Merrimack River

The Merrimack River is a 117-mile river. It rises where the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers meet in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows south into Massachusetts, and then turns northeast to empty into the Gulf of Maine at Newburyport. It drains a basin of about 5,010 square miles. From Pawtucket Falls in Lowell to the sea, the Massachusetts–New Hampshire border is drawn roughly three miles north of the river. The Merrimack River Watershed Council divides the Massachusetts portion into two reaches. The upper reach runs 19 miles from the New Hampshire line to the Great Stone Dam in Lawrence and has dams at Lowell and Lawrence. The lower reach runs 30 miles from that dam to the sea, and most of it is tidal.

The watershed council describes the lower reach as the busiest part of the river, with thousands of power boats at marinas, on moorings and at boat ramps. Paddlers there contend with wakes and confusing currents. The upper reach carries kayaks, canoes, power boats and rowing crews. Public launches include the Cashman Park ramp in Newburyport, run by the city harbormaster, which has 136 trailer parking spaces and is open 24 hours a day, 364 days a year. Others are the Rourke Brothers ramp in Lowell Heritage State Park, the Riverfront ramp in Lawrence (listed for shallow-draft boats only), and ramps in Methuen and Haverhill. In Chelmsford, the state Office of Fishing and Boating Access built a new single-lane, 15-foot concrete ramp off Wotton Street under an agreement with the town. The ramp also gives emergency access to the Merrimack River Task Force, which is led by the Massachusetts Environmental Police.

The river supplies drinking water to about 600,000 people, including Lowell, Lawrence, Methuen, Tewksbury and Andover.