…Per Boston Globe.
http://www.boston.com/travel/explorene/galleries/take10/nekayak/
Just curious as to what others think of this list (which are a must see, which are overrated), b/c I’m planning a week long July trip. My ultimate destination will be Portland, ME where my buddy has a place, but I’ll be making numerous stops along the way, like CT (where I lived for a spell) and Newport, RI. I’d like to experience some of the New England kayaking spots without the need for a drysuit and not having to freeze my cojones off.
It’s such a pleasant rarity to see an article on sea kayaking in the mainstream press. I read somewhere earlier this year that kayaking is the fastest growing sport in the U.S. I have no idea how the people responsible for the survey calculated and reached their conclusions, but I’m seeing more and more kayaks on cartops these days.
There are better
spots than some in the article, but most of the ones listed are fine. Personally, I’d add Stonington, ME (And Penobscot Bay in general), Casco Bay, ME, actually, anywhere in ME from Casco Bay and downeast, The Thimble Islands in CT, for the less adventurous, the lower CT river from Chester to the sound, and Jamestown, RI from Ft Wetherill down to Beavertail Point and up to Dutch Island.
I’m probably leaving a few gems out, but it’s been a long day…
Few of my top in that list
Certainly Acadia/MDI is among my favorite paddling spots. However, two of my absolute favs on the Maine coast are not listed. Which is probably good…
Wood River?
Its pretty but beware the poison ivy. Overhead yet.
They missed most of the good spots in Maine…thankfully. Acadia is fine but overrun at times.
Cobscook Bay, Jonesport, Moosehead Lake,Muscongus Bay, Chesuncook Lake, West Branch of Penobscot to Chesuncook…all seakayakable.
Casco Bay is OK but I prefer evergreen clad islands.Perhaps thats because I look at Casco every day.
writer is not a paddler
missed Stonington, Penobscot Bay, Muscongus Bay, Moosehead Lake just to name a few—all of the above are better than most of what he mentioned—one good point when he talked about Acadia he focused on the West side of MDI—Blue Hill Bay which is much less crowed in the summer than Frenchmens, particularly around Bar Harbor.
Great Article…
I’ve been referring everyone who paddles or aspires to a paddle in hand to this wonderful article on the best places to go. 
sing
Maybe the artical was mislabled
The fellow that wrote the article called the list “. . . a broad palette of New England paddling destinations.” It looks to me like he was trying present a palette of places that is broad geographically and in terms of their suitability to various skill levels. I’m wondering if it wasn’t some editor that tacked on the “10 best places . . .” moniker.
good thing
good thing it left out the real best but sometimes crowded places like Penobscot Bay, Muscongus Bay, Casco bay, all of Cape Cod, Thimble Islands, Rockport, etc.
I love seeing “10 best places” lists
published that don’t include any of mine. The last person I want to encounter at my spots is the last person I encountered there. To quote Bukowski: “It’s not that I don’t like people, I just feel better when they’re not around.”
Exactly (NM)
My
favorite spot isn’t there.