Staying Home Sucks, home
Trestle view from Winnipesaukee River Trail, Franklin NH
Franklin, the nearest town, 9 km away. Photo: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Merrimack County Boat Launching Facility

Kayak spot · United States

Flat water: a lake, canal or slow river

Is it worth the trip?

96Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Wed 4: Wind 4 kn gusting 11, Air 23 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Wed 4 · 100 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
23°C
Rain
0 mm

Thu 5 · 98 out of 100

Wind
9 kn
Gusts
22kn
Air
20°C
Rain
0.3 mm

Fri 6 · 98 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
7kn
Air
20°C
Rain
0 mm

Sat 7 · 96 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
19°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 90 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
15°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 88 out of 100

Wind
10 kn
Gusts
23kn
Air
13°C
Rain
3.9 mm

Tue 10 · 83 out of 100

Wind
11 kn
Gusts
29kn
Air
10°C
Rain
0 mm

Tap a day for wind, gusts, air and rain. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Tue 397, good
  2. Wed 4100, good
  3. Thu 598, good
  4. Fri 698, good
  5. Sat 796, good
  6. Sun 890, good
  7. Mon 988, good
  8. Tue 1083, good
  9. Wed 1175, good
  10. Thu 1278, good

The spot in two facts

  • Flat waterthe water
  • 8.2 kmthe section

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know the river level, weirs or your skill.

Wind and weather forecast and score for each day at Merrimack County Boat Launching Facility
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Tue 3Nov97, good2 kn7kn20°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov100, good4 kn11kn23°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov98, good9 kn22kn20°C0.3 mm
Fri 6Nov98, good1 kn7kn20°C0 mm
Sat 7Nov96, good4 kn12kn19°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov90, good1 kn10kn15°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov88, good10 kn23kn13°C3.9 mm
Tue 10Nov83, good11 kn29kn10°C0 mm
Wed 11Nov75, good11 kn22kn7°C0 mm
Thu 12Nov78, good9 kn27kn6°C0 mm

Wind and gusts are in knots, rain in mm. The river's level is under In the water. More

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good kayaking days in a typical week, each month, for expert paddlers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov7of 7: a trip from Wed 4 Nov
  12. Dec7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical weather, not a forecast, and not the river's level: a month that is often good to be outside may still be low water.

Map

put-in, take-out, its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More kayaking near here

3 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Merrimack County Boat Launching Facility

A river section on the Merrimack River, from a put-in down to a take-out. It runs 8.2 km along the river. No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle. OpenStreetMap marks the water open to canoes and kayaks. None within 10 km, the nearest 38 km away. The town to stay in is Franklin.

  • River Merrimack River
  • Grade No grade is stated.
  • Length 8.2 km along the river.
  • Who it suits No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle.
  • Access OpenStreetMap marks the water open to canoes and kayaks.
  • Schools, hire None within 10 km, the nearest 38 km away.

Spots and rivers: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Whitewater sections © Rivermap (rivermap.org), Riverzone and Jonathan Riddell, ODbL.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,210–US$2,200 each

about US$1,210–US$2,200 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, kayak hire.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to MHT, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$168–US$349
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$154–US$255
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$349–US$584
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$637
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$201–US$376
Totalabout US$1,210–US$2,200

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Franklin

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Franklin

about 20 min by car · 6 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 6 places to stay in Franklin · Booking.com

About Franklin its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$134 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 5h 30m

About 5h 30m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → MHT, direct, then 1h 20m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

On the water

River level

Gauge at MERRIMACK RIVER AT FRANKLIN JUNCTION, NH, 8 km upstream: 15.8 m³/s, very low for November (updated 39 min ago). Low.

Bands are this gauge's own record: under its usual low, running, high, and in flood on its few highest days a year. Not a runnable range for the section: check before you go. River levels in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey (public domain). Credits

Paddling schools, clubs and hire nearby

No paddling school, club or hire mapped within 25 km.

Schools, clubs and hire: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits