Kayaking in Rye NY

I’ve had my eye on the Long Island Sound as a paddling destination for a while. I’ve worked in a Westchester County for years and have customers all along the Sound. Driving around the area, I constantly pass by bits of water in New Rochelle or Mamaroneck, that make me say “That looks like it would be fun to paddle. I wonder where I could put in.”

Rye Town Dock

That is always the question. Along the Hudson, there are many spots where I can launch my kayak for free and the Hudson River Greenway Water Trail website makes finding them easy. My resource for finding launch spots outside my home zone is paddling.com. It’s useful, but not nearly as good as the site for the Greenway. Many of paddling.com’s entries lack detail.

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Haverstraw Bay to George’s Island Park by Kayak

My plan was a one way paddle from Cold Spring to Beacon. Ever since my son got his driver’s license and we bought a third vehicle, I’ve wanted to take advantage of not having to return to my launch spot when I go paddling. Buying a tandem kayak was the last piece of the puzzle.

Haverstraw Boat Launch

I researched my route, rearranged cars in the driveway so the two I planned to use were in the back and started gathering up gear. When it was time to load my tandem kayak, I went to find Junior to see if he was ready to help.

“Actually, I was gonna work on my assignment for my writing class that starts tomorrow” he said, unexpectedly. That threw me off.

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Kayaking Beacon NY: Denning’s Point and Fishkill Creek

It’s been a long time since I set foot in the city of Beacon NY, not since I left a Hudson Valley sales territory for a new job in the metro area over sixteen years ago.

Hamilton Fish Bridge

I wasn’t very impressed with Beacon back then but I can’t say I was avoiding the place either. Over the years my kayaking excursions have brought me to Newburgh, Cold Spring, Cornwall and other spots nearby.

In the meantime I’d been hearing about all kinds of new developments and downtown revitalization going on in Beacon. I figured it was about time I planned a return visit. We drove up the Thruway and across the Hamilton Fish Bridge and arrived at Beacon’s Riverfront Park right around two thirty.

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