The newly finished whitewater course is the centerpiece of the revitalization efforts in Franklin. It culminates in a human-made wave feature at Mill City Park, in view of the historic trestle over the Winnipesaukee River. Why is the whitewater so important to Franklin if the majority of Franklin residents never dip a paddle in the river?
To understand this better, I spoke with Marty Parichand, who owns Outdoor New England on Central Street. His shop rents and sells kayaks and other outdoor sporting equipment. Parichand told me his love of whitewater began when he was 16 years old, when his father took him on a whitewater rafting trip in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Young Marty was hooked and soon took up kayaking on his own.
Kayaking became s a constant through Parichand’s career as he collected a master’s degree in electrical engineering, then a grueling job with Sikorsky helicopters that kept him on the road 200 days a year. Parichand further busied himself with developing a plan for an Olympic whitewater venue for the proposed Boston 2024 Olympics. But when Boston withdrew its bid, Parichand found himself freed of obligations and looking for a fresh start.
The very next day after the Boston gig vanished, Marty Parichand met Todd Workman, whose vision of revitalizing Franklin was beginning to take off. Marty asked himself, “Could the sport I love help rebuild a town?” After all, the Boston project had brought together all the whitewater course designers and engineers, all the money people, and all the construction experts whose know-how could make such a project a reality. Parichand just had to figure out how to make it work in Franklin.
Franklin is a terrific locale for such a project. The river drops 67 feet from where it flows over the Franklin boundary with Tilton, picking up speed along a picturesque and exciting whitewater run between wooded banks, under the “upside-down covered bridge” and Franklin’s historic railroad trestle. The river features Class II, III and IV rapids, with choices suitable for beginners, or for an Olympic course. At the end is a human-made standing wave, or “hole,” for kayak surfing, located at the take-out spot near the park where Central Street crosses the river.
The Winnipesaukee Rail Trail parallels the whole whitewater course, so spectators can watch the fun or scout the river, either on foot or astride an e-bike they can rent across the street from the park. Stepping out of the park onto the sidewalk, visitors can stroll down Central Street to their choice of restaurants and pubs and peruse the interesting shops whose offerings include a wide variety, ranging from clothing to pet hedgehogs!
Franklin Falls’s whitewater park is the only one in New England and only the second park of its kind east of Colorado. Most eastern whitewater venues depend on remote rivers far from downtown amenities, rely on special “water release” dates when dam floodgates will be opened up, and require considerable logistical effort and expense for paddlers to either book tours or shuttle their cars.
It’s often difficult in such locations to find any place nearby to stay or get something to eat. In contrast, Franklin’s downtown and surrounding area have plenty to offer, especially for kayakers’ friends and family members who would rather watch than paddle!
Franklin’s whitewater park development is a project of Mill City Park at Franklin Falls, a nonprofit headed by Parichand. According to Mill City’s website (millcitypark.com), the first phase of the development has been completed, uniting city-owned land with two other privately owned parcels to create a 13-acre park with adjacent 21-acres of conservation land. This initial phase raised and spent $2.1 million in grant money to create three whitewater features designed and built by VHB Engineering.
Phase two would invest $2.4 million and will expand the park’s offerings to include a mountain bike “pump track” skill-building course, a climbing wall, parkour (obstacle course), and more. Mill City Park is pursuing federal grants, which require local matching funds. This latter requirement has encountered a local political hurdle, as the city rolled the whitewater park’s needs together with City Hall and Opera House renovations, and presented a $20 million bond proposal which voters refused.
Mill City Park projects that the completed park will attract 161,000 visitors annually, adding as much as $6.8 million annually into the local economy. (Compare that to the roughly 130,000 visitors who ride Mt. Washington Cog Railway annually.) This many Franklin visitors, and what they would spend while enjoying the greater Franklin area, would be a huge economic boon to our whole region.