put-in. Please put in below the race course.
 

Report - Reports of Blackwater Route 127 to Snyder's Mill and related gauges

Reports give the public a chance to report on river conditions throughout the country as well as log the history of a river.

Reports

When River/Gauge Subject Level Reporter
Blackwater [NH] Clothespin - Blackwater n/a Cheryl Robinson
Blackwater [NH] Just below Blackwater dam 800 cfs Mark Lacroix
8y216d10h27m Blackwater [NH] Finale Ledge drop at Eggbeater Rapid 1100 cfs Mark Lacroix

WXPort

News





Guidebooks



Classic Northeastern Whitewater Guide : The Best Whitewater Runs in New England and New York
$19.95


Let it Rain: A paddlers guide to northeastern US and Canada
$39.95

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Rapid Summary

Mile Rapid Name Class Features (Legend)
0.0Rivers of the lower Contoocook regionPutin Takeout Photo
1.0Clothespin BridgeIVWaterfall Photo
2.0A rapidIII+Playspot
2.3EggbeaterIVTakeout Photo

Rapid Descriptions

Rivers of the lower Contoocook region

River of the lower Contoocook region

River of the lower Contoocook region
Photo by Mark Lacroix


Clothespin Bridge (Class IV, Mile 1.0)

Clothespin

Clothespin
Photo of Rob Point by Mark Lacroix taken 4/21/01 @ 1100 cfs

When a bridge is visible on the horizon line get ready for a good ride. Clothespin is a 5' verticle drop into a frothy hole. Run right of middle and turn towards the left just as you go over the drop. Brace and be ready for a roll at the bottom. The river is very narrow at this point and can accelerate a boater into a rock wall.

A rapid (Class III+, Mile 2.0)
A fairly long rapid with lots of holes to manuever around. Nice playhole on river left at the bottom of the drop.

Eggbeater (Class IV, Mile 2.3)

Finale Ledge drop at Eggbeater Rapid

Finale Ledge drop at Eggbeater Rapid
Photo of Butch Mixon by Mark Lacroix taken 4/21/01 @ 1100 cfs

One of the most difficult regularly run rapid in NH. Eddy out on river right just as the river takes a hard left and scout. This is a long steep slide that leads up to a ledge drop with a stickey hole at the bottom. The approach to the ledge is very turbulant with large stickey holes. At levels below 1000 cfs there are several micro eddy's to catch along the way. Above 1000 cfs these eddies turn into violent wirlpools and holes. After the ledge drop the river calms down a little until you reach the takeout 200 yards below the bridge.


Events

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