Farmington, W. Branch - Bear's Den


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Farmington, W. Branch,

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Bear's Den (Lower New Boston)

Class II
2.25 Miles

Gauge Information

Name Range Updated Level
WEST BRANCH FARMINGTON RIVER NEAR NEW BOSTON, MA 3.80 - 7.00 ft 00h54m 3.66 ft (rc= -0.0 )


River Description

The Farmington is often run during the autumn drawdown of Otis Reservoir.

ChuckB, on the Northeast Paddlers' Massage Board, says:
"The third section would be from the American Legion down to Bear's Den rapid. This is mostly class II with Bear's Den probably being an easy III.
"Each of the sections (Bear's Den Section, New Boston Section, and Upper New Boston) is a couple/few miles long and any one or two or three of them can be run together. Those three harder spots are pretty cool, especially one that has a four foot drop 'cause you can watch your probe disappear for a moment before reappearing behind the horizon line (unless you are the probe). This is a great river to work on your eddy hopping and boat scouting skills. Keep an eye out for strainers as the narrowness of the river could easily make a strainer impassable. There is not much in they way of play on this river, but idiots like me still try as evidenced by the scratches on my helmet and the gouges in my boat. The release level is really boney so pray for some rain to supplement it."

The Farmington releases come down out of Otis Reservoir. If you're looking for a bit of steep Class-V fun, check out Fall River.
Check out the river description at the Farmington River Watershed Association website.


StreamTeam Status: Verified
Last Updated: 2007-02-24 11:16:10

Editors

Stream Team Editor
Jim Michaud
Vernon, CT


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Gauge Information

Gauge Description:

2007 Farmington / Fall River releases (Otis reservoir)

Date

Time

Flow

Notes
Sat. Oct. 13th All day 250 cfs Slalom race
Sun. Oct. 14th All day 250 cfs Slalom race
Sat. Oct. 20th All day 250 cfs Recreational
Sun. Oct. 21st All day 250 cfs Recreational

The water usually starts to be released very late on Friday or early morning on Saturday and continues spilling through the weekend until late afternoon on Sunday.


Mapquest Directions

From the North (Brattleboro, VT)
From the South (Hartford, CT)
From the East (Boston, MA)
From the West (Albany, NY)

These directions will bring you to the center of New Boston about 1/4 of a mile north of the put in for this section. For the put in travel 1/4 of a mile south on MA rt 8. Turn right into the American Legion riverside park The take out is approximately 3 miles south of town on MA rt 8.
For a more detailed local map look to the “Tiger Mapserver Map” link in the right hand column of this webpage.

Gauge Information

Name Range Updated Level
WEST BRANCH FARMINGTON RIVER NEAR NEW BOSTON, MA
usgs-01185500 3.80 - 7.00 ft 00h54m 3.66 ft (rc= -0.0 )

RangeWater LevelComment
3.8000-7.0000 barely runnable-high runnable

Report - Reports of Farmington, W. Branch Bear's Den 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.

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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 Descriptions

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