White River
2.) Lower(North Royalton to West Hartford)
| Difficulty | I-II(III) |
| Length | 14.9 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 10 fpm |
| Gauge | White River at West Hartford, Vt |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 2090 cfsrunnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | December 11, 2020 |
River Description
This section of the White River is mostly quick water interspersed with ledge drops. The lower portion below Sharon is more difficult with several interesting ledge drops. One mile below the bridge at Sharon there is an old broken dam that is best run on the right. Look for the old dam abutments on either side of the river. A horizon line will become noticeable just above the drop. Pull out on the left if you should decide to portage. 3 miles below Sharon is the next large rapid. Quarter Mile rapid is a series of small drops through a checkered maze of broken ledge. In low water only one or two routes are passable and require skill to maneuver through. The last big rapid on this section is at the West Hartford bridge. This is usually the takeout since the river below slackens into White River Junction. Directions
Put in from Concord NH
Take I-89 N exit towards LEBANON/WHITE RIVER JCT. VT. 83 miles take the VT-107 exit- exit number 3- towards BETHEL/ROYALTON. Take a left (east) on VT route 107. Take a right (south) on VT 14 Look for the Fox Stand Inn and park behind the Inn at the fishing access.
Alternate put in
Take exit 2 off interstate 89 in Vermont. Head into Sharon center and take a right (north) on VT 14 Once you pass under the Interstate 89 overpass look for a fishing access on the left.
Take out
Take exit 2 off interstate 89 in Vermont. Head into Sharon center and take a left (south) on VT 14 Approximately 6 miles into the village of West Hartford. Park next to the bridge on a side road to the right of VT 14.
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportPut on about halfway through the run in Sharon. There's a nice put-in with stairs and large dirt parking lot located at approximately (43.7877905, -72.4855332) across from a small Tow Shop. There were a number of fun surf waves right after the put-in- we even had a four person party surf!
Overall despite being a little bumpy the run was a lot of fun. It is very wide and deep but interspersed with huge, alien-looking rock formations and random sandbars. The water is a beautiful teal blue color reminiscent of what one sees in the Pacific Northwest. It's mostly a series of ledgey drops interspersed with flat water. Surf waves abound. There's a great surf wave at the takeout, just before the bridge, on river right, with eddy service. It's illuminated by the street lights so it is possible to play there after dark.
We put-on around 4pm, and took off just before 8pm, and did little playing since we were racing daylight.
Overall, a fun but relatively mellow run at this level. I would imagine at higher water this run could be significantly more challenging as you go in blind to most of the ledge drops. If the water is very high (AW says it is runnable up to 40k cfs) it would be an entirely different run as many of the large rock formations would turn into major features.
Doobster hits the loop