Exeter River in New Hampshire

Trip Overview

Awesome river to either cruise upstream or go point A to B. We chose to canoe from Powdermill Road to Gilman park. The drive between the two are only about 5-7 mins. There are a few trees down along the way, but we only had to pull over about 3 times. I plan on going back to clean up some of the fallen deadwood.

The flow is anywhere from moderate to near none, but the way the river bends makes it somewhat interesting. Being suburban, there are houses and campsites along the way with a railroad bridge and a couple roads along throughout the trip. Once the river goes beyond the route 108 bridge, there is the Exeter Elms campground. From here on out we have seen hundreds of turtles, otters, beavers, and musk rats. This last stretch is possibly the best part of the ride.

We found that while taking our time, going from Powdermill to Gilman takes about 3-4 hours. If you are more interested I'm a shorter trip, you could also launch from Linden St. bridge (2-3hrs.)

The other option is to launch from Gilman park, paddle upstream, and return.

Accommodations:

None

Fees:

None

Directions:

From downtown Exeter, take rt. 111 west, powdermill rd. is on the left. The launch is about .25 mi. on the left. Gilman Park is just outside of downtown, take rt. 108 south, the access road is on your left.