Mile 410

Mile 410 The connecticut river

In May, the mountains of northern Vermont and New Hampshire are trimmed in snow and the cloud line often obscures the highest peaks. As the days get warmer, the snow melts and trickles of water slide down the mountains into the valleys, picking up momentum and gathering volume along the way until the trickles become the Connecticut River.

The river crosses the 45th parallel, the halfway point between the equator and the North Pole.

Four lakes formed long ago in what is now northern New Hampshire are considered the primary source of the river. Except for the Fourth Connecticut Lake, the smallest and northernmost; the First, Second and Third are easily accessible. Their waters are cold and crystal clear as you might expect.

Third Connecticut Lake.

The Connecticut River threads New England on a 410 mile course to Long Island Sound. It ties the north and south of the region together. It serves as the border between Vermont and New Hampshire. It enriches the agricultural lands of Massachusetts and Connecticut. In its final miles, it becomes a tidal river that rises and falls as it interacts with the sea.

Churning south in spring.

Most of the river is navigable by canoe or kayak and a journey from beginning to end would take two or three weeks. Dams on the river require portages. North of Hartford, shallow passages created by sand bars and obstructions caused by dams, make the river less navigable for larger boats.

Vermont.

The river is wild and scenic. In the spring, it is known for adhering only loosely to its recognized banks. This has limited development along the river's course and through history has led to catastrophic flooding in some of the river's more populated southern cities.

Above: Bridges at Hartford

South of Hartford, in Middletown, Connecticut, the river takes its last hard turn toward Long Island Sound. Here the river widens and pushes with full force against the ocean tides coming from the opposite direction.

The river wins as it rolls and falls down the face of New England. The scenery begins to change. The forests of the north, the farmlands of the mid-section, are replaced by marinas, boats, expensive homes and a few old homesteads, over-looking the river from high above the muddy gray riverbanks.

UL: Essex. UR and Bottom: Old Lyme, Connecticut.

The neutral smells of a fresh water river carving through woodland and farm fields, and past small city skylines, begins to be challenged by salt air and bird species native to the shoreline. The horizon opens. You sense something big is about to happen. There are a few last bridges to pass beneath, a Great Island to the east, and then the mouth of the river opens fully meeting the ocean a few miles north of the property line between Connecticut and New York.

Mile 410. From Old Lyme, Connecticut, over Great Island Wildlife Preserve, to Old Saybrook.

The Connecticut River has been put to use by man, but never tamed. We have built dams on it for electricity, fished it, used it for agriculture, polluted it for industry, and moved people and cargo on its southern half. With our help, as a result of decisions we made to clean it and restore it, the Connecticut River has adapted or recovered from nearly all the stresses we have placed on it. The resilience of the river shows the permanence of nature from start to finish.

More facts on the river from the Connecticut River Conservancy.