The Nashua is an easy-going river, popular with bass fishermen as well as paddlers.

You can paddle on the Nashua any time of year, at least until it freezes over. The Nashua runs slow, and it can take a few hours to paddle from Hollis Depot to the Mine Falls boat launch out behind Stellos Stadium.

As mentioned, you can also put in on the Nissitissit, and get onto the Nashua just below the Pepperell dam. So long as the water’s high, you can run the little rapid at Hollis Depot without scraping bottom. You can also park and put in there.

There’s no easy way to portage the Mine Falls dam, and I’ve never tried. There are places to put in a boat between Mine Falls and the Jackson Falls dam downtown, but I see enough of that stretch of the river while running in Mine Falls Park.

I have a bias for smaller rivers, but I’ve canoed the Merrimack River, too. There are two boat launches in Merrimack, one at Reed's Ferry and another at Thornton’s Ferry. You have to carry your boat under the railroad tracks at Reed's Ferry, but you can drive under the tracks at Thornton’s Ferry, off Griffin Street, though the road’s a bit sketchy.

You can put in or take out at the Hills Ferry boat launch in Nashua, and with a little creativity, I’m sure one could find take-out spots at the mouth of the Nashua River, and even further south… there’s a path off Appleside Drive in Nashua that goes down to the river, just upstream of the Sagamore Bridge.