Sheepscot,
|
|
Reversing Falls
| Usual Difficulty |
I (may vary with level) |
Front Wave
Front WavePhoto of Nate Stewart by Tim Kittredge taken 8/02
River Description
This is a tidal falls like
Cohasset
in Mass. and
Blue Hill Falls in
Hancock County, ME. Two wave holes are made by the tidal rip in a narrowing area pinched by two
peninsulas (see the red "target" symbol in the attached TopoZone map, about 0.3 miles South of the
bridge). In contrast to Cohasset, the fun here happens on an outgoing tide (which tends to make the
water warmer than Maine ocean water). The higher the tide, the better, according to pjbuehner of
the
Northeast Paddlers' Massage Board. He also recommends driving slowly and being
friendly in town. If you park at the Grange Hall by the bridge, and make the short paddle over to
the Falls, you should be okay.
See the
Trip Report in the NPMB Board for more
info. But be warned that the Falls Road putin can be problematic; again, parking at the Grange Hall
is a better option.
StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2002-03-06 07:54:39
No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
User Comments
reversing falls in Sheepscot, Maine. I have torn the house down and built a new home designed by my
husband William Thompson, architect (former resident architect of Colonial Willliamsburg). We will
be opening a B&B, tear room/baker and antique shop here. We would be happy to rent rooms to
kayakers , with gourmet breakfast included, eggs fresh from the chicken coop and picnic baskets for
lunch on the shore. Please keep a look out. We will open summer of 2010. Edit
we approached it was sunning itself on the river left ledge. We floated through the middle of the
rapid and hung out lower in the eddy. It watched us and slipped into the water, then swam up the
rapid a couple of times before climbing back up on the ledge and continued sunning. It kept one eye
on us for a while as we came up the eddy to play. As the water dropped and the seal was elevated
above us it paid less attention. Eventually there were six paddlers using the eddy. Combining with
the great water (tide 10.5 ft.) and great fall weather, it was a magical afternoon. Edit
here. Pods of these marine mammals are common on the coast in the summer and early fall. They tend
not to be afraid of boats without motors. Also, I once saw a harbor seal sunning itself on the
ledges nearby.