Boreas River: Route 28 North to Minerva bridge

There are only a few rivers whose reputations do not overshadow actual fact. Most paddlers commonly exaggerate the difficulty of rivers and rapids to the point that the unsuspecting listener really doesn’t know what to expect. There are, however, a few waterways in which the horror stories, the tall tales, and the descriptions are not quite so padded with campfire chatter. These are a special breed of classic rivers that live up to the tough reputations they have. The Boreas is one of these. Born in Boreas Pond somewhat northeast of Newcomb, New York, the Boreas flows through Cheney Pond and then generally southward to rendezvous with the Hudson. For most of its length, the watershed valley is extremely attractive, resembling paintings from the Hudson River School. Towering conifers line the banks, and, since the valley is mildly inaccessible, the scenery is generally unpierced by civilization. Through the middle part of the run, the Boreas is absolutely flat, reflecting the blue sky and white powder-puff clouds as if they were originating somehow beneath the water surface itself. The rapids are something else again. Two sections are noteworthy: the upper part has several good sets of rapids, terminating in a runnable waterfall, and the lower stretch has a long, continuous stretch of difficult rapids.