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The Connecticut River
Researched and Written by Janine Weins
(Posted 4/26/06)

New Hampshire is not the land of 10,000 lakes, but it is a state with many bodies of water. Laconia, Weirs Beach, Moultonborough, and nearby towns are defined by Lake Winnipesaukee. Lake Sunapee helps to define the New London and Sunapee area. When we head to New Hampshire's eastern-most parts, we say, "We're going to the sea coast." In the area where I live it is the rivers, brooks, and streams that have shaped our history, defined our early economy, and continue to make the area a special place to live and visit. The biggest of these waterways, the largest river in New England, is the Connecticut River.

The Connecticut flows 410 miles from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in northern New Hampshire to the Long Island Sound where the clear, clean water from rain, snow melt, and underground springs flows into the salty waters of the Atlantic Ocean. For more than 270 miles, almost two-thirds of its length, the Connecticut River defines the border between New Hampshire and Vermont, and between many of my neighboring towns. Thetford, Vermont, and Lyme, New Hampshire, are separated by the Connecticut, as are the neighboring towns north and south.

Before there were trucks, trains, and interstates, the Connecticut was a transportation artery for logs and other goods. Water that flowed into and down the Connecticut was used to power the hundreds of small mills and factories that formed the backbone of the New England economy.

The Connecticut continues to contribute to the economy; the land along the river is some of the best farm land in New England. Visitors come from great distances, some on organized trips, to fish the Connecticut for trout, small-mouth bass, pike, and walleye.

Almost every neighboring town along the Connecticut has a River Road. Sometimes when I am traveling one of the river roads I like to park my truck under a tree and fish for an hour or two. If you would like to fish the Connecticut, it's easy to get a license online at the New Hampshire Fish & Game Website.

Because many birds like to fish the Connecticut, the banks are favored, not only by fishermen, but by bird watchers, both those who live in the area and others who spend their vacation in this special part of New England.

Some come to the Connecticut to boat. In July, many will be paddling from Newbury, Vermont, to Orford, New Hampshire, to raise money and awareness for suicide prevention. Some visitors to the area stay at The Pastures Campgrounds in Orford, so they can boat on the river every day of their vacation.

For some, panning for gold in tributaries to the Connecticut is a popular family activity. To be a gold panner all you need to do is glue carpet scrap onto old pair of tennis shoes, find a sieve, and step out into the river. One of the best rivers in New Hampshire for gold panning is the Ammonoosuc. Some of the gold in the Ammonoosuc flows into the Connecticut.

In September of 2005, the U.S. Department of Transportation designated the Connecticut River, which "embraces thousands of traditional New England historic and cultural sites in rural farming villages and urban centers, set in a landscape of sheltered valleys and mountains" a National Scenic Byway. Many of those historic and cultural sites and rural farming villages are in Lyme and its neighboring communities. The Connecticut River is also one of only 14 rivers in the country designated an American Heritage River.