Saco River
4) Conway Rips(Confluence of Swift & Saco rivers to Meeting House Rd)
| Difficulty | II |
| Length | 2.8 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 11 fpm |
| Gauge | Saco River Near Conway, Nh |
| Flow Rate as of 53 minutes | 13500 cfsabove recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | March 22, 2025 |
River Description
Conway rips is a popular class II run which commonly has enough water in late June and will often come up when we have extended rainfall in the Fall months. The 2 covered bridges offer scenic photo opportunities and the much of the river side is undeveloped, we can hope it remains this way. If you put in at the West side road bridge over the Swift be careful of the strainer that is on the center bridge abutment especially in high water. The Rapids between the Swift river put in and the Saco River put in are a normally a fairly easy class II with some maneuvering required in easy current. Below the Saco River Covered bridge is flat water for about 1/4 mile till the next rapid which is short and a very easy Class II then another 1/4 mile of flat water to Power Line rapid a nice wave train with 2 to 3 foot waves at normal levels. at higher levels some nice surfing on right, catch an eddy about half way down Power Line rapid, there are 2 waves but at the right level the one is sweet. After Power line there is a fairly long stretch of flat water before you arrive at the top of the 302 bridge.
On river left just before the 302 bridge rapid you will find the USGS gage station. There is also a large red rock in river-center just upstream of the bridge locals call 'Gauge Rock'. It is easily seen from your vehicle as you cross the bridge. The rock has a pronounced undercut on the downstream rive-right corner (left as you look upstream). The more of the undercut you see, the less fun the entire run is likely to be. If the water is so high the rock is covered then many features on the run will be washed out while others will ramp up in difficulty.
The last rapid, starting just above the 302 bridge 'Police Station Rapid', is the longest of the trip usually with slightly smaller waves than power line but with more maneuvering required. The most interesting features are above the 302 bridge. The easiest line is center-right. Tim Jones reports that at somewhere arou
...River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportAs of May 29, 2021 parking at the Davis Park put-in and the Smith-Eastman takeout on Meeting House Road in Conway will require a resident parking sticker (free to Conway residents) or a $20 day-use fee payable on-site.
The PUT-IN labeled on the map page for Conway Rips is incorrect. The correct GPS Coordinates are N43.985238, W71.119228
I want to clarify the comment about the nasty hole that had been posted:
The hole I was referring to on the top of the rapid above the Rt 302 bridge - is a great flat spinning ledge hole. The hole itself is fine - sticky fun vs 'nasty'. The hazard that may be a concern for class 2 paddlers - is that the left side of the river has several shallow ledges amidst some large boulders that create a lot of funky water that might be challenging to a class 2 paddler and make for an unpleasant swim. The conservative line is center or just right of center all the way down. River left at the top has some cool play - mostly side surfing and spinning, and the river right has a couple waves adjacent to eddies. Halfway down on the right are two larger pourover holes that can be surfed and spun in. We paddled it last week and were reminded that it is a great run with good play and real easy access.
Darron L