“A more lovely stream than this,” Nathaniel Hawthorne said of the Assabet River, “has never f lowed on earth, except to lave the interior regions of a poet’s imagination.” Much of the river is still beauti-ful today, with surprisingly remote and unspoiled sections. In 1999, four miles of the Assabet were designated under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers program.
The Assabet River begins in Westborough, f lowing north for 31 miles through Northborough, Marlborough, Berlin, Hudson, Stow, Maynard, and Acton until it joins the Sudbury River in the town of Concord to form the Concord River. The river is home to abundant wildlife, including great blue herons, river otters, osprey, and painted turtles.
Despite an abundance of dams, dif-ficult passage in the upper reaches, and even a bit of seasonal whitewater, the Assabet offers some easy and interest-ing paddles for the beginning canoeist or kayaker. We especially recommend the three trips highlighted in purple on the map.
River SafetyAlthough the majority of the Assabet River f lows gently, please be aware that dams, high water (and low bridges), downed trees, and seasonal rapids can pose serious hazards to boaters. Please be careful and wear a life jacket. You can check with OAR if unsure of the conditions.
OARThe Organization for the Assabet River (OAR) was established to preserve and enhance the river, its tributar-ies, and watershed. A membership organization with a small staff and an active board, OAR was founded in 1986 in response to citizen con-cerns about odors and pollution in the Assabet.
The Assabet is much improved since OAR’s founding days, but has some distance to go before the river is truly “fishable and swimmable.” The Assabet River suffers from nutrient pollution, creating exces-sive plant growth in the summer. Through our water quality and f low monitoring, advocacy, annual river cleanups and other programs, OAR has accomplished a great deal with limited resources. OAR needs your support to continue protecting this wonderful river and its watershed.
The Assabet River
Assa
bet Riv
er
Fisher StreetSmith Valve Pkwy
Otis Street
Mill Road
Old Nourse Street
HeadwatersConservation Area
Assabet Reservoir
Westborough
OAR thanks our project partners and sponsors:Sponsors: Intel Massachusetts, Inc.Crossroads Community FoundationCommonwealth of Massachusetts, Riverways Program, DFGPartners: Town of Westborough, Town of Northborough, City of Marlborough, Town of Hudson, Sudbury Valley Trustees
Our second edition made possible by a grant from Intel Massachusetts, Inc.
Books:The Concord, Sudbury, and Assabet Rivers:
A guide to canoeing, wildlife and history.
By Ron McAdow. Bliss Publishing Company,
Marlborough, MA. 1997. Available through OAR.
Websites:OAR: www.assabetriver.org
Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge:
assabetriver.fws.gov
Assabet River Rail Trail: www.arrtinc.org
Mass Audubon: www.massaudubon.org
SVT: www.sudburyvalleytrustees.org
Wild & Scenic River Stewardship Council:
www.sudbury-assabet-concord.org
Helpful Resources
The Assabet Reservoir in Westborough. See the other side for the complete river.
The Assabet RiverPocket Guide
A Recreation Guide to the Assabet River
OAR
To find out more, please visit our website at www.assabetriver.org.Organization for the Assabet River Damonmill Square, Concord, MA 01742 (978) 369-3956.
OAR
As
sabe
t R
iv
er
Ra
il
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l
Bolton St
As
sa
be
t R
iv
er
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il
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ai
l
Sou
th B
rid
ge
Bo
ath
ou
se
(ren
tals
)*
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is la
un
ch is
for b
oat
ren
tals
on
ly
Sudb
ury
Rd
Willi
ams R
d
Har
ringt
on A
ve
Mai
n S
t
Mai
n S
t
Pine St Commonwealth Ave
Law
sbro
ok R
d
Elm Street
Dam
on
Mill
Dam
War
ner
’s Po
nd
RA
PID
S
RA
PID
SR
AP
IDS
Barr
etts
Mill
Rd
Lowell Rd
Cambridge Tpk
Lexi
ngto
n Rd
Low
ell R
oad
La
nd
ing
Egg
Ro
ck
Co
nco
rd C
ente
r
Old
Mar
lbor
o Rd
Old
Pic
kard
Rd
Dakin Rd
Bake
r Ave
Cottage St
Powder Mill Rd
(bre
ach
ed)
The
Man
se
Min
ute
Man
N
atio
nal
His
tori
cal P
ark
Old
No
rth
B
rid
ge
OA
R H
ead
qu
arte
rs
Iceh
ou
se L
and
ing
Win
ter S
t Summ
er Stre
et Florida St
Gle
ndal
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Co
nco
rd S
t Pa
rker
St
Parker St
Inde
pend
ence
Scho
ol S
tree
t
Adam
s St
High St
High St
Walnut St
Walth
am St
Mill St
Pow
der
M
ill D
am
Ben
Sm
ith
Dam
Barton Rd
Hunter Av
Sudbury Road
Gle
aso
nd
ale
Dam
Lake
Bo
on
St
ow
To
wn
F
or
est
Eliza
beth B
rook
Hud
son
Rd
Zina R
d
Old
Sto
w R
d
Wheeler Rd
Bro
oks
ide
Ave
Bradley Ln
Sou
th S
t
Fore
st A
ve
Main St
Cox
St
Cox St
Broad St
Hu
dso
n
Hig
h S
cho
ol
Park
St
Wo
od
Pa
rk
Chapin Rd
Brig
ham
St
Rive
r Rd
Rive
r Rd
Brid
ge R
d
Do
nal
d J
. Lyn
ch B
lvd.
Robi
n H
ill R
oad
Mill
ham
Res
ervo
ir
Ft M
ead
ow
Res
ervo
ir
Boundary St
Solomon Pond Rd
Colb
urn
St
Chapin St
Rice
Ave
Hud
son
St
Allen St
No
rth
bo
rou
gh
A
qu
edu
ct
Rice
Ave
Edm
un
d H
ill
Wo
od
s
Ass
ab
et
Riv
er
N
at
ion
al
Wil
dli
fe R
ef
ug
e Su
mm
er H
ill R
d
W
hite Pond Rd
Con
c ord
Riv
er
Sudbury River
Old Road t o Nine Acre C
or ner
Was
hin
gton
St
Solo
mo
nPo
nd
Gat
es P
on
d
Washington St
Mar
lbo
rou
gh
No
rth
bo
rou
gh
Ber
lin
Hu
dso
n
Bo
lto
n
Wes
t C
on
cord
M
ayn
ard
Sud
bu
ry
Sto
w
Act
on
Co
nco
rd
East
A
cto
n
Kel
ly’s
Co
rner
Sou
th
Act
on
Low
er V
illag
e
East
Ber
lin
Sou
th B
erlin
Sou
th B
olt
on
8.1
6.1
13.4
12.3
15
.7
17.6
18.7
23.1
28.0
28.6
31.9
Leg
end
Scal
e M
iles
0 1
2 3
The
Ass
abet
Riv
er Po
cket
Gui
de
A Re
creat
ion G
uide t
o the
Assa
bet R
iver
prim
ary r
oad
major
road
cano
e lau
nch
marke
d trai
ls
state
route
town c
enter
hig
hway
4
protec
ted op
en la
nd
No
rth
river
milag
e da
m
rapids
!
!
!!
rail tr
ails
OA
R
Padd
le 2:
Gle
ason
dale,
Stow
to Ic
e Hou
se La
ndin
g, M
ayna
rd (B
en Sm
ith D
am).
A
scenic
and s
erene
five-
mile
padd
le fea
turin
g broa
d, op
en vi
stas a
nd ab
unda
nt w
ildlife
. Pa
ddle
1: R
obin
Hill
Roa
d, M
arlb
orou
gh to
Hud
son
Cent
er. T
his lo
vely
five
mile
padd
le ta
kes y
ou th
rough
narro
w, le
afy se
ction
s, ou
t into
open
mea
dows
, and
ba
ck th
ough
the f
orest
befor
e arri
ving i
n dow
ntow
n Hud
son.
Padd
le 3:
Dam
onm
ill to
Low
ell R
oad,
Conc
ord.
A fo
ur m
ile tr
ip do
wn th
e fed
erally
-des
ignate
d Wild
and S
cenic
secti
on of
the A
ssabe
t; lea
fy ca
nopie
s ove
rhea
d len
d this
stret
ch an
intim
ate ch
arm.
CAUT
ION:
The
stre
tch fr
om D
amon
mill
to Pi
ne St
reet
ca
n be h
azar
dous
and c
onta
ins d
owne
d tre
es; p
ut in
at Pi
ne St
reet
if un
sure
of co
nditi
ons.
Rec
om
men
ded
riv
er
trip
s fo
r can
oe
or k
ayak
: (r
iver
ou
tlin
ed in
pu
rple
on
map
)
The A
ssabe
t Rive
r Rail
Trail
in A
cton-
M
ayna
rd-Sto
w is
curre
ntly
in de
sign
phas
e. Vis
it www
.arrti
nc.or
g for
the
lates
t infor
matio
n