Warner River

(Text from New Hampshire Dept. of Environmental Services)

The 20 mile long Warner River begins on the West Branch Warner River at its confluence with Andrew Brook in Bradford, continues on to the Warner River where the West Branch meets Hoyt Brook, and ends at the confluence with the Contoocook River in Hopkinton. With a watershed drainage basin of over 148 square miles across Merrimack and Sullivan Counties, the Warner River is an integral part of central New Hampshire’s landscape. The river helps define the five communities of Bradford, Sutton, Warner, Webster, and Hopkinton through which it flows.

The Warner River forms a natural greenway corridor between multiple large protected open space areas including the Chandler Reservation in Warner, the Warner Town Forest, and the Mount Kearsarge State Forest Park, which stretches into Sutton, Wilmot, Andover, and Salisbury. Rare, threatened, and endangered plant and animal species within the river corridor include sclerolepis, found in only two locations in New England, small whorled pogonia, American water-alwort, the common loon, and Blanding’s turtle. Over two-thirds of streams in the watershed also support the natural reproduction of native brook trout. More than 20 percent of the land area within the river corridor has been identified as the highest ranked wildlife habitat in the state as noted in the New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan. The river corridor is an excellent location for observing wildlife such as moose, black bear, fisher, and bobcat due to the proximity of large areas of conserved open space.

Fishing, kayaking, canoeing, and swimming are popular on the Warner River, which is easily accessed in many locations from NH Route 103. Seasonally variable flows offer whitewater paddling unique to this part of the State including numerous class IV rapids and a three-foot dam sluice. American Whitewater identifies the Warner River as a highly popular destination due to its large watershed, long whitewater season, and incredible instream features. Several dams along the river impound sizeable swimming holes that are enjoyed in the summer months. The New Hampshire Fish and Game’s Freshwater Fishing Guide claims the Warner River to be an excellent location for brook and rainbow trout fishing, with varied fish habitat, and good access to the river.