The Pawtuckaway River is a 3.6 mile long (5.7 km) river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in southeastern New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is a tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Lamprey River

Lamprey River

The Lamprey River is a 50.2 mile long river in southeastern New Hampshire, the United States. It rises in Meadow Lake in Northwood, and flows south, then generally east past Raymond, Epping, Lee and finally Newmarket...

, part of the Great Bay

Great Bay (New Hampshire)

Great Bay is a tidal estuary located in Strafford and Rockingham counties in eastern New Hampshire, United States. The bay occupies over , not including its several tidal river tributaries. Its outlet is at Hilton Point in Dover, New Hampshire, where waters from the bay flow into the Piscataqua...

 and Piscataqua River

Piscataqua River

The Piscataqua River, in the northeastern United States, is a long tidal estuary formed by the confluence of the Salmon Falls and Cocheco rivers...

 watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 leading to the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

.

The river forms the south outlet of Pawtuckaway Lake, a 900 acres (364.2 ha) lake in the town of Nottingham, New Hampshire

Nottingham, New Hampshire

Nottingham is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,785 at the 2010 census. It is the location of Pawtuckaway State Park.-History:...

. The river travels southeast through a wooded valley, passing under New Hampshire Route 156

New Hampshire Route 156

New Hampshire Route 156 is a long secondary north–south highway in Rockingham County in southeastern New Hampshire. The road runs from Raymond to Nottingham....

, entering the town of Raymond

Raymond, New Hampshire

Raymond is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 10,138 at the 2010 census. Part of Pawtuckaway State Park is in the north....

 briefly, then crossing into Epping

Epping, New Hampshire

Epping is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,411 at the 2010 census. Epping includes the area known as Camp Hedding....

, where it joins the Lamprey River near the village of West Epping.