this summer was a bit of a beast for getting out on the river... but i did manage to hit the upper left wave at hartlands a couple of times.
jolyon pruszinski - about to pop off
i love the green walls on the banks in summer
it was a weird summer, with the upper left wave coming in often and the main drag wave not much at all (read high water). rare conditions. i hope you had a good one.
This mediocre but useful "playhole" has been a training ground for beginning kayakers learning to sidesurf and spin for decades. More advanced paddlers can tool around in there and throw lots of marginally satisfying low-angle retentive ends (at the lower end of the workable range). It's a great place to teach, and mess around while you teach. Also a great place to intersperse bridge jumping with playboating.
The "hole" is best between about 600cfs and 1000cfs on the white river usgs gauge. At the top end it's a flushy wave that will take careful freestyle moves in a fast boat, at the bottom end a weakish hole upon which you can force freestyle moves. This is a medium-low level for the white and it often hangs out at this level for several days in a row, if not weeks. Late spring and fall are the most reliable times for this hole. It certainly comes in periodically in the summer as well.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THIS IS THE ONLY PLAYSPOT ANYWHERE IN THE REGION THAT IS RELIABLY LIT BY STREETLIGHTS! The outflow is about as safe as it gets so NIGHT SURFING!!! Even when there's no full moon, you can hit this spot at night. Just don't be so loud that the neighbors call the cops on you.
upstream view from the hole
The hole is located at the takeout for the normal West-Hartford, VT beginners run on the White. It is immediately upstream of the takeout bridge (Quechee-West Hartford Rd.) just off of Rte 14.
Be careful not to get jumped on if there are bridge jumpers!
When you are looking for a way to fill a sweet afternoon this is it.
Tad - old school grooving at 6100cfs
The Main Drag Wave at Hartland Rapid on the Connecticut River has been a regional favorite for decades. This popularity is largely due to the fact that it runs regularly for at least half the year, is friendly to a variety of skill levels, and is just a lot of fun. It runs many days in mild winters, comes in again at the end of the spring, and usually runs almost every day of the summer and fall. Flow is dependent on dam releases from Wilder Dam (on the CT River) upstream, the White River, the Mascoma River, and the Ottauquechee River. However, most of the time when the wave is running, all of these flow contributors (save wilder dam) are incidental due to low levels.
Tad - chilling out on surfers' right
The wave is good at what is typically one or two 'tubes' worth of dam release. That usually translates into 3000-6500 cfs. At the lower end of the spectrum shorter boats will be happier and at the higher end vice versa. The wave is about 20ft wide, at lower levels surfers' right being a diagonal breaking wave pushing the surfer into the narrow surfer's left pile. At the higher end the surfers' right side becomes a green wave that's easily surfable in older (longer/faster) playboats, while the surfer's left breaking pocket allows a wider range of boats & boaters a chance to stay retentive on the wave.
At the higher levels pictured here I have had single rides of over an hour, just enjoying carving back and forth and watching the water. Alternatively you can take a more aggressive rodeo approach and throw spins and blunts both ways. Much more than that will probably lead to a flush and a light touch is necessary regardless.
This is a great wave for learning to surf. The eddy access is excellent, at low levels it's easy to stay on, and at high levels it's easy to avoid pearling. Many paddlers have learned to surf here in longer boats, in fact, at even higher levels when the wave flattens out more and allows real ease in dropping on and maintaining the appropriate boat angle. ~8000 cfs. Basically you can surf anything here and have a good time at the right level.
This wave is rarely crowded with the agro-rodeo crowd as 'hard core' & linked moves are not easy. It is much more loved and appreciated by the old schoolers out for a soul surf. Don't have a fashionable playboat? NO WORRIES!!
Jimmy - the wave that loves creekboats
So get out there and enjoy!
You can access the wave either from VT or NH.
For NH drive south out of west lebanon on 12a. Turn right onto River Road and drive a few miles. Stop at the end of a long flat stretch (of road) just before you go up a hill. There is a small pullout on the river side of the road. From here put in and paddle down to the wave. To get back up to your car, paddle back up the VT side eddy to the parking area there , walk up to the top of the rapid, put back on and ferry back above the rapid to NH and your car. This is the best access especially in the seasons (cold half of the year) when the gate is locked on the VT side.
For VT drive south on Rte 5 from White River Jct., past North Hartland. It is a few miles of driving. You will come to a long flat open stretch of road where Mt Ascutney is plainly visible to the south. You are almost there. You will pass a small beef farm on the right. Immediately thereafter on the left is an unmarked dirt driveway with a metal gate about 50 feet in. Drive down here. If you drive over the freeway (I-91) you've gone a bit too far. If the gate is open, drive down as far as you like, put in at the top of the rapid and paddle. To get back to your car paddle back up the VT side eddy to the takeout and walk back up. If the gate is locked just park off to the side of the drive by the road and walk down.
To find out the levels the best forecast is www.h2oline.com. look at the wilder dam forecast and current release. This is pretty reliable. You have four hours from when the water is released before it reaches Hartlands. You can verify the release using the USGS gauge for the CT river at west lebanon, nh. The water takes 3 hrs to get to hartlands from there. Be aware of what the White river, Mascoma River and Ottauquechee are doing as well, as that will affect the level if they have any substantial flow. See USGS website for the White and Ottauquechee and NH DES for the Mascoma.
this was my first time there below 20k. level was ~17.6k cfs. the front wave was great. left me wishing i had a more fashionable playboat. the 'fast wave' was too low and surgy for any good rides.
The old dam in Sharon, VT is pretty well known in the kayaking community of the upper valley for good reason. It has good surf at a very wide range of flows and has a very long season. It is good from 1500cfs all the way up to the time you probably want to be heading to other spots on the white (over 12k on the USGS White R @ west hartford gauge).
RiverL Wave - Xavier Engle ripping at ~8k photo Nick Gottlieb
The main attraction PERIOD at this spot is the wave/hole on river left. It comes in above 5k as a hole and gets better and better up to 8k. It's a really fun wave up to 10k. If it's in, get there because it's fun. Blunts both sides. Clean spins on the right. Ends both ways (depending on the level)... Etc Etc. It's excellent. Getting onto the wave is slightly tricky but quite feasible. Also, there's a second chance hole immediately behind this wave which is pretty good in it's own right.
River Right Wave/Hole - around 2.5k
The main attraction at lower levels is the wave/hole on river right. It's decently retentive as low as 1.5k and is still good at over 5k when the better river left side of the dam starts coming in. At it's best range 2k-3k it is fun for spins and throwing quick lefty ends. You can throw the odd left blunt as well. It can be rather flushy-feeling until you get the feel for it. At higher and lower flows it gets more flushy. At higher flows it's beefier and flushier and can start to give up BIG righty blunts which usually result in a flush. The outflow is very swirly due to old debris from the dam. So it may take a bit to roll up (or you may flip after you wash off). Look for the ice cream headache face on your compadres if you're hitting it early season. This side is in for most of the spring. It's often one of the earliest spots to open up in March and usually runs reliably deeply into May, even June. And it comes up with big rain the whole rest of the year. This hole was the site of a rodeo in April 2006 organized by Hanna Farrar. A subsequent rodeo was held here in 2009 as a part of the Ledyard River Festival. PHOTOS!
Eddy access at this whole area is great!
To park and play here you need to park at an old dirt parking area a few hundred yards downstream and either hike up on the fishermen's trails or attain (or some combination).
the upstream view while attaining
This parking area is accessed by a little dirt road just off of Rte 14 at the base (of the downstream side) of the only big hill on the road between West Hartford and Sharon.
looking up the hill. snowed in dirt access on left (at end of guardrail).
went out to hit the well enough wave on quechee gorge today. it was a great level, 880cfs. definitely feeling rusty/out-of-shape though. it was good to see the gorge pretty ice-free this early in the season. but i'm definitely looking forward to seeing the snow melt. hoofing it up the trail from the takeout was a beast. not too often you go playboating and have to posthole away from the river.
These waves have not gotten a lot of attention until recently. But they are excellent.
The front wave at 17.6k
Located immediately upstream of the Rte. 302 bridge over the CT River between Woodsville, NH and Wells River, VT, they are easily accessible and a lot of fun. They are high water waves, beginning to come in above 12k on the CT River @ Wells River usgs gauge. I've surfed them as high as 25k and I expect that at least one of them continues to be excellent above 25k as well. The CT does not get this high for very long. It's up in this range for maybe a couple of weeks worth of days per year. So if these waves are in, get on it! These are better than most of the other stuff in the upper valley when they are high (except for the cliff wave on the white).
big picture at 17.6k
The front wave is a gentle wide wave with a nice pile that forms in front of a big pourover (partly from the compression upstream of the pourover rock). It looks like you could get stuck in the pourover if you washed off wrong, but you'd have to really try. This wave allows blunts, spins, even cartwheels at the lower levels, and all manner of elaborate modern freestyle moves for slower waves. This wave is better at the higher flow end for this spot but works all the way down to 12k or so.
The front wave (right) and the fast wave (left) at 25k
(lame cell phone photo)
Behind the front wave and more in the main flow is a series of faster waves in a wavetrain. These waves come in at the higher end of the scale. At until the low 20ks they are not well formed enough to surf (too surgy) The first fast wave forms off the trailing corner of the pourover. At higher levels it's pretty bouncy and surgy allowing for aerial moves.
A rodeo was planned for this location in April of 2009 in conjunction with the Ledyard River Festival, but water levels did not cooperate. checkit: http://www.ledyardriverfestival.com/competition-events
This is a great wave that does not get a lot of attention. Or rather, it doesn't get a lot of attention from kayakers... Located on the Ottauquechee River in the heart of Quechee Gorge it gets loads of tourist attention from 150 feet overhead. But from a kayaking standpoint it is a hidden gem, great for a wide variety of boats & freestyle moves. Plus you always attract spectators.
Gorge view downstream from the highway
the wave from the highway bridge
The Well Enough Wave is named for the class 5 crux drop of The Gorge immediately upstream, which most people leave "well enough" alone (portage or sneak river right depending on level).
well enough
But just below this big drop is a little river-wide ledge that forms a good surf wave at most levels.
the wave at 880 cfs
It is inaccessible except by running the whole Gorge, which is in a sense 'park & huck' or 'park & play' or 'hike & huck' or 'hike & play' or however your fitness level & main interest predisposes you to consider it. Basically you need to hike about a 1/4 mile to the put in and 3/4 mile back to your car from the takeout... and in the middle you get to run 1 mile of beautiful gorge with some sweet drops and this beautiful wave. Park and put in on River Right. Takeout and walk back River Left.
some more blurry photos of 880cfs
The ledge where the wave is begins to have some interest (mainly to short-boaters) as low as 300cfs, and starts to get good at around 600 cfs. It just gets better and better the higher it gets, BUT when it gets much over 1500cfs you're going to have a hard time with the eddy access and the wave will begin to get beefy. 3000 cfs is a bit beefy for my tastes.
looking back upstream at the peanut gallery
Also, the main reason this wave doesn't get much attention is the eddy access. It was thin but ok until about the 2005 season. Sometime after this the cliff wall on RL below the wave collapsed and filled the eddy on RL below the wave to the point of it being well nigh on useless for accessing the wave. That's recently changed and you can now again access the wave from RL (though it's still tricky) at least above 900 cfs. There is VERY thin eddy access on RR at the wave but you pretty much have to carve off the wave straight into the eddy to catch it. There are a couple of small last chance eddies on RR a bit farther down from which you can walk back up. This is not so bad, but considering the great eddy access for most other spots in the upper valley it's hard to imagine many folks becoming big fans of this spot as is.
downstream view from the wave
That said, there is one situation which occurs once or twice a year which makes this spot AWESOME. When the connecticut river is in danger of flooding, the US Army Corps of Engineers holds back water at the North Hartland flood control dam. This water gradually backs up into Quechee Gorge and can flood out the wave and Well Enough completely. BUT if you have perfect timing you can catch the Well Enough Wave with generous eddy access and at a great level (as the wave is almost always at a great level when the CT is spiking).
For level info go to the USACE Resevoir control site and look for "inflow" into the North Hartland Reservoir. This tells you if the wave is at the right level. Look at the "outflow" column to see if the reservoir is holding back water. The wave comes in for most of the spring and sometimes other times of year.
The Cliff Wave is the best wave in the upper valley. It comes in at over 12k on the white river gauge. It is easily surfable in any flat-hulled playboat and very dynamic, allowing all manner of modern freestyle wave moves. Sadly due to the requirements of high flow, the wave only comes in a couple of days a year. So if the White is way up, GET ON IT!.
The wave is located on the popular white river whitewater run which ends at the West Hartford bridge. If you've done this run at normal levels you would not even expect a wave here because it's flatwater. About halfway through the run there is a section of cliff on river left. The state route is immediately at the top of the cliff and the wave comes in along the cliffs. The full name of the wave is the 'cliffs of insanity' wave. If you've surfed it you know.
You can park and play if you stop at one of the very small pullouts off the state route at the top of the cliff. This is a very narrow section of the road so be careful and don't hang your naked butt out, even if it is Vermont. Also be careful descending from the road. It's a little dicy.
cliff wave in (D)icey conditions (and over 20k cfs) 3-08-09
Mike McDonnell on the So-Ro Wave (photo by Alan Panebaker)
The "So-Ro Wave" is another great high water wave on the main stem of the White River in South Royalton, VT. Here's Mike McDonnell's description of the wave: "Non-existent at regular flows. As flows increase (7-10,000cfs at Hartford) the feature becomes surfable with a friendly glassy shoulder on surfer's left and a steep hole on surfer's right. At the low end of the surfable window, there is eddy access via a mid-river eddy to surfer's right of the wave. At most flows, you'll need to ferry to river right and walk back upstream. At high levels, the wave gets awesome and consists of a huge foam pile with a giant glassy bowl in front of it. It's not trashy at all, but retentive enough to recover if you mess up. I have yet to see it wash out and it seems to get better the higher it is. Look for at least 10,000cfs at Hartford and rising, and if it's over 15k and rising you are in for some rad surfing. Wave is located 50 yds downstream of the big bridge at the intersection of routes 110 and 14. Park in the public lot (also on the downstream side of the bridge) on river right, adjacent to the wave." - Michael McDonnell; Tunbridge, Vermont
There is an additional wave here upstream of the bridge on river left. It is surfable at a much wider range of levels and, while not as big, is good fun. It is decent as low as 6000 cfs and continues to be good well above 12,000 cfs.
The sign wave is at sumner's falls on the CT river. The VT side of the river is Hartland, the NH side is Plainfield. This rapid is know to most boaters as 'hartlands'. The sign wave, when it is in, is located at the upper river left of the rapid, by the large portage sign (hence the name). It's also known as the 'upper-left wave.'
It comes in at medium levels. Typically in May for a few weeks, and at other times when the water is up. When it's in it's a great wave for spins and blunts. Eddy service is not amazing. It requires paddling hard to catch even when you wash off upright. Flip on your ride and you'll really have to pull to get back.
they don't make boats like they used to... carter wray - May '97
levels are tricky to judge sometimes because when the wave is running you need to add the gauge readings on the:
CT R @ lebanon, nh
Mascoma R @ lebanon, nh
Ottauquechee @ N Hartland, VT (outflow of reservoir).
As far as we can tell it seems that at 11,000 cfs the Upper Left Wave begins to be surfable, but washes out by 14,000 cfs.
CT R & Ottauquechee gauges:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nh/nwis/current/?type=flow
This hole was an old favorite in the '90s. It's still good for getting used to hole-play and low-angle ends. Not much good for modern playboating moves, but it's more fun in a short boat than these old 10fters.
It's located at the end of the normal run on the mascoma, just before the takeout.
jolyon pruszinski - sidesurf airjordan
Comes in at around 250cfs as a hole and up by 650 cfs it's more of a wave and access from the eddy is harder.
Here's the gauge:
http://www2.des.state.nh.us/rti_home/station_information_display.asp?WID=fivebasins&ID=MCAN3&NAME=Mascoma+Lake
It typically is running for a few weeks in the spring and a few weeks in the fall. During a weak winter it will come in and out.
