New Hampshire /

Connecticut River

River in New Hampshire · near Balloch, Charlestown, Chesterfield, Claremont

The Connecticut River is the longest river in New England. It rises at Fourth Connecticut Lake near the Canadian border and flows 406 miles through four states to Long Island Sound. Within Pittsburg it runs through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis. It then forms 255 miles of the New Hampshire–Vermont border, which follows the river's western bank at the normal high-water mark rather than its centerline. The river drops more than 2,480 feet between Pittsburg and the Massachusetts line. Its watershed covers about 11,250 square miles, 3,046 of them in New Hampshire. Dams on the main stem, starting at Lake Francis Dam in Pittsburg, turn much of the river into a series of slow-flowing basins. New Hampshire added the river to its Rivers Management and Protection Program in July 1992.

About 80 access sites serve the river in New Hampshire and Vermont. Below Pittsburg the river has whitewater for expert paddlers, including Lymans Falls in Columbia and Sumner Falls in Cornish. Farther south toward Hinsdale it is flatwater used for paddling and motorboating. Public launches include the New Hampshire Fish and Game sites at Bedell Bridge, Cornish and Ashley Ferry Landing. Great River Hydro runs day-use recreation areas at its dams, including a trailered launch and a portage at the Wilder project. The Connecticut River Paddlers' Trail, 410 miles long, links access points and more than 50 primitive campsites. On New Hampshire waters, boats must keep to headway speed within 150 feet of shore, and this limit is posted at launch sites. Headway-speed zones also apply near the Ledyard Bridge in Hanover and along a stretch in Westmoreland.

New Hampshire Fish and Game stocks about 25,000 trout in the river each year. Walleye are found from Woodsville downstream, and channel catfish from the Bellows Falls impoundment downstream.

Boating rules

Rules change; check with the agency or town before you go.

Launches

Community

Where people who fish, boat and paddle Connecticut River talk about it. Lake associations, clubs and local groups will be added as we find them.

Sources

  1. The Connecticut River (WD-R&L-4) - NH Department of Environmental Services
  2. Restricted Bodies of Water - NH State Police
  3. Connecticut River - Wikipedia
  4. Wilder Hydroelectric Project Recreation - Great River Hydro
  5. Connecticut River Paddlers Trail

Researched October 13, 2026 from the sources above. Written content CC BY 4.0. Something wrong? Corrections are welcome.

Wikidata: Q379648