Cocheco
Watson Rd to Whittier St
| Difficulty | II(IV) |
| Length | 2 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Cocheco River Near Rochester, Nh |
| Flow Rate as of 14 minutes | 163 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | March 23, 2025 |
River Description
Posted by Clinton Begley 7/04/2014
Ran the Watson to Whittier section with Alex DePue at 260cfs. Took out in the dark so we didn't get a chance to see the third falls. [Edit: added updated information on Third Falls as of March 23, 2025]
Kimballs falls was running plenty and the right chute reveals a significant kicker right in the middle of it. Alex did two runs and ran just right and just left of it with success. I took a line basically just right of center of the entire ledge and boofed onto a shallow shelf somewhat anti-climactically. There are better lines river left.
Hayes falls has three main lines. Far right is a right to left chute with a few short cascading drops finishing with a tongue into a curler.
Center line is a less than vertical drop to a shelf for a nice boof.
The left line catches a lot of water and features a boof about 2/3 the way down over a hole at the bottom.
The rest of the run to the bridge is uneventful. Poison Ivy abounds.
Posted by Clinton Begley 4/13/2014
Scouted the Watson to Whittier street section today. Lots of snow and ice dams still but I wanted to flesh out the description and add some photos to this description. I'm sure there are many locals who know all of this better than I do, but a more robust description could be helpful. Today's level for the scout was 4.39ft (144cfs) on the Rochester Guage.
In addition to the acurate characterization by Curt and Nate in 2005, I wanted to identify the location of the 'Falls' on the stretch and give some idea as too what to expect.
Three main falls are present. Historical records identify them as Kimballs Falls, Hayes Falls and Whittier Falls in order of appearance as you move downstream.
Kimballs Falls is a river-wide feature ranging from 12-15' high at today's river level. There is a 'chute' of sorts on river right that looks to flow right int
...River Features
Put In
Kimballs Falls
Hayes Falls
Take Out
Whittier Falls
Scouted at 360cfs. Looks to be a great park and play spot- could see a few nice looking surf waves. Definitely not class IV, more 3-/2+. No visible hazards, but keep an eye out for strainers
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportScouted from Dover Community Trail today at 360cfs. Was unable to put eyes on Hayes Falls. Added updated photos of Kimball & Whittier Falls.
there is very limited parking at take out (Dover Community Trail on Whittier St) MAYBE enough for 2 cars total.
Otherwhise Whittier Falls looks like it could be a great park and play spot
Kimball falls at 360cfs
Whittier Falls at 360cfs
Ran Watson-Whittier section today @75cfs to scout for when the water comes up. Quite low @75 but everything was runnable, an amazing river for the area. Kimball Falls (biggest drop) was most enjoyable with a 'ski jump' boof on the right side line.
(difficulty is a guess - no hazards identified, but proceed with caution)
Very nice play wave with eddy service, just below first class IV drop.
Ran the river yesterday at 380cfs. Everything looked good, even contemplated running the 15 foot falls. There's a nice boof line in the middle. I'm looking to run it the next time the water comes up.
Has the first big drop been run yet?
Th Islanglass Guage appears to be back running.
Due to funding problems, the Isinglass river guage has gone off-line. The Islanglass is one of two major tributaries of the Cocheco. On Oct 28th the Cocheco at Rochester NH (upstream 11 miles - and the other tributarie of the lower Cocheco) was guaged at 1400 cfs, and I would venture a guess that through Dover the river was well over 2500. This after 2.7 inches of rain according to the National Weather Service web page. The ground water level was moderate, and the trees dormant for the season.