33 miles
From Garland Pond in Garland to where it empties into the Penobscot at Gomez Park in Bangor.
The river
The Kenduskeag Stream
Thirty-three miles of cold Maine water, from Garland Pond in the west to the Penobscot River in downtown Bangor — and the reason anyone has heard of this town. Here is how to watch it, fish it, paddle it and be safe on it.
The river at a glance
A working stream in a working valley: cold enough for salmon, steep enough for rapids, and gentle enough to walk beside.
10 flat, 6.5 wild
Ten miles of flat water and gentle current, then Class I to III rapids with two mandatory portages.
Year round
Brook trout, brown trout and landlocked salmon, with alewives, American eel and Atlantic salmon in the lower reaches.
April
The canoe race, third weekend of the month — the single busiest weekend of the year on this river.
The rapids & the portages
Three features decide the river. Two of them you have to walk around.
Six Mile Falls
The headline rapid, six miles north-northwest of Bangor on Route 15. Its class depends on the water level — II in low flow, III in high. Optional portage during the race; most paddlers run it.
Flour Mill
The most technical rapid on the Kenduskeag, beginning shortly before the I-95 bridge. Two drops of three feet or more, and a mandatory portage during the race — take out river left, put in above the bridge.
Maxfield Dam
The last obstacle before the flat water, below Valley Avenue. A mandatory portage during the race, on the upstream side of the Valley Avenue bridge.
If you are new to whitewater
Six Mile Falls is a Class II to III rapid on a river that is navigable only at certain water levels. In April the flow can be high and cold enough to be genuinely dangerous; in late summer the stream is often too low to paddle at all. Never paddle a section you have not scouted, always wear a properly fitted life jacket, and go with someone who knows the river. The US Gauge for “Kenduskeag Stream near Bangor” (station 01037000) tells you what the water is doing — check it before you launch.
Third weekend of April
The Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race
The largest paddling event in New England, and one of the biggest in the country. It began in 1967 with 34 paddlers; more than 28,000 have raced since.
It was the idea of Ed “Sonny” Colburn and Lew Gilman, who telephoned each other one evening in the spring of 1967 and decided a canoe race would be a good thing for Bangor. Bangor Parks and Recreation signed on as host. The first race had 34 boats; the busiest years in the mid-1990s saw as many as 1,500 contestants.
The course record stands at 1:50:08, set by Robert Lang of Renforth, New Brunswick in 1997. Lang won eleven times. The race later earned a mention in Stephen King's It.
- Course
- 16.5 miles, Kenduskeag to downtown Bangor
- Classes
- Beginner, Recreational and Open, plus war canoe, junior and veteran divisions
- Minimum age
- 12 with an adult in the boat, 16 without one
- Gear
- Coast Guard approved life jackets, numbered over-vests, helmets for kayaks and decked boats
- Cut-off
- Past Six Mile Falls by 2:30 PM, finished by 3:30 PM
- Organiser
- Bangor Parks & Recreation, with MACKRO
Where to watch
Spectating is free. Here is where the smart locals go.
- Six Mile Falls
- The most dramatic and by far the most crowded. The bridge fills up; get there early with a thermos.
- Valley Avenue
- Quieter and better, with picnic areas and small parking lots along the path. Watch paddlers cruise by in the shallows.
- Discovery Park
- The start line in Kenduskeag. Watch the boats launch in timed groups. Parking is genuinely difficult.
- Downtown Bangor
- The finish by Sea Dog Brewing on Front Street. Walk out onto a canal bridge for a view of the incoming paddlers.
- On television
- WABI-TV5 usually covers the race from mid-morning to noon, and streams it online.
Race-day notes
- The start time shifts with the tide — sometimes 8:30 AM, sometimes 10:00 or 11:00. Check the race website the week before.
- Valley Avenue closes at Bruce Road, outer Broadway northbound becomes one-way, and southbound traffic detours via Finson Road.
- Bring a rain jacket and a warm layer. Standing still at the falls in April is cold.
- Local slang for a race spectator is a “river vulture”. You will fit right in.
- Awards are presented at Sea Dog Brewing after the finish.
Fishing the Kenduskeag
Brook trout and landlocked salmon in the cold upper reaches; smallmouth bass, alewives, eels and the occasional Atlantic salmon lower down. The rules below are specific to the Kenduskeag — always confirm against the current Maine law book.
Rules on the Kenduskeag Stream
Garland to Bangor, South Zone, as published in the Maine inland fishing law book.
Garland Pond Dam to Route 15
Catch and release
All brown trout and landlocked salmon must be released alive at once.
Route 15 to Harlow St
Seasonal rules
Brown trout and landlocked salmon released alive at once. April 1 to June 30: brook trout 8 inches minimum. July 1 to September 15: closed to all fishing. September 16 to October 15: artificial lures only, brook trout 8 inches minimum.
Harlow St to Bangor
Closed in summer
Closed to all fishing from July 1 through September 30 under the Marine Resources rules for the tidal reaches.
General law also applies: a valid licence is required, most waters take two lines, and net, trap and set-line methods are unlawful. Maine IF&W ↗ publishes the full law book and the licence list.
Licences
- Who needs one
- Anyone 16 or older fishing inland waters
- Resident annual
- About $27
- Non-resident annual
- About $69
- Non-resident day
- About $14 for one day, about $45 for three
- Free
- Anyone under 16; Maine residents 70 and over
Fees change. Buy online or at a licence agent — and note that a licence bought in Bangor is valid on the Kenduskeag the same day.
Where the fish are
- The Stillwater River in Orono — brook trout and smallmouth bass, with hand-carry access at the UMaine Steam Plant and foot access from the Stillwater River Trail.
- The upper Kenduskeag above Kenduskeag — the coldest, most reliable trout water on the system.
- Garland Pond — the head of the river and its only mapped boat launch.
- Stocked reaches — the state stocks trout at several points, including between Griffin Road and Lovers Leap, with the Penobscot Fly Fishers volunteering on the stocking crew.
Riverbanks are private up to the ordinary high-water mark. Fish from public access points and bridges; ask before wading private land.
Paddling & outfitters
Flat water, whitewater, or a guided trip into the woods — the Bangor region has people who do this every day.
Skyline Maine Adventures
Kayak and canoe rental out of the marina in Hampden, with guided group tours, shuttles, and delivery to Pushaw Lake, Hermon Pond, Brewer Lake and the Kenduskeag itself. They will drop boats at your camp or inn.
Hirundo Wildlife Refuge
Twenty minutes from Bangor on Pushaw Stream. Free kayak and canoe rentals on Saturdays by advance reservation, plus sunrise, sunset and full-moon paddles. Osprey gather at Pushaw Dam during the spring alewife run.
Maine Outfitter
Outfitting Penobscot River trips since 1857. Two to seven days from Old Roll Dam into the remote reaches, with campsites on the river and on Lobster and Chesuncook lakes.
Bullfrog Adventures
Master Maine Guide Steve Toothaker runs guided canoe, kayak and tubing trips across the region from Newburgh, with a small campground at Caratunk in the highlands.
Orono Paddlers
The local paddling club runs flatwater trips on the Stillwater, whitewater on the Kenduskeag River and the Stillwater T-wave, and slalom on the Kenduskeag Stream.
Kayak classes in Bangor
L.L.Bean's Bangor store on Stillwater Avenue runs kayak tours and classes on the water outside the door — a good first outing before committing to the Kenduskeag itself.
Wildlife
What lives along the banks
The Kenduskeag is one of the most intensively farmed watersheds in the Penobscot River basin, and it is still very much a wild place on its banks. Pools hold alewives, American eels, trout and Atlantic salmon; songbirds line the thickets; and bald eagles are known to nest along the shore and teach their young to fish in the shallows.
Upstream, in the deep woods of the valley, the larger game lives too — white-tailed deer, black bear and moose, with the occasional bobcat and the rarer lynx and fisher moving quietly through the hardwoods.
The valley is also a good place to look up. Away from the glow of Bangor and Brewer, the night sky over the Kenduskeag is about as dark as it gets in this part of Maine.
Good places to watch
The Kenduskeag Stream Trail interpretive signs in Bangor cover the wildlife you are most likely to see, Gateway Park is a reliable spot for waterfowl on a calm stretch, and the Stillwater River trail at Orono runs past herons, beaver and muskrat. Fields Pond Audubon Center in Holden and Hirundo are the deeper birding destinations.
Natural history notes
- American eel — lives in fresh water for most of its life, then swims to the ocean to breed. The eels gather in the Kenduskeag's pools, which is where the town's name comes from.
- Atlantic salmon — historically one of the stream's most important producers, and still returning to the Penobscot in modest numbers.
- Bald eagles — nesting since the 1970s recovery, and a fixture on the river in winter.
- Thoreau — walked these banks on visits to Bangor in the 1850s, recording the plants and flowers along the shore.
- Old mills — sawmill ruins and old dams still stand in the woods along the banks, some of them more than a century old.
This is a working landscape. Farm fields, woodlots and the river are all part of the same watershed, and most of it is private land — respect the property, and check what is open before you set out.
Plan your visit
Driving times, where to stay, where to eat, what to bring, and itineraries for a half day, a full day and three days.
Bangor, Brewer & beyond
The museums, the waterfront, the State Fair, and the longer drives to Fort Knox, Mount Katahdin and the Maine coast.