South Dover NY to Gaylordsville CT

The put-in is off Route 55 (Riverview Road) at a spot where there is room for a few cars to pull in and park. The first couple of miles are a mixture of flat water and Class I whitewater, making this a nice introduction for novice boaters. The first rapid of note is State Line, at the NY/CT border. This is a nice bouncy Class II drop with a large eddy behind a boulder river left at the bottom. After State Line there's a bit more flat water and a couple of easy Class II- rapids. At the confluence with the Housatonic River, you pass under a footbridge that is on the Appalachian Trail. There is a long slope on the broad stretch of the Housy here with scattered boulders, some surf waves and squirt lines on river left, and a more fluid line on river right. After some flat water and another Class II slope there's a pleasant surf wave with a friendly eddy on river right. From here, rounding the corner sharply to the right you come to George's, a popular play spot for boaters running Bulls Bridge. For beginner boaters, George's can be run to river right with minimal problems. A bouncier wave train forms the center line. To river left of the main channel a grippy hole forms. George's offers excellent surfing opportunities. A smaller hole is on river left, at the bottom of a minor channel over the drop, but it's quite shallow. After passing the hydro power plant on river left (which is the site of the Bulls Bridge takeout) there's a short stretch of flat water before a decent-sized Class II rapid. There are lots of lines here, the easiest of which is river left, eddying out behind the big boulder there. There's a 2ft high ledge river center that can form a hole at certain levels. The final bit of fun on the river is right by the take-out at Gaylord Bridge, where Route 7 crosses over the Housy. The easy line here is river right, straight shot to the take-out. The paddle takes two to three hours, depending how much you play along the way.