Squannacook River in Massachusetts

Trip Overview

The Squannacook River is windy and slow moving, great for casual paddling and sight seeing. I have been kayaking this river for two years now and whenever I learn a new section I try to increase the length of the trip.

For those looking for a full day trip, the Squanni is perfect. We started at the VFW in Townsend and ended near the H&V paper mill in Groton. This trip takes about 8-9 hours to complete (depending on how often you break). the great thing is if you feel like that is too long there are other places to launch/end.

From the VFW it took us about five hours to get to the harbor pond (a possible end point for those in search of a shorter trip). This is the one spot where we had to get out and walk the kayaks a short distance around the dam.

Although there are trees down here and there, it's a fun continuous paddle and the obstacles just make it even more of an adventure! I hope to discover new rivers in the area that are similar or even a bit faster than this one.

Directions:

Start point:
Follow 119 towards ashby; Townsend VFW dirt lot will be on your right roughly three miles from the town center End point 1(shorter trip)- take 119 past NMRHS, in about 3/4 mile harbor pond will be on your left, park in dirt parking lot by the white church End point 2(longer trip)- From the harbor, follow 119 towards Groton. after passing NMRHS, take your first right onto Townsend road. continue down this road for about 2 miles and park at dirt driveway on the right shortly before the H&V papermill