South Branch of Raritan River - Flemington to South Branch

Date of trip: 9/29/2012

Trip started out about noon off of Rt 523 near Darts Mill and completed around 4:30 at South Branch.  This is a continuation of the trip that I started the night before.

I put in the exact location that I took out the night before.   It is a quick put in and easy to manage.  I got in the boat (Emotion Comet 8) on the bank and just slid in the water.  I hit bottom just before passing under Rt 523.  Again, generally a little lite on the amount of water for this section of the river.

After passing under the bridge, the river takes a hard right.  There is an old dam that is mainly washed out.  It is a fun, easy drop with some good water flow.  After this, the river becomes very glass like for a while.  Again, the river is pretty much private.  I did pass a boy trout fishing, but no other people.  You pass under a rail road truss bridge where I lightly scraped a few rocks.  A bit further, there is the remains of another old dam.  I passed straight through as it looks like one could go to the left.  I hit a rock going over the dam, but it was a bit of white water fun.

The water gets much deeper and the river is wider as well.  There are quite a few underwater plants.  It was quick paddling as you can work up a cadence in this section.  You parallel River Road for a while and pass under another railroad truss bridge.  The river goes off to the left where you come to a large dam.  At this point, you have to portage around.  There is a no trespassing sign, but it states boaters passing through are ok.  I pulled the boat around on the left and quickly was back in the water.   I passed my second fisherman just after I passed under another bridge (auto).   It is only about 1/4 mile and you pass under the Rt 202 bridge.  There is a brief stretch of about 50 yards with some current and tiny waves, but it is not white water.

From this point on, the river becomes generally deeper which means 1.5 to 3 feet deep for most sections.  The river winds and meanders along and you are treated to lots of nice scenery.  Generally, you are alone on the river with quite a few ducks, geese, and blue heron.  I believe that I saw 2 bald eagles as well.  There are several old truss bridges that you pass under as well.  Overall, very enjoyable cruise.  There are only a few places that you have to watch the river to ensure you have enough depth.  I took the wrong pass around a couple of islands and was actually stuck in one place.  I was able to get free without exiting the boat.  I generally think most of these can be avoided on this section of the river if you watch the current.   This is not true for the sections north of Flemington.

I came into Neshanic Station which is a small borough along the river.  There is another old dam here and I believe the old mill on the right hand side of the river.   It was a nice little drop, but went by too fast.  There is another neat old truss bridge and then a more modern railroad bridge.

I traveled down to South Branch.   It was enjoyable paddle as you can get going as the water is smooth, but is still moving pretty quickly.  There are numerous bridges along the way as well as some rock cliffs.   I pulled the boat out a the bridge.  Maps have the road going across the bridge as Studdiford Drive or Rt 606.     There is a parking lot next to a old house that was a good pickup spot.  I had originally intended to go farther, but ran out of time.  I really enjoyed the South Branch of the Raritan, so I am sure that I will do it again.  Theoretically, I could go all the way down to New Brunswick, NJ

The Raritan is very convenient to me as it passes directly through the town that I live in.  I like that it feels like a private river.  I've been on the Delaware many times and it feels almost congested in some areas.  Also, on the Delaware, you have to worry about Jet Skis and power boats in some sections.  I guess one reason that people don't paddle the Raritan more is due to the low water challenges and lack of white water.  This is great float for a family outing.  I'd recommend giving it a try.  Watch the water gage at Stanton Station.  I think that the river should be passable at 2.7 ft on the gage.

Happy paddling.