The Connecticut River Paddlers Trail

Paddling to Burnap’s Island campsite just above the mouth of the Ottauquechee River in Plainfield, NH. Photo: Upper Valley Land Trust.

Looking upstream from the shoreline of the Connecticut River on this quintessential July day, mesmerized by the bucolic view of the state line between Vermont and New Hampshire, I was suddenly startled by the sound of rustling splashes from behind me. I turned in time to see a deer vigorously shaking water from its fur. Although deer are good swimmers it’s not a common sight, so I was feeling particularly lucky. While stunned to be part of this event, I saw a second deer emerging from the river and proceed to shake itself dry too.

My work with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department had brought me to the Fairlee Marsh Wildlife Management Area that summer day to inspect the area’s wood duck nesting boxes. I remained motionless behind the shoreline vegetation. The deer didn’t notice me and once dried off, went on their way feeding in the adjoining hay field. As they wandered off, I wondered how many people had seen deer swim the river from here because my vantage point was from one of the many primitive campsites found along the Connecticut River Paddlers Trail.

The Connecticut River Paddlers Trail (CRPT) is a unique recreational trail in that it offers an intimate view of life from the perspective of New England’s largest river. From the Fourth Connecticut Lake just south of the Quebec border downstream 409 of the river’s 410 miles (after navigating 16 portages) to the Smith Neck access a mile from Long Island Sound, there are 132 designated river access points and 59 primitive campsites. The access points range from state parks to public fishing boat ramps, to what may appear to be inconspicuous trails leading to the river’s edge.

Access is the critical link between human use of the river and its conservation for future generations. Access to the river across private land is a privilege—while the river’s waters may be held in public trust, the land to it is inherently not. Without the pivotal role of private landowners, access to the river would be difficult, perhaps dangerous, and in some cases unlawful. Securing public access across private land is made possible through the diligent work of local land trusts, other nonprofit conservation organizations, the generosity of individual citizens, and most importantly, the benevolence of private landowners.

The origins of the CRPT can be traced to the Upper Valley Land Trust (UVLT) based in Hanover, New Hampshire. Founded in 1985 UVLT has played a significant role in land and water conservation among its 45 member towns. Over 41 years, it has been responsible for the conservation of over 58,000 acres involving 576 individual properties. One of UVLT’s five strategic tenets is to provide commensurate public access to its conserved natural resources. The Connecticut River Paddlers Trail is one result; the first campsite was created in 1992.

Securing access points and campsites is only the first part of the work required. The other equally important part involves maintaining the sites to keep them clean, safe, and inspirational to future users. “Primitive” means each campsite has a privy and a designated area to pitch a tent. Some also have picnic tables. Campers must carry-in and carry-out everything they need, leaving no trace of their stay behind. To keep an eye on things, UVLT began a program of citizen volunteer stewards to ensure the sites retained their discreet and welcoming characteristics.

Initially, all of the campsites were within UVLT’s 45 towns. But as popularity of the trail grew, UVLT reached out to other organizations and entities. Today, from the Massachusetts border upstream to the international border with Quebec, there are 43 sites for paddlers to enjoy along 268 miles of river. Well beyond the scope of the UVLT’s geographic mission, a stewardship network of more than 20 entities now coordinates the stewardship responsibilities for each campsite. These entities include state conservation departments, hydroelectric companies, town conservation departments, and private nonprofit conservation organizations. Some network members oversee a single campsite and conduct the outreach and maintenance themselves. Other members, such as the UVLT and the Vermont River Conservancy (VRC), oversee maintenance through public volunteers who in turn coordinate each site’s needs. Public volunteers are very important to these two nonprofit organizations.

Cassie Bernyk, CRPT stewardship coordinator for the Upper Valley Land Trust, on one of the Connecticut lakes near the Connecticut River’s headwaters. Photo: Upper Valley Land Trust.

Cassie Bernyk is the stewardship coordinator for UVLT. She is responsible for a volunteer campsite adopter program to ensure each of the nine sites in the Upper Valley are well-maintained and remain open to the public. She explained, “I do a lot of outreach in the 45 Upper Valley communities, spreading the word of our work and how people can get involved. There is still a lot of consistent interest among those wanting to help UVLT through our campsite program. We support our current campsite adopters by providing materials and tools necessary to maintain their sites, helping them replace any broken infrastructure, and continue to maintain good relationships with the landowners that have sites on their land.”

This paddlers trail campsite on the Vermont side of the Connecticut River features a platform and a picnic table. All campsites feature a privy and a designated site to erect a tent. Photo: Vermont River Conservancy.

On the other side of the river, the Vermont River Conservancy oversees the stewardship of eight campsites. Based in Montpelier, Vermont, VRC advocates for connecting people with Vermont’s rivers through projects that conserve wildlife habitat, improve flood resiliency, and develop and maintain recreational access to Vermont rivers. Though it is long-settled law as to who owns the Connecticut River (hint: it’s the Granite State), VRC plays an important role in attaining access to its waters too.

Because the Connecticut River Paddlers Trail Association (CRPTA) is just that, a consortium of like-minded entities, it doesn’t have a dedicated staff or leadership of its own. When thinking about the future of the trail, VRC’s stewardship coordinator Amanda Garland stresses the importance of the role of citizen volunteers in this effort. “Our hope is to empower others to take on leadership of the CRPT organization! We plan to be solid long-term partners, specifically on the sites we have conserved through conservation easements.”

To emphasize the point of the growing demand for public access to the river and experience it at an intimate paddler’s level, the CRPTA website recognizes the “leadership of the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Connecticut River Conservancy, the Silvio Conte Fish and Wildlife Refuge, and the Trust for Public Land.”

An initiative to expand the trail south into Massachusetts and Connecticut was launched in 2012. The primary goal of this expanded effort was to close the gaps in primitive campsite availability from source to sea. Just as with the northern river sites, stewardship of these southern sites is conducted through a network of nonprofit organizations, governments, and for-profit companies. To date, another 73 access points and campsites, from Pauchaug Brook access just south of the Vermont border at river mile 132 to the Smith Neck Town Landing access point at river mile 1, are open to the public. The common message from the CRPT partners clearly is “volunteerism equals success.”

John Buck is a retired wildlife biologist who lives in Waterbury Center, Vermont. When he isn’t paddling he is working in his woods managing his family maple sugaring business.