Suncook

A beautiful secluded river in south central NH, great for Class 2 paddlers to develop skills. Put in just below Lower Suncook Lake.  Be prepared for muddy road access in spring to reach the Valley Dam Put-In and be sure NOT to tresspass on private land... the locals are not fond of anyone crowding their narrow gravel road. Best choice is to paddle all the way to the Lower Take-Out.  Park on the backside of the public parking gravel lot behind the Barnstead Parks and Rec Center on the Big River.  Find the Big River access ramp and see below how to access it by water from its junction with the Suncook.

The Suncook River is narrow, 20-30 ft wide on average, but strainers can squeeze you into 5 ft passages. Look out for overhanging trees and strainers that force paddlers to pick their routes precisely or portage.  Use caution on blind corners or drops.  It is worth scouting the Rt 28 bridge section, the Schoolbus Lot section, and the Depot St section while shuttling.  The river starts out with easy class 1+2 rapids just down from the rushing water of the dam outlet, but there are likely river-wide strainers that may force paddlers to start lower down.  These more gentle rapids continue past the Rt 28 bridge.  In this next section there is a very-low-head 'dam crossing' (probably created to make a swimming hole) that can hang up a boater who is not paying attention.  It presents little to no whitewater, just a river-wide drop over a minor horizon line, not even noticeable in high water.  After the campground, the water changes to quikwater for over a 1/2 mile. This is the 'scenic nature' moment, slow, wide, and meandering, giving you a chance to look for wild ducks, blue herons, otters, and beavers.  A sharp right hand corner signals the most challenging section on this river, enhanced after being nearly lulled to sleep by the casual paddle of the wetland marsh section. You will pass under a steal bridge near ball fields on river right up on a high bank, then ap

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