Little
Waterbury Reservoir to Winooski River
| Difficulty | I(III) |
| Length | 2.4 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Little River Near Waterbury, Vt |
| Flow Rate as of 31 minutes | 249 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 18, 2018 |
River Description
This is a dam controlled river. It is currently under FERC relicensing procedure. The put in is at the gate to the power house or at the power house itself. There are a few good eddy lines for playing on this portion of the run. After passing under the bridge be prepared to portage 100 yds down on the right. Beyond this is an unrunnable drop. Leave plenty of space because the eddies are few and the banks are overgrown with brush. The drop can be recognized by the cable and cart stretching across the river at the entrance to the gorge.
100 yds below the gorge look for a cut in the wall on the left. Its a good put in if you want to play the waves, otherwise put in at the eddy below the gorge. The river will continue with no major hazards to the take out.
Directions:
From Waterbury take Rt 2 West for 2 miles. The Little River road is the first right hand turn passing under the interstate. Take the first right on Little River Rd. Parking for the take out is just across the old bridge. This is a private rd. Please don't block it.
The put in is about 2 miles farther up Little River Rd. towards the state campground. Scout the river on the way up. Check out the gorge.
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportlittle river gorge
little river
Here is your takeout point before the gorge, good rapids below, then some flatwater to take out at farr rd.
Little River Strainer
There is a river wide strainer 1/4 mile down stream of the gorge. It is a very large tree and a second fallen tree which is still growing (or it is part of the first tree) is on the down stream side of it.
We passed through a narrow chute right of the island while it also has multiple small strainers, the low water meant it had a safe passage.
For Portaging I would recommend the left hand bank.
The tree is firmly set and I doubt even in high water the tree will not move.
The FERC Issued their Environmental Assessment for the project early this fall (2005) and it is very favorable for the paddling community. The EA precedes the License by a few months, and filing comments on the EA is often the last step of relicensing. AW supported the preferred alternative in the EA as written, and with any luck the Little will be another huge success story for the paddling community. We owe alot to Tom Christopher and New England Flow for this one. Great Work!