staying in beckett mass for a week. looking for suggestions for still water kayaking in near beckett, ma. hoosatonic river? good put in places? Others places? I like remote and nook and crannies to explore, not just big open pond or lake?
THANKS!
Annette
A guidebook I have suggests a section
from Cook Road/ Covered Bridge Lane down to Mass 7A. Eight miles total. I scouted this stretch by going to this link:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/rt
and then the Mass. link:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ma/nwis/rt
…where I clicked on the dot for the gauge above Great Barrington Mass. That got me this page:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?01197500
I then pulled down the thing on data available for the site to get the site map:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/nwismap/?site_no=01197500&agency_cd=USGS
If you haven’t done these pages before, you should try to take all the steps. Otherwise you can just use the final link.
Now you’re facing a map of the Housatonic, marked with the location of the gauge north of Great Barrington. Take your mouse, roll the wheel a couple of times to zoom in, and use the hand to pull the map down south of Great Barrington, along hwy 7, until you find Cook Road. That’s your put in. There’s little current in summer, so maybe you can just paddle upstream and downstream and explore the side channels of this meandering river. If you have shuttle, you can do the 8 miles down to the hwy 7A take out. (Maple Rd. and hwy 7 are not good for access.)
Note that you can switch from the Terrain map to the USGS topo map (sometimes balky) or the hybrid map that shows satellite imagery and highway names. The hybrid map zooms in the best.
Possible problems. It has been dry up there and the river may be unpleasantly low. And, the people you are visiting may not have a computer.
Hudson river
Schodack Landing and Castleton Island State Park.
http://www.castleton-on-hudson.org/Schodack_Island_Park.shtml
probably real low
was just checking USGS flows today here in Ct., and mousing over the 10 mile I saw 275, which is low but doable. Unfortunately it was the Housatonic at Gaylordsville that’s 275, the 10 mile is at 14 cfs. Been a real crap summer for paddling. All my friends who are addicted head up to the Deerfield river
http://www.zoaroutdoor.com/
because they have daily releases. I’m waiting for October (dam drawdowns if they happen), and mountain biking/sailing in the meantime.
Your larger rivers are still okay (Connecticut/Hudson).
Yeah, the Great Barrington gauge is
pretty low. The section I outlined is meandering flatwater. Hard to say from space whether that small amount of water is enough for paddling.
But the OP asked about the Housatonic, so that’s what I did. I have paddled the easy Housatonic whitewater from a mile above the covered bridge down toward Kent in CT. Pleasant for this old person.
decent guide
– Last Updated: Aug-08-10 12:12 PM EST –
http://connecticutwatertrails.com/CWTA%20-%20Connecticut%20Paddling%20Trails%20-%20Housatonic%20River%20Paddling%20Trail.htm
only found 'cuz it seems to be a couch potato day so far anyways ;-).
At this low level. I'm hitting Rattlesnake in a couple weeks with guidance from the best paddler I know, level and time willing. Check the lines out while I have a chance of staying upright.
Good people here.
http://www.clarkeoutdoors.com/
DEP guide is excellent
Also check out Naugatuck Valley Outdoors Club or Housatonic Valley Paddle Club. Both are yahoo-group based organizations that have lots of local paddlers willing to give info on their favorite paddles.
E-mail me if you have any questions. I paddle the area frequently.
You could check out Thousand Acre Swamp
Not far from Beckett and it is a nice paddle. Once again not sure what the water level like this year.