2025 Connecticut Lakes Region
Our friend, Alex Risley Schroeder, has been section paddling the 406-mile Connecticut River, from the headwaters at the Canadian border to its terminus at Long Island Sound. Imagine my (Mary's) delight when Alex asked me (and my little dog, Sylvie) to paddle and camp with her in the Connecticut Lakes Region of New Hampshire!
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It was Alex's goal to paddle or otherwise experience all four Connecticut Lakes. At the Canadian border, Alex hiked in to Fourth Connecticut Lake (the only lake of the four that is not paddle-able) and saw the source of the Connecticut River. No dogs allowed, so I waited for Alex at the ominous customs and border control parking lot. We paddled parts of the other lakes including the Third and Second, as well as Lake Francis, with the exception of First Connecticut, where Alex opted to take a swim instead.
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One of our mornings on our trip we awoke at 4:27 and were quickly on the road to East Inlet, an expansive wetland complex, where we were delighted by the beauty of the rising sun reflecting off the water and the many sightings of great blue heron, deer and moose (see videos below), as well as plants such as false hellebore, tall meadow rue, and steeplebush.
We camped two nights at Deer Mountain State Park with a view of the Connecticut River flow, and two nights at Lake Francis State Park where Sylvie obsessed over water fowl and resident red squirrels, while Alex and I played highly competitive games of Bananagrams.
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Throughout the trip, Alex pondered the question "what is a river?" as she explored and observed, gathering thoughts and inspiration for her next collection of poetry which focuses on the Connecticut River in all its forms: bubbling spring, narrow stream, broad wetlands, expansive lakes held back by dams, and unencumbered flowing river.
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I'm already looking forward to joining Alex on another adventure, perhaps another section of the Connecticut River, in the very near future!
Following are images of the Connecticut River Paddlers Trail map along with image galleries for each area of the Connecticut Lakes Region that we experienced. The numbers on the maps correspond to the numbered image galleries. I've also included at the bottom of the page a couple videos recorded at East Inlet.
Lake Francis
Lake Francis
