Merrimack River Outdoor Education & Conservation Area

It’s often called just the floodplain, but its full name is the Merrimack River Outdoor Education and Conservation Area.

The dramatic floodplain landscape includes oxbows, back channels, and high terraces that host a dynamic collection of overlapping natural communities. A walk down the Les Clark Nature Trail will take you past a pine forest planted in the 1960s, a wooded swamp and beaver-influenced wetlands, a maple-oak-hickory terrace community, and a native silver maple floodplain forest. The silver maple forest is unusual in New Hampshire; it has specifically adapted to life among the shifting sand and silt that line the state’s largest rivers. No other tree species can survive in this challenging environment, so the silver maples end up winning by default.

The floodplain offers a natural sanctuary for not only people, but for wildlife, including turtles, beaver, migratory waterfowl and other birds, such as the cardinal, oriole, bald eagle, osprey, pileated woodpecker, and rose-breasted grosbeak.

Help us care for this property by following these guidelines during your visit:

Dogs must be leashed and owners must pack out waste
No wheeled vehicles (including Bicycles)
No Motorized wheeled vehicles (ATVs, trucks, dirt bikes)
No Camping
No Fires
Carry in, Carry out all trash
Do not disturb plants, animals, or cultural features
No alcohol, smoking, or drugs permitted.

Additional Information

Good For

Families

Activities

Cross Country Skiing

Birdwatching

Dog Walking

Fishing

Trail Running

Snowshoeing

Hiking

Fishing Guide

With half a mile of frontage on the Merrimack River, the Merrimack River Outdoor Education and Conservation Area, near the Forest Society’s Conservation Center headquarters, has long been a destination for local anglers. The Merrimack hosts good populations of bass and other warm water species, and in some places (not here) hosts trout as well. From the parking area off Portsmouth Street, a pleasant walk along the trail leads to the river, but you’ll need to keep walking past the first sandy river bank you come to. This shoreline is steep and unstable. Don’t fish there, as it’s unsafe and it’s where bank swallows nest in the sandy cliffs. Bank swallows are uncommon in New Hampshire, and it’s best not to disturb them. Additionally, the sandy bottom along that section of the property isn’t good fish habitat. Keep walking along the riverbank to where the river splits into a side channel. This is a more productive area for fishing, as are the backwaters and side channels on the forested loop trail back to the parking area. While you’re there, notice the silver maple floodplain forest habitat and the many bird species that call this special place home.

Thank You

Annual sponsorship of the Merrimack River Outdoor Education and Conservation Area generously provided by Merrimack County Savings Bank and Northeast Delta Dental.

Picture Posts- Submit Your Photos!

Hikers, students, community groups, and individuals can contribute to our environmental monitoring through digital photography. Picture Posts are stationed at various forest reservations to help document environmental changes in the landscape and habitat. Click the links below to view the Picture Posts at the Merrimack River floodplain and submit your photos. Instructions for how to take the photos are on each post.

Floodplain Post 1

Floodplain Post 2

Hours

Open dawn to dusk

Visitor Use Guidelines

Full list of use guidelines available HERE