Hello may be a long shot but I’m a beginner somewhat land locked in Columbia, MD 21046. I’ve been scoping out spots, know of Annapolis and the Delaware and MD beaches but wondering if anyone knows of any other places closer to 21046? Any help would be MUCH appreciated. Appears most of the launch sites on this map or kayak sites as when I dig into the rules/regs for places close to me doesn’t seem they are SUP friendly. Thanks and happy and safe paddling, Dale
You are lucky actually.
You’re within 30-45 minutes of so many launches into the Bay and its estuaries as you must already know. Since you’re just picking up the sport, you’ll have to locate the nearest accessible pond or lake for some flatwater practice too. I can’t think of any offhand that are closer than the Bay though.
The Daniels Pool of the Patapsco.
– Last Updated: Sep-11-12 4:52 PM EST –
Not sure, but I'm guessing some of those nearby rule/reg governed bodies of water you allude to might be some of Howard County's or W.S.S.C.'s governed lakes, i.e. Triadelphia Reservoir or Centennial Lake, to mention a few.
Well, right up the U.S.29 to Route 99 path from your Gem of the Ocean zip, in the Patapsco Valley State Park, you can slip on down Daniels Road to the Patapsco River, there where it pools behind the Daniels Dam, and, avoiding a few silting accretions which might tug at your skeggy-finned bottom, have yourself at least a 2/3rd mile upriver run (perhaps a mile and a third, if the rains ever lift the nearby gage back into the 2-foot reading realm) against soft current. Seldom that crowded on the water (saw a few kayakers and one SUPer there this past Sunday), with usually most folks there to hike or fish the rivers banks and woodland trails.
And the rules aren't too bad! Sunup to sundown (I've slipped on in to this takeout a few times as dusk waned), no PFD regs, and just keep your dog on a leash (not sure how that works on a paddle board) whilst foregoing alcohol's consumption. (I usually just tell the ranger the damn dog chewed through his leash and went off on his beer run before returning. But then, I'm a low-key irrational Duckhead of a canoodledlist, too.)
Anyway, for a quickly reached place to practice your SUP maneuvers, with the occasional side benefit of osprey and heron and other wildlife companions, it would be a fair choice.
TW