Sawyer Ramp on the New Meadows River, Brunswick, Maine

The New Meadows River (Mapit!) is located about 30 minutes north of Portland, Maine. The navigable portion of the New Meadows is roughly 10 miles in length. Unlike its well known sister The Kennebec River  (Mapit!) just a few miles away, New Meadows is almost totally devoid of noticeable current. We've seen boats land on the Kennebec at about a 30 degree angle fighting the current; on the New Meadows it's not even a consideration.

Sawyers Road Ramp - Nice!

The ramp is a bit on the steep side, but the pavement is strongly ribbed. There are no drop offs and the pavement goes to water even on low tide. As long as my non-4 wheel drive truck can find concrete, I have no issues hauling my Macgregor 26x up the ramp.

Just off the ramp are some tall trees. Watch the top for mother osprey and babies during spring. We're on a first name basis now.

Within eye shot of the ramp is the New Meadows Marina, situated at the very end of the navigable portion of the New Meadows. There are temporary slips for visitors at a pretty standard price of $1.50/foot.

Now, to the River!

From the launch area, the first couple of miles are very narrow, perhaps a couple hundred feet across. You must carefully make your way because there are some bad things lurking just under the surface in certain places near low tide. Most are well marked on the chart. As long as you follow the buoys, you'll be fine.

My wife and I love to go slow and gaze at all of the homes - some small and some large - that spot the area. We frequently face south winds so most often we motor.

So, What's Not Perfect?

The ramp is great. The New Meadow's River is a pleasure. So what's not to like?

The main problem is the ramp's location relative to everything else. Unlike Dolphin Marina ramp which provides an excellent jumping off point in all directions, the Sawyer ramp is some 7 miles away from these same choices. It means a lot of wasted gas and time. So after you've traversed and enjoyed the New Meadow's River a few times and have seen all there is to see, it becomes a "commuting" situation like driving to Boston each day.

Above: Cruising down the New Meadow's River on a Sunday afternoon