Fall Recap 2025
After back to back summers of historic rainfall and flooding the pendulum swung the opposite direction. It seemed inevitable, as we were at risk of being spoiled (don’t forget the spring was one of the best of the past 10 years). As the last of the rain clouds disappeared, hot dry weather moved in, taking up residence across the state for months. Riverbeds slowed until they were nearly dry, with only feeble trickles flowing amongst sun-bleached rocks.
From mid June until late October Vermont slowly fell further into drought, with mid-October marking the peak of the arid conditions. On October 7th the US Drought Monitor listed the entirety of the state in drought, with 1/3rd in severe drought and nearly 2/3rds enduring extreme drought conditions.
The weather meant boating in the state was virtually non existent. Even the most reliable summertime spots dipped too low to be worthwhile. Take Otter Creek for example. The gorge section is nearly always runnable with a standard minimum considered to be around 300cfs, which is typically seen for most of the summer. This was not so in 2025, as flows dipped below that by mid July, and did not rebound in earnest until November (save for a few isolated bumps in mid October). The New Haven River was so low you could have ridden a bike down the river bed, with several months of flows below an abysmal 50cfs and a nearly month where a meager 30cfs ran past the USGS gauging station by the route 7 bridge.
But for Vermont boaters this is not entirely unfamiliar territory, with several summers in the early 2020s giving us some exposure to drought conditions (though none quite this extreme). And so we waited patiently until late October / early November when the rains finally returned and provided a solid month of boating. But even this reprieve was short lived, as December rolled in with unseasonably cold temperatures that were quick to build ice and render most area rivers unsafe to paddle. Now as I write this we are in the depths of one of the coldest snowiest winters in several decades – with no thaw to report. And so we will practice our patience some more (and enjoy the excellent skiing) until the spring thaw.
See you on the river.
-Creek VT