Ashuelot River Fishing Guides
Southwestern New Hampshire's main Connecticut River tributary - a dam-removal success story running from Monadnock country to Hinsdale with trout above and smallmouth below.
Map of the Ashuelot River
36 numbered points: 1 access point, 13 bridges, 13 parks and conservation areas, 8 hazards, 1 USGS gauge. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 26, 2026.
- Access / boat ramp (1)
- Bridge crossing (13)
- Park / conservation area (13)
- Dam / hazard (8)
- USGS gauge (1)
Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
Open the printable mapAll 36 points on this map
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Butterfield Pond Dam Washington | Dam / hazard | 43.22635, -72.11850 | Dam at the head of the mapped river. The Ashuelot leaves Butterfield Pond here as a small outlet stream. |
| 2 | North Main Street (NH 31) Washington | Bridge crossing | 43.22552, -72.11908 | First road crossing below the pond. |
| 3 | Washington Town Forest - New Road Lot Town of Washington | Park / conservation area | 43.20119, -72.11902 | Town conservation land on the upper river. |
| 4 | Washington Town Forest - Farnsworth Hill Lot Town of Washington | Park / conservation area | 43.17853, -72.14138 | Town conservation land above Ashuelot Pond. |
| 5 | Ashuelot Pond Dam Washington | Dam / hazard | 43.14933, -72.15430 | Outlet dam of Ashuelot Pond; the river proper begins below it. |
| 6 | Ashuelot Wildlife Sanctuary NH Audubon | Park / conservation area | 43.14005, -72.16301 | Audubon sanctuary on the river below Ashuelot Pond. |
| 7 | Symondsville Road Marlow | Bridge crossing | 43.12689, -72.19464 | |
| 8 | Village Pond Dam Marlow | Dam / hazard | 43.11452, -72.19520 | Dam forming Marlow's village pond on the main stem. |
| 9 | Kinson Wildlife Management Area | Park / conservation area | 43.11083, -72.19716 | Conservation land on the left bank at Marlow. |
| 10 | Greenes Landing Marlow | Access / boat ramp | 43.08808, -72.20211 | Named landing on the river; mapped in OSM as three adjoining ways, condensed here to one point. |
| 11 | Emerson Brook Forest | Park / conservation area | 43.06853, -72.21582 | Conservation forest on the right bank above Gilsum. |
| 12 | NH 10 crossing above Gilsum NH 10 | Bridge crossing | 43.04831, -72.25588 | Upper of the two NH 10 bridges over the Ashuelot in this reach. |
| 13 | NH 10 crossing below Gilsum NH 10 | Bridge crossing | 43.04267, -72.26726 | Lower of the two NH 10 bridges over the Ashuelot in this reach. |
| 14 | Surry Mountain Lake US Army Corps of Engineers | Park / conservation area | 43.01612, -72.31563 | Flood-control impoundment on the main stem; recreation area on the lake. |
| 15 | Surry Mountain Dam US Army Corps of Engineers | Dam / hazard | 42.99776, -72.30882 | Flood-control dam. Flow below here is controlled; the tailwater has its own sheet. |
| 16 | Court Street Keene | Bridge crossing | 42.96051, -72.30300 | |
| 17 | Ashuelot River Dam (Keene) Keene | Dam / hazard | 42.93353, -72.28907 | One of three dams on the lower river all carrying the name Ashuelot River Dam in OSM; this is the Keene one. |
| 18 | West Street Keene | Bridge crossing | 42.93279, -72.28977 | |
| 19 | Hickey-Desilets Pocket Park Keene | Park / conservation area | 42.92728, -72.28730 | Small riverside park in Keene. |
| 20 | Winchester Street Keene | Bridge crossing | 42.92712, -72.28664 | |
| 21 | Ashuelot Rail Trail Rail trail | Bridge crossing | 42.92463, -72.28455 | Former railroad bridge, now the Ashuelot Rail Trail crossing. |
| 22 | Mount Cresson Conservation Area | Park / conservation area | 42.89455, -72.28726 | Conservation land on the left bank at Swanzey. |
| 23 | Dickinson Memorial Forest | Park / conservation area | 42.87656, -72.31391 | Conservation forest on the river at West Swanzey. |
| 24 | Denman Thompson Avenue West Swanzey | Bridge crossing | 42.86822, -72.32698 | |
| 25 | Westport Village Road Westport | Bridge crossing | 42.84740, -72.34033 | |
| 26 | Coombs Covered Bridge Winchester | Bridge crossing | 42.83792, -72.36092 | Historic covered bridge over the Ashuelot; a landmark put-in reference. |
| 27 | Town Conservation Land Winchester | Park / conservation area | 42.80361, -72.36078 | Town-held conservation land on the river; OSM carries no more specific name. |
| 28 | Winchester Town Beach Winchester | Park / conservation area | 42.79598, -72.36854 | Town beach on the river. |
| 29 | Winchester Town Forest Winchester | Park / conservation area | 42.76963, -72.40506 | |
| 30 | Bolton Road Winchester | Bridge crossing | 42.77714, -72.42336 | |
| 31 | Robertson Dam Ashuelot | Dam / hazard | 42.78894, -72.44262 | |
| 32 | Ashuelot River Dam (Ashuelot village) Winchester | Dam / hazard | 42.78962, -72.45484 | Second of the three same-named dams; this one is at Ashuelot village. |
| 33 | Depot Street Hinsdale | Bridge crossing | 42.78560, -72.48022 | |
| 34 | Ashuelot River Dam (Hinsdale) Hinsdale | Dam / hazard | 42.78567, -72.48138 | Lowest of the three same-named dams, just above the Connecticut River confluence. |
| 35 | USGS streamgauge - Ashuelot River at Hinsdale USGS | USGS gauge | 42.78592, -72.48620 | Read the gauge before you go; it is the flow reference for the whole lower river. |
| 36 | Millstream Waterfront Park Hinsdale | Park / conservation area | 42.78620, -72.48327 | Riverside park near the mouth. |
Guides on the Ashuelot River
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About the Ashuelot River
The Ashuelot drains southwestern New Hampshire’s Monadnock region and runs roughly sixty-four miles to the Connecticut River at Hinsdale. The USGS gauge at Hinsdale watches about four hundred and twenty square miles near the mouth and reports discharge and stage with no temperature series. It is the principal river of the Keene area, and it has changed character considerably over the last two decades as a series of obsolete mill dams have come out.
Those removals are the most interesting thing about the river as a fishery. The Ashuelot has been one of New England’s more active dam-removal corridors, and reaches that were slack mill impoundments now run as riffle and pool again. The practical effect for anglers is more moving water, better cold-water habitat in the middle river, and improved passage for migratory fish moving up from the Connecticut. New Hampshire stocks brook, brown and rainbow trout in the upper and middle river, and those reaches fish as a stocked stream through spring and into early summer.
The lower river below Keene, and particularly the Hinsdale reach the gauge sits on, is warmer and fishes as a smallmouth bass river. Fallfish are abundant and will take a fly readily, yellow perch and chain pickerel hold in the slower water, and the confluence area with the Connecticut concentrates fish moving between the two rivers. The Ashuelot is canoeable in long sections, and the paddling community uses it heavily in spring.
Flows are freestone in behaviour: the river comes up fast after rain and drops back quickly, and it runs thin in a dry August. The gauge is the practical check on whether the lower river has cleared enough to fish and whether the upper reaches still hold enough water to be worth walking.
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Access
Hinsdale gauge and Connecticut River confluence - the flow reference and the warmwater end of the river.
Surry Mountain Dam area - flood-control structure and access on a major tributary arm.
Keene area river access - urban walk-in reaches through the middle river.
West Swanzey and former dam sites - restored riffle water from dam removals.
Gilsum and upper-river crossings - small, cold headwater trout access.
Ashuelot village bridge - roadside access in the lower river.
Winchester area pullouts - transitional water between trout and smallmouth reaches.
Seasons
Spring: high, cold and pushy; stocking begins and the river is at its fullest.
Summer: drops and warms; smallmouth take over the lower river and trout retreat upstream.
Fall: cool flows and good fishing throughout, with the best smallmouth activity of the year.
Winter: low and cold with ice on the flats; fishing limited to open mild-weather stretches.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Ashuelot River?
As of Nov 2, 7:45 am, the USGS gauge ASHUELOT RIVER AT HINSDALE, NH reads 218 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Ashuelot River?
Anglers target Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Chain Pickerel, Fallfish, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch on the Ashuelot River in New Hampshire.
Where can you access the Ashuelot River?
Hinsdale gauge and Connecticut River confluence - the flow reference and the warmwater end of the river. Surry Mountain Dam area - flood-control structure and access on a major tributary arm. Keene area river access - urban walk-in reaches through the middle river. West Swanzey and former dam sites - restored riffle water from dam removals. Gilsum and upper-river crossings - small, cold headwater trout access. Ashuelot village bridge - roadside access in the lower river. Winchester area pullouts - transitional water between trout and smallmouth reaches.
When is the best time to fish the Ashuelot River?
Spring: high, cold and pushy; stocking begins and the river is at its fullest. Summer: drops and warms; smallmouth take over the lower river and trout retreat upstream. Fall: cool flows and good fishing throughout, with the best smallmouth activity of the year. Winter: low and cold with ice on the flats; fishing limited to open mild-weather stretches.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Ashuelot River?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the New Hampshire agency site: https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/laws-and-rules