Landing on the ocean side of Plum Island

[Lbeale]

I have been told by several people over the years that it is illegal to land on the ocean side of Plum Island. Paddlers who land and get caught, pay a hefty fine. It is my understanding that you could land on a restricted section of the southern tip only and maybe get away with landing on the river side of Plum if you are discreet. I have always restricted where I land to the southern tip out of environmental considerations.

Is this restrictions only during nesting season or year round? Or, is this a paddling myth and paddlers can land anytime, anywhere on the ocean side and river side? Are there different restrictions for the ocean side versus the river side?

Les

[emilie]

I went and looked up the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. Under visitor oportunities, there is a link to the canoe and kayak regulations.

Amongst other things, it says

Landing anywhere in the refuge marsh or on the refuge beach is strictly prohibited.

That being said, I have seen regulations change over time at other wild life refuges, so it is probably worth checking back occasionally.

Emilie

[Phil Allen]

Parker Island NWR is only about half of Plum Island, so landing north of the Refuge border should be possible. From google Maps, it looks like there's about 3 miles of beach south of the "urban" part of town before you hit the refuge that's sparsely populated. That said, with Massachuesetts "low tide" definition of property, landing on private property south of town and north of the NWR border would be at whim of the landowner. If I'm cross comparing the Parker Island map with Google Earth correctly, the northern edge of the refuge on the ocean is at 42°44'57.34"N, 70°47'31.36"W.

Phil

(man I need to get on the water and stop planning virtual (for me) trips).

[bazzert]

Sandy Point at the very end of Plum island is a state beach and you can land there.

Barry

[Gcosloy]

The Parker river refuge has a beach and a Ranger Station (this is just 1.5 mi from the mouth of the Merrimack. While you could land there, you will be thwarted by strong dumping surf. Of course in an emergency I would land any where I could; wild life be damned.

[Doug]

Frank works at the Parker River Wildlife Refuge. He lives in the lighthouse there and has led paddlers in these waters. He says that if it is an emergency, you can land but do not land to take a break and eat lunch.

[spider]

Also you can look into just how the Refuge boundaries extend at low tide.

Without getting into a big debate on Refuge policies I will say the it's mighty hard to paddle along the ocean side knowing you are not supposed to land, while you watch vehicles and campers driving up and down the shore.

[spuglisi]

Also you can look into just how the Refuge boundaries extend at low tide.

Without getting into a big debate on Refuge policies I will say the it's mighty hard to paddle along the ocean side knowing you are not supposed to land, while you watch vehicles and campers driving up and down the shore.

Aside from emergencies the environmental police and park rangers are very strict about landing on the refuge beach. landing North of the refuge (when conditions allow) should not be a problem. Same for Sandy point.

As far as the trucks and campers....they are allowed to get special permits for surfcasting.

[nancysan]

Aside from emergencies the environmental police and park rangers are very strict about landing on the refuge beach. landing North of the refuge (when conditions allow) should not be a problem. Same for Sandy point.

As far as the trucks and campers....they are allowed to get special permits for surfcasting.

On the marsh side there are signs stating not to land for most of the stretch. And perhaps along the northern portion of the beach. Once you get back to Ipswich in the marsh tons of boaters and rec kayakers land just across from the IBYC, Clark Beach, up to Pavilion. The stretch around the southern tip and a mile or two of ocean side on the south seems to be okay.