Shetucket River Water Trail

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The Shetucket River in Sprague. Photo by Les Sweetnam

Ponemah Mills waterfall. Photo by Rob Poole sr.

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The Shetucket River Water Trail offers 22 miles of paddling within an hour's drive of three of New England's largest urban and metropolitan regions. Many of the segments provide an opportunity for family-friendly, close-to-home outdoor adventures. Wildlife is abundant and in addition to exceptional scenic habitat, the river also flows through historic mill communities.

The Shetucket River Water Trail flows through The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor. Despite its location within the coastal sprawl between Washington, D.C., and Boston, the region is a relatively undeveloped rural enclave with 77% of the land remaining forest and farmland. The Last Green Valley appears distinctly dark at night when viewed from satellites or aircraft and during the daytime appears as an emerald green island along the east coast of the United States.

The Shetucket River begins in Windham at the confluence of the Willimantic and Natchaug Rivers and is one of the largest rivers within the Thames River Watershed. The Quinebaug River joins the Shetucket in Lisbon and from there the Shetucket flows into Norwich joining the Yantic in Norwich Harbor to form the Thames River. Along its route, the Shetucket River carries water from the other main stem rivers including the Willimantic, Natchaug, Quinebaug, French, Five Mile, Moosup, and Pachaug Rivers.

The Shetucket River was critically important to the Native American people living in the region for fishing and travel. By the 19th and 20th centuries, large textile mills had been built along the river and major dams were constructed for waterpower. Each of the four dams that remain is utilized for water-powered electrical generation and three of the four dams have fish passage installed with fish ladders or lifts for anadromous fish.

The major tributaries of the Shetucket River, the Quinebaug River to the east, and the Willimantic River to the west have also received National Recreation Water Trail status. Including the Shetucket in this important national designation effectively links the three major rivers of The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor into a single-flowing National Recreational Water Trail system. These three rivers are the most accessible for paddle recreation within the Thames River Watershed.

The Last Green Valley, Inc., partners with several non-profits as well as state and federal agencies, riverside towns, and recreation paddlers to promote the enjoyment and stewardship of the Shetucket River. An active TLGV Water Trails Steering Committee has been in place for several years and has already developed stewardship plans and paddle guides for the Quinebaug and Willimantic rivers.

This committee has overseen the construction of information kiosks, helped make improvements to launch locations, hosted public events to raise awareness and increase recreational use, and drafted and published paddle guides.

Six paddle segments provide 20 miles of paddling from Windham to Norwich. There are 4 dams within these six paddle segments and each has an established canoe and kayak portage making paddle travel relatively easy between each segment.

The paddle segments include:

• Lauter Park in Windham to Plains Road Park in Windham (This is the Natchaug River and headwaters of the Shetucket River)
• Plains Road in Windham to Sprague River Park in Baltic/Sprague
• Sprague River Park in Baltic/Sprague to Occum Dam in Norwich
• Occum Dam and 100 yards downstream Occum Park (also known as Red McKeon Park) in Occum/Norwich to Taftville Dam in Lisbon and Norwich (also known as Ponema Mill Dam)
• Taftville Dam in Lisbon and Norwich (also known as Ponemah Mill Dam) to Greeneville Dam in Norwich
• Greeneville Dam in Norwich (also known as 8th Street Bridge Dam) to Brown Park, Norwich Harbor in Norwich

Allowed Uses:

Other Activities

• Camping
• Fishing
• Wildlife viewing / observation

• Certified as an NRT
  Jun 1, 2016