Like puddles after a rainfall, so many places for paddling

July 12, 2009|Marty Basch, Globe Correspondent

A canoe or kayak is a ticket to flat-water fun across northern New England’s ponds, lakes, and waterways. Surfaces range from smooth as glass to roiling white caps. Here are suggestions for various levels of paddlers.

Vermont

Southern Vermont’s Somerset Reservoir is surrounded by the Green Mountain National Forest. Access is at the southern end near a hydroelectric dam. A sprinkle of islands dot the north. “The reservoir is remote with a lot of coves,’’ says Gray Stevens, executive director of the Vermont Outdoor Guide Association. From Wilmington, travel west on US Route 9 about 6 miles and turn right on Somerset Road (turns to dirt) for 10 miles.

Paddle pristine Green River Reservoir in north-central Vermont midweek to avoid the weekend rush. “The reservoir has 19 miles of shoreline, giving it some of the greatest amount of undeveloped shoreline in the state,’’ says Susan Bulmer, northeast parks regional manager with Vermont State Parks. Escape to the many inlets and curved coves on the 650-plus-acre waterway in its own state park. A big draw is paddling to a campsite from the launch off Green River Dam Road. Green River Reservoir State Park, 29 Sunset Drive, Morrisville, 802-888-1349, www.vtstateparks.com.

“The Northeast Kingdom has a great deal of variety of lakes and little ponds,’’ says Stevens. “Many are remote,’’ like Little Averill Lake in Averill. The cliffs of Brousseau Mountain give the small heart-shaped pond a wild feel despite there being a few camps in the surrounding forest. Bring the binoculars for a chance to see peregrine falcons. Little Averill Lake Natural Area, Averill, www.nature.org.

Maine

Western Maine’s Brownfield Bog Management Area is loaded with wildlife, marshes, and White Mountain vistas. The shallow 5,700-acre bog is a quiet spot near the vacation area of Fryeburg and Conway, N.H.

“Beaver, mink, and moose have come along,’’ says Judy Camuso, a Maine Fish and Game biologist. “It is a pretty remarkable spot.’’ From the junction of Routes 160 and 113 in Brownfield, head north on Route 160 over the Saco River and turn left on Lord’s Hill Road at 1.5 miles. In several yards, turn left on the dirt access road to the bog about .8 miles down by a shack.

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