Just a few hundred yards upriver from the roaring of Saccarappa Falls and the brick fac?ade of the Dana Warp Mill in downtown Westbrook, there is a silent, serene landscape.

Painted turtles – considered under threat in some regions – flourish here, sunning themselves on long branches. Various species of birds dot the rows of trees that reflect off the water, and fish can be spotted, darting in and out of the shadows.

Until last week, I didn’t know the Presumpscot River in Westbrook was home to this stretch of pure nature. From a property off Lincoln Street, which looks like it’s half hovering over the river, local business owner Rob Mitchell and I started upriver in a canoe.

Just a few hundred yards from the upper Saccarappa Falls, the river bends and the city is gone.

“It’s always beautiful like this,” he said, as we paddled past a large patch of pink lilies lining the river’s edge.

Mitchell has long been an advocate of recreation on the Presumpscot, particularly paddling, and he’s hoping that new business developments on the river, as well as expanded recreational opportunities, will lead to more economic development for the city.

At his property, there is a large, dilapidated dock along the house somewhat floating in the water. He said he won’t bother repairing it until the Saccarappa dams are removed, causing water levels to lower an estimated 4 to 6 feet. During the flood of 1996, he said, water flowed through the living room window. He said in the 1950s, the property was used to rent small fishing boats to locals.

River advocates argue that with fish passage, the natural beauty of portions of the Presumpscot like this one will only be enhanced. More fish means more birds hunting for food, and more people coming out onto the river to fish and birdwatch.

After about a mile or so, a fisherman in a small boat motored by slowly, waving. A few properties along the river had docks, some with inner tubes and other signs that at least a few people are utilizing the resource that is still climbing its way out of a water-quality stigma.

We paddled past the property owned by Rivermeadow Golf Course, which has also seen considerable flooding in the past, and continued by farmland that swept all the way to the river.

Five miles from Saccarappa is the next dam, at Mallison Falls, but our destination was a curve in the river a few miles up that is home to an old stone railroad bridge.

As the reflections of the stones on the still water gave way to another piece of quiet scenery, I thought, “Am I still in Westbrook?”

The Presumpscot River facing downstream, reflecting the surrounding trees on the river’s edge. Staff photo by Andrew RiceNot far upriver from Saccarappa Falls, an old stone railroad bridge provides an outlet to another scenic view.