“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

Tr

ai

l

Bolton St

As

sa

be

t R

iv

er

Ra

il

Tr

ai

l

Sou

th B

rid

ge

Bo

ath

ou

se

(ren

tals

)*

*th

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

e St

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