Cape Ann put-ins status regarding resident-only or other restrictions

[Ray Sims]

Hi,  I'm a Wenham resident and plan to kayak tomorrow, 18 June, somewhere on Cape Ann. I'm looking for current status for put-ins.
On Friday 22 May when we last visited, Pavilion Beach in Ipswich and the Essex boat ramp were temporarily restricted to Ipswich and Essex residents respectively due to Covid.
If the above still aren't available to me, I'm considering Corliss Landing, Long Wharf Landing, or Lanes Cove in Gloucester.
I've checked the three town websites and couldn't find the desired information.

Has anyone recently put-in at any of the above locations as a non-resident? Any recommendations for tomorrow? 

Thanks

[Pintail]

I <am> a resident of Gloucester and can tell you that I put in, yesterday, at Pavilion Beach opposite the Greasy Pole -- and no one was checking.  There were plenty of beach-users (quite probably leaving behind their cookie-wrappers and their cigarette ends in the sand...)

[mhabich]

Pavilion Beach in Gloucester at the greasy pole is open. Pavilion Beach in Ipswich between Great Neck and Little Neck is Ipswich residents only. 

[midtempo]

Long Wharf in Gloucester is open and free to all and I've paddled there two weeks ago.  I am sorry to hear that Essex is getting all town-meeting paranoid and exclusive, but it's their right to be exclusive with their city land.  I want to remark that Conomo Point is also closed for parking unless you are an Essex resident -- see the other thread on this board about the Essex Bay topic.

[David M]

Respectfully, there are other rationales beyond "getting all town-meeting paranoid and exclusive."    The seasonal influx of tourists, combined with the  current and significant public health considerations, the decisions of a small town are many and complex. Cheers!

 

[midtempo]

How is that different from the considerations of Gloucester residents?

[David M]

Greetings Midtempo!

Thanks for keeping the conversation going.

In my opinion, one of the challenges of managing the pandemic and tailoring the  response by locale is the resulting confusion.  I get that and frankly find it  very tough to manage at times.

My only point was the categorization of the Essex response as including paranoia and exclusivity.  

None of us have been down this road before and will undoubtedly stub our toes as we figure out how to move forward safely and responsibly. 

The pandemic is real and clearly not fully understood. People have gotten sick and died.

I'm  currently writing from Florida where the reopening has been very messy and confusing.

Just think we in the human community need to cut each other a bit extra slack through this.

Looking forward to returning soon and getting on the water (rocks and surf).  Hopefully we can hook up on a future paddle.

Cheers!

David

[Deb Millar]

 As David pointed out, closing down Conomo Pt at the beginning of the Pandemic  was one way of preventing the virus from spreading. As for the parking situation:  More than a few years ago, you could park at Clammer's Beach in Essex along the road closest to the put-in; it was convenient and gave you access to Ipswich Bay and Crane's Beach. This changed to the restricted parking area for visitors; you drop your boat and gear, drive your car back to the allowed area more than a few blocks away, and walk back to launch. On a hot, optimal tide day, parking is extremely difficult.

Conomo Pt is not a "gated community". It has an odd history as far as real estate goes and that's irrelevant here, but restricting access in the past few months was for the Town's residents' safety.

Gloucester is a small city, with a mayor and city council. Pavillion Beach by the Greasy Pole (competition closed this year, along with accompanying Festa) and Lane's Cove are, at least to us and we've lived here for 26 years, the prime launching areas. Parking at both can be difficult, but free, which can be annoying to residents who purchase a beach sticker to prove they live here, especially when the parking areas are full. However, both areas are open. I have no idea why our launch sites are open except that it may have something to do with the population size of the city vs the population density of Essex.

The launching situation right now, and that includes traveling to NH, ME, and RI to paddle, is difficult, especially if you want to paddle close by. However, as things open up and, hopefully become "safer",  kayaking on the North Shore and beyond, will, fingers crossed, become what it was before, although I have my doubts.

 

 

 

 

[eneumeier]

Corliss Landing and Long Wharf are both open to non-Gloucester residents. I suggest that if you launch from Corliss, you try to time it before or after high tides, since we can launch kayaks in less water and it gets crowded with boats/trailers at high tide. (Do make sure to return before low tide or you will be slogging through mud. It used to be possible to return at low tide to the left of the boat ramp and carry kayaks up the hill, but when I was there a couple of weeks ago it was totally grown over.)

Long Wharf is accessible to kayaks at low tide, and there is usually parking then, since boats cannot use it. 

 

Another mid to high tide launch is Brown's Mill on the Mill River, Washington Street and Hopkins. (On the return, if you are coming back near low tide, the main channel is on the left when you get to the mud flat. Don't ask how I know that.) It is dry at low tide.

Liz

[Ray Sims]

Thanks Pintail, mhabich, Deb M regarding Pavilion Beach.
Thanks midtempo and Liz (eneumeier) regarding Long Wharf. Thanks too Liz regarding Corliss Landing and Brown's Mill.
Thanks Deb M regarding Lane's Cove.

What we ended up doing yesterday was pulling into the small parking area off 127 across from Harbor's Point Ice Cream and next to the Porta Potties. We unloaded there and I then found a parking place on Centennial Ave, a side-street near the drawbridge. It was midday (shame on us for not getting an early morning start) and parking along 127 was bumper-to-bumper all the way to back to Stage Fort. The north side of 127 had temporary "no parking Friday 7am to 3pm" signs on sawhorses, but a lot of people parked there anyway. Overall, a bit of a zoo.

Paddle notes: 20+ knots strong onshore breeze when we started. We headed out straight into the wind along the west side of the harbor and ended up only going as far as Norman's Woe Rock, which was a nice place to explore around with a leeward break from the wind and at mid-tide. Waves two to three feet with the occasional one that went over my spray skirt when punching through. On the return the wind had settled to an estimated 10 to 15 knots so we didn't fully get the payback we might have hoped for and the waves weren't big enough to surf -- instead, it felt like I kept sliding back down waves without getting real benefit from the following seas. At this point my partner/wife was tiring and so it wasn't the time to paddle hard enough to try to ride the crests.

All and all, I'll give the day a 'B' grade. I look forward to (re)exploring some other areas from Gloucester after recent years of not getting out much at all and almost always launching from the Ipswich Pavilion Beach, Essex, or Manchester Harbor when I did get out.

[Ray Sims]

Today we gave Long Wharf a try for first time after many years of living on the North Shore. Excellent choice. We were started a few hours before high tide and finished just after high so I can't say what it is like at low. At the corner of Concord and Atlantic Streets there was an electric sign saying "Residents Only at Beach", i.e. for Wingaersheek Beach; however, no signs regarding residents-only at Long Wharf and there were only about 15 vehicles in the lot that looked like it could hold 50. Only a couple of other people were around, and so it was no effort to "socially distance". We'll definitely be using this location again and from now on avoid the circus of the Pavilion Beach area.

[DaveBergsbaken]

Just wanted to double check on this topic regarding status of the Lanes Cove put in for kayaks.  So this launch site is open for launching?

[Joseph Berkovitz]

Yes, it is open in the sense that people can access it and it’s not blocked off or signed as closed. However, Lanes is not a gated, orderly place with a clear open/closed status. It is a very informal neighborhood setup with several possible places to put a boat in the water and various scattered parking spots (none of them especially ample). It’s kind of a small miracle that it exists with so few constraints on its use. So we try to be careful in how we use it and avoid overloading it with large groups, especially at busy times like a holiday weekend.  

[Ray Sims]

Back to Long Wharf today for a personal Blackburn Challenge + the Canal. I was slower than I had hoped and ended up coming back exactly at low tide. It was a doable walk with the left side (facing the wharf) more sandy (better) and the right side more muck. About 70 feet to walk. 

[DaveBergsbaken]

Thanks for the feedback on Lanes Cove.  Good to know.  I wasn't familiar with the launch site at Long Wharf either.  Will have to check it out next time.  It looks like you had a nice day out Ray.

[midtempo]

I've had many happy times launching from Long Wharf, and (at least in normal years) it rarely fills up even on beautiful summer weekends.  If you arrive before noon there is always plenty of space – the motor boaters seem to be afternoon people.  The sea bottom at the main ramp is firm sand, so there are no issues launching at low tide.

[spkayaker]

Lane’s Cove and parking and roads nearby are now all marked as residents only.

[prudenceb]

On 8/9/2020 at 2:28 PM, spkayaker said:

Lane’s Cove and parking and roads nearby are now all marked as residents only.

Not true.  You can park at official boat ramp and the little dirt lot where many of us park to launch.  Only restriction is parking on roads leading in and out, where you can't park in front of peoples' houses.

[DaveBergsbaken]

Anyone know about status of put ins at Tucks Point or Stage Fort Park?

[mhabich]

Last time we tried, Stage Fort Park parking was $20 and not close to a launch spot. We went back to Pavilion Beach Gloucester (greasy pole) and did fine. 

[Joseph Berkovitz]

Tucks point in Manchester is residents-only these days.  Figures. 

[DaveBergsbaken]

Thanks much for the updates.  Good to know and I assumed would be good for others to know as well.

[NPearson]

We went to launch from the Essex town boat ramp last Monday (for a trip around Choate Is.) and found that to be 'Residents only'  -  With no Harbour master to ask we went up the street and launched at Perkins marine. They charged $30 for launch fees - (for the party of 3 paddlers).  I don't like having to pay to launch a kayak but that did cover parking and the use of (very clean) toilets.     

[midtempo]

1 hour ago, NPearson said:

We went to launch from the Essex town boat ramp last Monday (for a trip around Choate Is.) and found that to be 'Residents only'  -  With no Harbour master to ask we went up the street and launched at Perkins marine. They charged $30 for launch fees - (for the party of 3 paddlers).  I don't like having to pay to launch a kayak but that did cover parking and the use of (very clean) toilets.     

You can park across from Farnham's for free to launch; just make sure it's not a busy weekend mealtime if you do.  I do have to warn you about the slippery embankment if you use that launch, and you can't use the launch within 1.5 hours of low tide.  But otherwise, it's pretty good.

 

19 hours ago, Joseph Berkovitz said:

Tucks point in Manchester is residents-only these days.  Figures. 

About 3 weeks ago I used the main Manchester boat ramp (Church Street) for free.  Parking for nonresidents is only two hours though, so you should park elsewhere.  I parked at the nearby train station without incident.  The Manchester boat ramp is further inside in the harbor than Tuck's Point, but it's still a good launch.

[josko]

Maybe slightly off-topic but in Southern New England, a scary number of formerly public-access places have gone to residents only, using Covid as justification. One can only hope they go back to public access after the pandemic, but I doubt that will happen.