The Still River

The Still River flows out of New York State, out of 2 ponds, east of the Connecticut - New York border. The river then flows east into Lake Kenosia, which itself is part of the Still River. From Lake Kenosia, the River discharges through Mill Plain Swamp, past the Danbury Fair Mall, and into the center of Danbury. From this point, the River flows into the urban core of Danbury through a concrete flood control channel for approximately 1 mile. At this point, the River flows through a gorge and has a substantial drop in elevation, giving the River a stretch of white water rapids. After the Still River flows under Route 6, the watershed makes a major change. At the intersection of Limekiln Brook, a major tributary to the Still River the River changes direction, from west-east to a northerly trajectory toward New Milford. This generally marks the point where there is adequate flow for canoes and kayaks. It is at this location that the Housatonic Valley River Trail and the Still River Greenway trail begin. A paddle trip starting here can traverse the entire 6.7 miles downstream to the take out point before the Brookfield rapids at the 777 Federal Road retail building. Moving at about two miles per hour, and depending upon flow conditions, this is perhaps about a three and one half hour trip. The put-in is at the Marriott Courtyard is on Eagle Road in Danbury, which intersects at a traffic signal with Newtown Road (State Route 806), and Newtown Road connects with I-84 Exit 8 nearby. After passing under I-84, the character of the river corridor now changes. To the north it is more steeply shaped, especially the higher hill to the east, with about 100 feet of side slope elevation visible. The extensive Avalon housing continues northeasterly on the east. A landmark on the west is the top of the Honeywell Consumer Products Group building. The next landmark is the bridge carrying the tracks of the Housatonic Railroad Company over both the Greenway and River Trail. On the east bank is Berkshire Corporate Park property. The Still River, runs through a relatively flat topography., The River is bounded by an undeveloped floodplain and a relatively pristine environment,. Just prior to passing the Stew Leonard's Store, there is a major geographic feature, an oxbow. This broad curve in the River has, in recent years, cut an alternate straight channel to the north of the Oxbow, creating an island. The river flows in two distinct channels here - in the original oxbow curve around the island to the west, and in a straight south - north trajectory to the east of the island. A channel was cut across its base by natural forces in1994, allowing some of the flow and paddlers to take the new and faster water "chute" as a short cut. After the Oxbow Island the Still River runs along the east and rear of the Stew Leonards Food Store. Now on the east bank of the River appears the Greenway Bird Sanctuary s is a flat area bounded by the Still River to the west, the Route 7 Expressway to the east, and the Brookfield Town Line to the north. The Bird Sanctuary, a small meadow and forest complex, offers both walkers and paddlers a one half mile loop walk through three different ecosystems. These are a meadow, a wetland forest and a riverine corridor. A green Housatonic Valley River Trail location sign #7 is on a tree identifying this point. This sign on the Brookfield side of the line, on the western or left side of the Still River as it continues to flow north. This sign is an indication to paddlers where they are on the Still River. An actual survey was not done to determine the exact location of the Brookfield Town Line, but the sign is believed to be reasonably close to the actual municipal line. As it crosses into Brookfield the Still River flows northeasterly. It is tightly bounded on its east by the Route 7 Expressway and on its west by the corridor created by Federal Road and Grays Bridge Road, both roadways also proceeding northeasterly. The flood plain is wide here, and the bed of the Still River in this section meanders considerably. This is demonstrated by the fact that a direct air line mileage from the Route 7 Expressway north to the bridge carrying Route 133 is .85 miles, while the paddling distance, along extensive meanders between the same two landmarks is a much greater 1.45 miles. Given a paddler's rule of thumb of two miles per hour, this segment requires about 45 minutes to traverse. However, paddle times can be significantly longer during low water when no current is present or when winding around obstructions. Note that the steepness of the River bed begins to increase in this segment. Correspondingly, the width of the adjacent flood plain narrows, as the River prepares to enter a constricted gorge north of the 777 Federal Road South commercial building. The west bank here is a very attractive woodsy area. Old evergreens across on the east bank are complimented by a well landscaped low density residential backyard landscape which is attractive for the entire length of the proposed trail. The River Trail take out steps are located about 900 feet before the Route 25 Bridge over the Still River and adjacent Brookfield Craft Center. The rapids become well developed at the Brookfield Craft Center and thereafter. The take out steps are located at 777 Federal Rd South. The final stretch of the River, north of the Danbury border, is a 10 mile stretch that flows past Brookfield into New Milford at Harry Brook Park, where the Still River ends, at its "mouth", joining the Housatonic River which flows south toward Long Island Sound.

http://www.danbury.org/stillriver
http://www.hvceo.org/rivertrail.php