Northern Neck of Virginia

We are considering going to the close-in part of Northern Neck of Virginia next weekend and are looking for safe, quiet water to paddle for about 2 hours with easy put-ins.



My wife and I are beginners but have done mostly lake paddling over the past few years. She has a Carolina 13.5 and I have a Dirigo 120. No rolling for us over 60 year olds, but I have taken lessons on re-entry with paddle float.Yes we use PFD’s always.



Since that area is about 2 hours from home in Northern VA, we figure a little paddling, strawberry picking at Westmoreland Berry Farm and then home should make for a really full day.



Any suggestions would be appreciated.



Thanks.



Michael

I didn’t know that VA had a northern
neck. Now, West Virginia. that’s a northern neck for you.

Westmoreland State Park
Westmoreland State Park on Rt 3, close to the Berry Farm, is a good place to put in to paddle the Potomac. It is not always calm so check the weather. I’ve paddled there twice this year already and have had a blast!

Call the Berry Farm and …
… ask if they know how to access the small pond right there , or the larger pond/lake just down the road … BerryFarm road will end at a large cove (point) off to the east side of the Rappahanock river … all this is visible on MapQuest (type in the address of the berry farm and zoom in on that screen ) , zoom in some more , then click ariel view , drag the screen around and see the lay of the land … if those 3 different waters are going to be accessable to public , the farm personel should know or have suggestions … the 3 water locations I mentioned are within 10 mins. of the farm … don’t know anymore about it than what I have said , never been there , only a quick MapQuest search and waa-laa , water !! … all I see is plow row fields through that stretch of Berry Farm Lane leading to water , maybe it’s all owned by Westmoreland Berry Farm ?? … good luck …

Northern Neck Paddling
There are plenty of places to paddle up in that part of the Neck. You could either stick to the Potomac side and paddle around Westmoreland Cliffs or put in at the Currioman Bay put in and do around there.



Of course the Rapp side has lots of cool places to go as well, Cat Point Creek is very cool and Piscataway Creek is just across the river.



You could even drive further down the neck towards the whitestone/irvington area, there are plenty of very cool paddling opportunities there as well.



I just found this message on a random google search, and I do not frequent this board so if you would like any more advice on put ins or paddling in the northern neck you should go to www.northernneckforums.com and post there. Some very experienced paddlers and kayak fisherman on that board.