Connecticut River Paddlers Trail
By Gary Moore
The Connecticut River separates Vermont and New Hampshire and is a fantastic place to recreate whether fishing, canoeing, boating or water skiing.
Thanks to the foresight of several and environmental and conservation groups there are now hundreds of access points and over 50 primitive campsites along the river. The Connecticut River Paddlers’ Trail,
www.connecticutriverpaddlerstrail.org, is a series of primitive campsites and river access points from its headwaters in Pittsburg, New Hampshire south to Long Island Sound. A variety of organizations assist with trail planning and development. With the support of the community, work continues to protect the river corridor, construct new campsites and portage trails, and expand the Paddlers’Trail from source to sea.
In the early 1990s, the Upper Valley Land Trust was instrumental in establishing formal river campsites in Vermont and New Hampshire. Since their initial effort, over twenty other groups have joined together to developed additional campsites and completed access improvement projects. As a result, the river provides one of the northeast's best options for multi-day paddling trips, with over fifty camping destinations and over 150 access points.
You may remember I wrote about the Upper Valley Land Trust’s efforts and some of the local campsites and their volunteer maintainers back in early July.
The Connecticut River Paddlers' Trail is managed as a loose collaborative effort of partner organizations and community members who aid in trail planning and development, building and maintaining campsites, improving access points and portage trails, and disseminating information to visitors. The Vermont River Conservancy currently coordinates this effort.
I have had an affinity for the Connecticut River all my life. I grew up on a hill near the current Bradford rest areas on I-91 about a mile and a half from the river and looked down on it and into New Hampshire every day.
I have canoed, boated and fished it countless times. I have even searched for overdue boaters and drowning victims and did s couple of recoveries while I was with the Vermont State Police as we often answered requests for help from New Hampshire law enforcement and I was most often the one tasked to respond with the VSP boat.
I have also served many years on the three commissions Congress created that deal with the river. When the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission started in the late 70s, I became the citizen representative for Vermont and a few years later when I became Commissioner of Fish and Game, the government representative. The commission has members from Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.
In the 90s I was appointed to the Connecticut River Joint Commissions which has members from New Hampshire and Vermont. I served on that commission for 20 plus years and chaired it a few years.
In 2000 I was appointed to the Connecticut River Flood Control Commission which has three representatives each from Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. I am still a member and am currently serving a second term as chair.