Scouting the Connecticut River for NFCT Section 7
My self-proclaimed fame is straddling the Connecticut at its Fourth Connecticut Lake tiny trickle of a stream, as is begins its 400+ mile trip to empty into the sea at Long Island Sound. In one area of its journey, the Connecticut is nearly half a mile across. The Connecticut is America's only watershed-based national fish and wildlife refuge. 
The very informative presentation was by Adair Mulligan, an environmental biologist and natural resource planner. Adair is currently Executive Director of the Hanover Conservancy.
Adair mentioned the Northern Forest Canoe Trail Section 7, and an eye-catching aerial slide of the Connecticut's Maidstone oxbow segment.
Our Scouting Report
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail Section 7 follows the Connecticut River for 20+ miles from the Nulhegan River's confluence in Bloomfield, Vermont, to a meeting with the Upper Ammonoosuc, near Groveton, NH. Friends and I have paddled many sections of the NFCT, but not section 7.
Catherine and I decided because of Adair's oxbow picture slide, to drive directly to the Maidstone Bridge Road put-in Stratford, NH, and then cross the bridge into Vermont and take the Route 102 road along the River to the Wyoming Dam in Guildhall, VT
When we take this Section 7 paddle, we would need parking for one of our cars at the put-in and one at the take-out. We did not go to Bloomfield, Vermont to look for available parking because a NFCT section 7 description noted available parking. The Maidstone Bridge and the Wyoming Bridge do have ample parking.
Addendum to our Scouting Notes
Put-in and Take-Out
The NFCT Section 7 is a 23-mile paddling trip that could be done in one day, or two days to include camping along the river. The NFCT put-in is at DeBanville Landing, Bloomfield, VT, at the signed parking area 0.1 mile south of the junction of Vermont Routes 105 and 102; or near the ball fields in North Stratford, NH. From U.S. Route 3 in North Stratford, left on Bridge Street, left on Main Street before crossing the River, and right immediately after crossing the railroad tracks.
Take Out: Before the Wyoming Bridge. The Wyoming Dam, located immediately downstream from the Bridge, once spanned the Connecticut River between Guildhall, Vermont, and Northumberland, New Hampshire. The remains of this dam are extremely dangerous to boaters and paddlers. Rebar still sticks up from the old concrete. Portage access is on river right on the Vermont side just before the Bridge.
The end of Section 7 is after the bridge in Guildhall, VT; or the Upper Ammonoosuc campsite and paddler access in Groveton, NH. From the US 3 bridge in Groveton, go south 0.5 mile to Normandeau Trucking lot on the right. Access is in the trees on the left side of this lot.
The river part in this area has a sandy bottom, and due to drought conditions, we had to keep our eyes open to not go aground. The high eroded banks show the Connecticut to be five to six feet higher in this area after snowmelt and in rainy conditions. Primitive campsites are open for use in woods and open fields. We need to check the campsite status page before embarking on your trip. (See below Connecticut River Travelers Trail: Campsites, Access Points, and Portage Trails web site.)
From the put-in at Maidstone Bridge (Maidstone, VT) downriver through the Maidstone Bends to Northumberland Bridge is about an eleven mile paddle. Notice my above screen print with the River route in red where the oxbow turns. You can see the impact of the oxbows on paddle distance because when we scouted this section from our car on Route 102, the distance was seven miles.
Northern Forest Canoe Trail Section 7
All of the Connecticut River from the confluence with the Nulhegan in Bloomfield to the confluence with the Upper Ammonoosuc in Guildhall is considered Section 7. The recommended take out on the Connecticut if you are not paddling upstream on the Upper Ammonoosuc is 3 miles below that confluence at the Wyoming Dam. The paper map considers DeBanville the end of Section 6 and the beginning of Section 7. The end of section 7 is on the Androscoggin River in Errol, NH below the rapids under Route 26. Beyond that is considered Section 8.
References
The very informative presentation was by Adair Mulligan, an environmental biologist and natural resource planner. Adair is currently Executive Director of the Hanover Conservancy.
Adair mentioned the Northern Forest Canoe Trail Section 7, and an eye-catching aerial slide of the Connecticut's Maidstone oxbow segment.
A section of the River close to Maidstone Bridge is called Maidstone Oxbow. Oxbow means the River has twists and turns similar to a letter U of an oxen yoke. The River between Maidstone Bridge and the Wyoming Bridge, an approximately eleven-mile paddle of the River, is about a 7-mile drive between Maidstone Bridge and Wyoming Bridge.
I have never paddled the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) Section 7 from the DeBanville Landing, Bloomfield, VT, to the Wyoming Bridge in Guildhall, VT.
I suggested to my wife and paddling partner, Catherine, that maybe we should take a foliage ride to northern New Hampshire and while there, scout this Connecticut River section. And, while we were going in that direction, why not bring our canoe with us. Yes, was her response.
Our Assignment
I have never paddled the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) Section 7 from the DeBanville Landing, Bloomfield, VT, to the Wyoming Bridge in Guildhall, VT.
I suggested to my wife and paddling partner, Catherine, that maybe we should take a foliage ride to northern New Hampshire and while there, scout this Connecticut River section. And, while we were going in that direction, why not bring our canoe with us. Yes, was her response.
Maidstone Oxbow identified in Red from Maidstone Bridge to Wyoming Bridge
Enjoy the below video as Catherine and I scout this section of the Connecticut
Our Scouting Report
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail Section 7 follows the Connecticut River for 20+ miles from the Nulhegan River's confluence in Bloomfield, Vermont, to a meeting with the Upper Ammonoosuc, near Groveton, NH. Friends and I have paddled many sections of the NFCT, but not section 7.
Catherine and I decided because of Adair's oxbow picture slide, to drive directly to the Maidstone Bridge Road put-in Stratford, NH, and then cross the bridge into Vermont and take the Route 102 road along the River to the Wyoming Dam in Guildhall, VT
When we take this Section 7 paddle, we would need parking for one of our cars at the put-in and one at the take-out. We did not go to Bloomfield, Vermont to look for available parking because a NFCT section 7 description noted available parking. The Maidstone Bridge and the Wyoming Bridge do have ample parking.
Addendum to our Scouting Notes
Put-in and Take-Out
The NFCT Section 7 is a 23-mile paddling trip that could be done in one day, or two days to include camping along the river. The NFCT put-in is at DeBanville Landing, Bloomfield, VT, at the signed parking area 0.1 mile south of the junction of Vermont Routes 105 and 102; or near the ball fields in North Stratford, NH. From U.S. Route 3 in North Stratford, left on Bridge Street, left on Main Street before crossing the River, and right immediately after crossing the railroad tracks.
Take Out: Before the Wyoming Bridge. The Wyoming Dam, located immediately downstream from the Bridge, once spanned the Connecticut River between Guildhall, Vermont, and Northumberland, New Hampshire. The remains of this dam are extremely dangerous to boaters and paddlers. Rebar still sticks up from the old concrete. Portage access is on river right on the Vermont side just before the Bridge.
The end of Section 7 is after the bridge in Guildhall, VT; or the Upper Ammonoosuc campsite and paddler access in Groveton, NH. From the US 3 bridge in Groveton, go south 0.5 mile to Normandeau Trucking lot on the right. Access is in the trees on the left side of this lot.
The river part in this area has a sandy bottom, and due to drought conditions, we had to keep our eyes open to not go aground. The high eroded banks show the Connecticut to be five to six feet higher in this area after snowmelt and in rainy conditions. Primitive campsites are open for use in woods and open fields. We need to check the campsite status page before embarking on your trip. (See below Connecticut River Travelers Trail: Campsites, Access Points, and Portage Trails web site.)
From the put-in at Maidstone Bridge (Maidstone, VT) downriver through the Maidstone Bends to Northumberland Bridge is about an eleven mile paddle. Notice my above screen print with the River route in red where the oxbow turns. You can see the impact of the oxbows on paddle distance because when we scouted this section from our car on Route 102, the distance was seven miles.
Northern Forest Canoe Trail Section 7
All of the Connecticut River from the confluence with the Nulhegan in Bloomfield to the confluence with the Upper Ammonoosuc in Guildhall is considered Section 7. The recommended take out on the Connecticut if you are not paddling upstream on the Upper Ammonoosuc is 3 miles below that confluence at the Wyoming Dam. The paper map considers DeBanville the end of Section 6 and the beginning of Section 7. The end of section 7 is on the Androscoggin River in Errol, NH below the rapids under Route 26. Beyond that is considered Section 8.
References
- Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT)
https://www.northernforestcanoetrail.org/ - Connecticut River Paddlers Trail
https://www.connecticutriverpaddlerstrail.org/crpt7/ - Connecticut River Travelers Trail: Campsites, Access Points, and Portage Trails
https://www.connecticutriverpaddlerstrail.org/crpt7/campsites-access-portage-trails - Paddling the Northern Forest Canoe Trail Section 2: Long Lake to Village of Saranac Lake http://tiny.cc/ma9o1
- Video and Blog: Paddling the Northern Forest Canoe Trail
Section 6: The Clyde River - Island Pond to Pensioner Pond
http://outdooradventurers.blogspot.com/2013/06/paddling-northern-forest-canoe-trail.html - David Kotz Travel blog
https://davidkotz.org/2013/08/26/just-around-the-river-ben
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