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Lower Madawaska River

This is a fun river. The whitewater on this route is mostly all drop and pool, which means it's great for beginners. You won't find yourself swimming down long dangerous rapids if you fall in. If you fall in, it will all be over pretty fast. (The rapid, not your life, hopefully). 

You can make this as long of a trip as you like, but after the take out a Griffith it gets wide and boring. We've heard, we've never actually paddled that section. There's a variety of put-ins, but you'll really only find official campsites past Palmer Rapids. 

In the spring the upper section of the Madawaska is also runnable, but we've never done that part. We need to though. 

Best resource: If you're new to the Madawaska, you really should pick up George Drought's Madawaska and Opeongo Guide Book. It's got everything you need for this river. It's the kind of book you bring with you and use while you're scouting rapids. It's really how we first got into real whitewater. The guide took away all the amateur guess work on where to run and why, while still helping us develop the skills to later no longer need the book. This book is highly recommended.