charles river

[sashurlow]

Hey all,

I'm new to Boston and would like to know what the possiblities of the charles river are. I love to paddle slow meandering rivers and have good endurance. How much of the river can be paddled in one day and where are the put ins? I guess secondarily is anyone interested in doing a marathon paddle down the charles? I have no clue the possible dates of such a trip as unpacking the apartment and getting settled into work are much higher priorities right now.

Are there any other good rivers to paddle (mystic?)?

Thanks,

Scott

[djlewis]

There are many sections of the Charles that are eminently paddleable. I believe the Charles River Canoe & Kayak sells a guide to the river... available elsewhere too. CRCK is generally a good resource, as they are smack in the middle of a 7-mile stretch between the Watertown dam and one of the Wellesley dams. But there are many other sections, including the heart of Cambridge/Boston, from Eliot Bridge, say, to the dam under the Museum of Science, and thence to the harbor, and sections farther inland.

The Mystic can be paddled form Lower Mystic Lake all the way to the Amelia Earhart Dam, and through that into the harbor by a different route than the Charles. Some parts of that are very beautiful, and some not so.

Besides that, there's the Concord (part quiet, part class V), the Ipswich (scenic and quiet), the Merrimack and lots of others. These vary in scenic beauty and some have significant current, particularly the Merrimack, the mouth of which is actually considered a rough water play and training area, depending on the tide.

Check the NSPN put-ins and those at Boston Sea Kayak Club (BSKC.org).

--David.

[sashurlow]

how easy is it to portage around the dams?

I would be nice to do an point to point route, starting at one corner of boston and finnishing in the harbor.

Thanks for the info. While I will definately paddle in the ocean, that can wait a little bit.

Scott

[djlewis]

>how easy is it to portage around the dams?

I've never done it myself. The Newton dam (sorry, not Wellesley) is guarded by shallows and rocks, so maybe it's a bit longer to go around. I think there's another dam a little way up as well, but I've never seen it from the water. The Waltham dam is in the middle of town, and I think theres steep steps you have to climb to get up to the top. But my memory is a bit dim.

The folks at CRCK will have all the answers regarding the Charles.

--David.

[Lbeale]

Hello Scott,

When I am looking to practice on my surfski the Charles River is a nice paddle--but it does depend on the time of day--early morning or dusk is my choice --in the morning urban paddling with glimpses of Herons, turtles and other quirks of city wildlife--dusk means setting sun and city lights--

The place I put in is in Watertown near the rink--plenty of parking--I paddle from Watertown down to the locks and back--

There was a trip conceived by Richard N. a couple of years ago where we left our cars in Watertown --we went to Mystic Lower Lake--launched there--paddled to Watertown-- we rented a trailer from CRCK to transport boats from Watertown to Mystic Lakes -- but it can be done without renting a trailer--

Also, you can launch from Charles River--go through the locks and bang a right--paddle to the Barking Crab--have lunch--paddle back---- to quote Larry David, "pretty, pretty good".

Les

[JohnHuth]

You might want to look at the section upstream of Dover. It's a very pleasant stretch, not at all crowded and there is a lot of water-fowl there.

On the other hand, if you want a weird experience, try paddling downstream from the CRCK kiosk near the Eliot Bridge. By the time you get around MIT, you'll feel like you're in the eye of a hurricane - cars zooming by on either side of the river, sirens blasting, and you're sitting in this calmness in the middle.

If you go near the CRCK boathouse in Newton - it's thick with paddlers. Start paddling fast and some young buck is sure to try to challenge you.

Something for everyone on the Charles.

[PeterB]

A friend of mine who is an avid fisherwoman said that the Charles is an excellent fishing destination, ("underfished') ; underrated partly because most people think of it as polluted ( perhaps conditioned by that old anthem by the Standells; why do the Boston Pops play "New York, New York" during fireworks finales when they could be playing "Dirty Water"?)

What's the point ? The point is: the Charles River has been cleaned up considerably, is cleaner than perhaps most people think it is, and sections of it provide fine paddling with turtles, waterfowl etc.

David is most correct: CRCK is the resource to check out.

[bob budd]

If you want a marathon try the Run of the Charles. Its 19+ miles with ~1.5 miles of portaging.

There is a landing at the Rte 30 exit across the river from the CRCK "hut". It has good scenery and may be the longest non-portaging distance on the river. One way to get there is from the 128 on-ramp from Rte 30 east, see Norumbega Rd.

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