The Fresh River is a 3.2 mile long (5.2 km) stream

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

 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 Piscassic River

Piscassic River

The Piscassic River is a 15.3 mile long river located in southeastern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Lamprey River, part of the Great Bay and Piscataqua River watershed leading to the Atlantic Ocean....

, which flows into 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...

 and is 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...

.

Nearly the entire course of the river is through freshwater wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

s. The vertical drop of the stream over its three-mile length is less than 20 feet. It rises on the border between the towns of 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....

 and Brentwood

Brentwood, New Hampshire

Brentwood is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 4,486. Brentwood has been the county seat of Rockingham County since 1997...

 and flows east into the northern corner of Exeter

Exeter, New Hampshire

Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town's population was 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood...

. The river crosses into Newfields

Newfields, New Hampshire

Newfields is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,680 at the 2010 census. The primary village in town, where 301 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Newfields census-designated place , and is located along New Hampshire Route 85 and the...

just before joining the Piscassic River at the Piscassic Ice Pond.