Kayak destinations

I like kayaking at Sandy Hook on the bay side heading out towards the ocean, but it may be a bit of a zoo getting in there this weekend.

Pier 96 in Hudson River Park.

In a similar vein, where is a good place in NJ to rent a kayak or SUP?

Stone Harbor was nice a few years ago.

j_r said:
Pier 96 in Hudson River Park.
In a similar vein, where is a good place in NJ to rent a kayak or SUP?

Not sure about renting but my husband has a classic Klepper folding two person kayak for sale. It is impressive. Fits into two mail bags. Beautiful!

This is a good list of lakes/ponds in NJ, their size, and whether or not that have car top boat access.

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/fishplc.htm

The ones with a single asterisk are part of the Newark Watershed, and you need a permit to use them, but they are very nice. You get a permit from the Newark water authority.

If you can drive to Mystic, CT, the Mystic River is a wonderful place to kayak, through the town, under the bridge, and up to the Seaport and down toward the coast. I'm not quite sure what the driving time is, though, or whether it's within the 3-hour time requested or not. The scenery is wonderful.

Well if you can drive to New England, go to Priscilla's Landing in Orleans, MA; Nickerson State Park in Brewster MA; Little ville Lake (so-so) in Huntington, The Berkshires MA; Otis Lake in the Berkshires, and if you're a real lover of perfect kayaking and don't mind bumping down dirt roads in New Hampshire, then Grafton Pond outside of Canaan NH, in Grafton, NH. It's really, really remote and tough to find, but oh, so beautiful.

A friend had a book, "Calm Water..." that had lots of places to go to. We did several kayak trips around NJ. We were able to go during the week. Also, there's a group called River keeepers for the Hackensack which conducts an extended but not tough fresh water paddle from NJ to NY.

BTW you didn't mention if you're interested in fresh or salt water?

http://merrillcreek.com

Nice place. We canoe there.

http://merrillcreek.com

Nice place. We canoe there.

Delaware River between Frenchtown and Lambertvile is beautiful.

The D&R Canal along that stretch as well.

Also closer to MPWD is the D&R canal from the Manville entry points all the way down to Princeton.

If you are seeking lakes, Mercer County Park off of Rte 1 in Hamilton has a 2500m lake with public access (this also serves as an Olympic training site for rowing as well). They do rent boats there, although this year the marina is under construction so call first.

Close to home and smaller is Lake Surprise in the Watchung reservation off 78. This one has a lot of vegetation and might be 1200m. you will have to carry your boat from across the road.

Is that still the case? I thought it was supposed to be re-filled earlier this year. I paid Union County for a damn permit and haven't been able to use it since last summer.

Sweetsnuggles said:
Catfish Pond is small, but it is a nice place to kayak, especially if you are a beginner. They rent kayaks. ETA - Lake Surprise in Watchung is empty right now. They drained the lake and are doing repairs on the levy.

I fish from my Kayak in several locations. A few others I haven't seen mentioned:

- Split Rock Reservoir in Boonton. It's a huge lake and very nice for paddling. The only problem is the launch; you have to drag the kayaks down a steep path to the water. I have a rugged cart that handles this just fine.

- Raritan river in Cranford. Very close to home and surprisingly nice considering that it's in a suburban/semi-urban environment.

- Washington Valley Reservoir in Martinsville/Bridgewater. Again, a little hike to get to the water, but very pretty and close to home.

- Passaic River and Hackensack River. A friend took me out fishing (yes fishing) on the Pasaaic near Nutley last year and I was blown away. It's finally coming back and it's actually quite pretty. There are several boat launches including one at Laurel Hill Park in Secaucus, right off the Turnpike. It's kind of surreal; you have ariliners going over, all the vehicles on Rt. 80 and 95, yet as soon as you get a few yards out on the water it's fairly peaceful.

Was just thinking about this as I drove down Seven Lakes Drive in Harriman. The lakes are magnificent. I think there's a modest seasonal fee. Don't know whether they enforce it.

catch22 said:
I fish from my Kayak in several locations. A few others I haven't seen mentioned:
- Split Rock Reservoir in Boonton. It's a huge lake and very nice for paddling. The only problem is the launch; you have to drag the kayaks down a steep path to the water. I have a rugged cart that handles this just fine.
- Raritan river in Cranford. Very close to home and surprisingly nice considering that it's in a suburban/semi-urban environment.
- Washington Valley Reservoir in Martinsville/Bridgewater. Again, a little hike to get to the water, but very pretty and close to home.
- Passaic River and Hackensack River. A friend took me out fishing (yes fishing) on the Pasaaic near Nutley last year and I was blown away. It's finally coming back and it's actually quite pretty. There are several boat launches including one at Laurel Hill Park in Secaucus, right off the Turnpike. It's kind of surreal; you have ariliners going over, all the vehicles on Rt. 80 and 95, yet as soon as you get a few yards out on the water it's fairly peaceful.

I believe the river in Cranford is the stream that goes through the reservation and Millburn, the West branch of the whateveritscalled.

It is called the Rahway River.

I went kayaking with friends on Wednesday at Monksville Reservoir, about an hour away. Lots of parking and a boat ramp for easy access. We saw swans and eagles and this very interesting dead tree area. Definitely recommend it!

http://alltrails.com/trail/us/new-jersey/monksville-reservoir

We have been going to a launch point just North of West Point. Catch the tides right and you have a nice trip to Bannerman Island Armory and back.

notagain said:
I went kayaking with friends on Wednesday at Monksville Reservoir, about an hour away. Lots of parking and a boat ramp for easy access. We saw swans and eagles and this very interesting dead tree area. Definitely recommend it!
http://alltrails.com/trail/us/new-jersey/monksville-reservoir

That's a beautiful picture - makes me want to go there today! We'll definitely check it out.