Scenes of Beaver River Station on Stillwater Reservoir

Waterlilies at Beaver River Station

Transporting Fuel to Beaver River on the Barge

Upper Stillwater Reservoir

We spent a night at the Norridgewock Lodge at Beaver River. The next day we returned to the landing by water taxi. The day was spectacularly beautiful. We had gone up the day before on the sightseeing boat.

Beaver River is a hamlet served by no road. One gets there by way of a barge that will carry your car across to the Six Mile Road, or by water taxi, a sightseeing boat or your own power boat, canoe or kayak. By water it is about 8 miles from the landing.

You can also walk from Twitchell Lake on a well maintained trail.

In winter you can get to Beaver River by snow machine along abandoned railroad tracks or over the frozen reservoir.

Sea planes are also available from 6th Lake on the Fulton Chain at Inlet.

There are a week or two in the fall, and another week or two in the spring when the reservoir cannot be crossed by boat or snow machine. During that time the folks who live in Beaver River use various rigs converted to railroad track-worthy machines. It's unclear to me whether this is actually legal, but no one seems concerned.

Culverts Separating Norridgewock Lake from Stillwater Reservoir at Beaver River

Early Morning Barge Trip on Stillwater

Beaver River Flow

Stillwater: Thompson's Barge Makes One of Many Runs This Weekend

Stillwater: Rap-Shaw

Stillwater: Sled on the Flow

Stillwater: Thick Ice Over Low Water, Little Snow

Rap-Shaw From the Barge

As a volunteer searching for invasive aquatic species on Stillwater Reservoir, I spent an overnight at Beaver River so that I could take a survey of the upper part of the flow, and also so that I could, it turns out, get a good look at what naturally grows in Stillwater. I found no aquatic invasives . I did find a single patch of purple loosestrife and tore it out. That bit of shoreline will bear keeping an eye on.

Getting to the hamlet of Beaver River requires going by boat or foot in the summer, or one can get a place for one's car, with canoe on top, on the barge, as I did, and drive the last 6 or so miles on the 6-Mile Road from the landing to the village.

This is a view of Rap-Shaw, summer respite on Stillwater for 60 cooperating families including us, as the barge passes by on the way to the landing.

I stayed overnight in modest accommodations owned by the Thompson family and ate in their very comfortable restaurant. I met or re-met several welcoming BR folks. I like BR because it is a unique and special place, remote, quiet and nearer to interesting parts of the upper Flow. Since wind is a huge factor for a canoeist on this body of water, being closer can be critical for access. 

Hamlet of Beaver River

Six-tenths of a square mile in the middle of the wilderness, this is Beaver River. The train tracks go right through town.

Thompson's Barge at Stillwater

The barge is the only way to get a vehicle to Beaver River.

Labor Day: Dedicated to the People of Beaver River

On Labor Day, this blog is dedicated to the people who work so hard to make a living in a difficult place.

Beaver River has no road connection to the outside. People get there by boat, foot, ski, snow machine, or rail.

These trucks are rigged to ride the rails.