Dabend Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 I am looking for a put-in on the North Shore on Saturday August 6. Because of the low tide at noon on Saturday, I am wary of the Essex River because I have paddled there before near low and I found it to be very busy with motorcraft and very little room for kayaks.I read about Masconomo Park as a put in and it sounds good. But does anyone have any first-hand experience with the parking there? I plan to get there around noon on a Saturday in August....am I crazy?thanks,David Quote
Big Jaguar Shark Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 I am looking for a put-in on the North Shore on Saturday August 6. Because of the low tide at noon on Saturday, I am wary of the Essex River because I have paddled there before near low and I found it to be very busy with motorcraft and very little room for kayaks. I read about Masconomo Park as a put in and it sounds good. But does anyone have any first-hand experience with the parking there? I plan to get there around noon on a Saturday in August....am I crazy? thanks, David I've only gone there on weekdays and I haven't had a problem with finding a spot. Park in the middle portion of the lot. Can't comment on how it is on the weekends. Dustin Quote
alcoons Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 David. Manchester eliminated almost all long term parking a few years ago because the business owners in town complained that beach goers took all the parking places and bought almost nothing. As a result, unless things changed very recently, there are almost no spots where you can park for more than two hours. Masconomo Park does have some spots in the middle, but they go very quickly and I would consider myself very lucky to find a spot there. Other paddlers might suggest other put-ins for you.Al Quote
bazzert Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 I plan to get there around noon on a Saturday in August....am I crazy? I would say you have a snowball's chance in hell of finding one of those spots Usually accross from the park in the lot (where the DnD is) they collect a fee for beach parking; you could unload and then park there. I dont recall the amount but it might have been $10 or so. Probably worth it for a day out on as fine a piece of coastline as anywhere. In Lisa Evan's book, she mentions that with the appropriate permissions from the police department parking behind the police station (there is a boat ramp right there) is an option; but that may only apply out of season. Worth a try. Barry. Quote
alcoons Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 <<In Lisa Evan's book, she mentions that with the appropriate permissions from the police department parking behind the police station (there is a boat ramp right there) is an option; but that may only apply out of season. Worth a try.Barry.>>Actually, there use to be long term parking there, but, at least as of last year, the town has asked the police not to allow long term parking of non-residents. What ashame -- the boat ramp there is always an easy launch no matter what the tide and it was close to the center of town.Al Quote
Dabend Posted August 5, 2011 Author Posted August 5, 2011 I would say you have a snowball's chance in hell of finding one of those spots Usually accross from the park in the lot (where the DnD is) they collect a fee for beach parking; you could unload and then park there. I dont recall the amount but it might have been $10 or so. Probably worth it for a day out on as fine a piece of coastline as anywhere. In Lisa Evan's book, she mentions that with the appropriate permissions from the police department parking behind the police station (there is a boat ramp right there) is an option; but that may only apply out of season. Worth a try. Barry. Quote
Dabend Posted August 5, 2011 Author Posted August 5, 2011 Thanks everyone for your advice. I think I will just put a bike on the back of my car. Then I can drop the boats and it won't be as crucial to find a parking space that close. I'll let you know what I learn.David Quote
Dabend Posted August 7, 2011 Author Posted August 7, 2011 Just wanted to let people know that I arrived at Masconomo Park at 12:45 yesterday (Saturday). There were no non-resident spaces when I got there but by the time I took the boat off the car, a car left and I was able to get a spot. Soon after, another car left and my friend who was meeting me there also got a spot. So we got lucky. But even if we could not have parked there, there were a lot of 2-hour spaces on the street (which I could not have used since my plans were for a longer paddle). There were also local lots but those were $25. I did check out the Elementary School and High School parking lots and those were wide open. And less than a half a mile from the Park so it would have been easy to park there and ride my bike to there. Anyway, for anyone who cares, the parking was pretty easy and the paddle was fantastic.d Quote
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