I suppose it’s been awhile since I wrote anything, and I should. If for no other reason than someday our grandkids will ask why we were so lame in July of 2017. Well, our adventures continue, it’s just that lately they’ve been shorter and closer to home. And I realized today that, even though we quite often go out kayaking, I haven’t written once about our time paddling!
This summer is flying by in no small part because the late spring, wet weather pushed plans around a bit. For some reason the “schedule of events” seems to be full, so we’re taking smaller trips to refresh and enjoy ourselves as much as we can. Our backyard garden looks amazing (Dexter’s greenthumb, not mine), and the local ice cream shop is seeing a lot of our business. By the way, Southy’s in South Glens Falls has amazing soft ice cream, so stop in and enjoy a cone! Seriously, I think it’s better than Martha’s or any other place around!
Back on subject… we haven’t been on the trails in awhile (my knees are giving that line a standing ovation right now), but we have been hitting the waters around the area a bit while we can. South Glens Falls has two boat launches that we’ve used recently: One on Beach Road, right next to the Sandbar Beach, and another at the end of Nolan Road in the Town of Moreau. Both offer great access to the Hudson River and allow paddlers a wonderfully different view of the area.
The Sandbar Beach launch is a beautiful park-like area complete with picnic tables, a public beach (small, but rarely does it get very busy), and a trail that follows the river south.
Paddling here you’ll find the river seldom has motorized boats on it as the distance between the Finch Paper dam and Feeder Dam further north is a bit short. It’s great for kayaking since it’s quiet and fairly calm water. From here you can go south toward Glens Falls, or north past Haviland Cove Park in Queensbury. As you head north, you can get great sunsets as well. You’ll be paddling against the current, but it’s relatively easy here. Check out the rocks on the southern shore, too. A brittle shale, when they break apart they make really interesting puzzles!
The Nolan Road boat launch is a bit busier and you’ll find people here more often. The river has a number of motorized boats on the shores as well. Our first venture we headed south and explored a small inlet that brought us north into a very interesting forest cover. We quietly explored the area in our kayaks, and surprised some deer at the water’s edge. Eventually downed trees blocked further exploration, but it was a long trip in regardless. The second time out we headed north beyond the Northway overpass south of Exit 18. Boater activity is greater here as the number of houses is concentrated on the shores, but the river is wide with plenty of room to meander. We checked out this really great shoreline off Old Bend Road where the lily pads are numerous and the turtles are plentiful as well. Drifting through the grasses, a turtle plopped into the water and scared the hell out of me. Like, heart-rate elevated scared. Grrrrr! Long trip from Nolan Road, but a wonderful paddle.
Our most recent kayaking was in Fort Edward near Roger’s Island. There’s a boat launch off West River Road just south of Reynold’s Road offering easy access to the Hudson River.
We put in and immediately headed north to go around Roger’s Island, thinking it would be nice to kayak around and past the yacht basin. We knew the current was flowing against us to start, but DAMN! We paddled and paddled and realized we weren’t moving very far.
Just past the Idle Hour Club we decided to go around a smaller island south of the train trestle. It was getting late in the evening, so we figured we could do this another time. The paddle back to the boat launch was fast, though! So much easier on our arms and shoulders! And we were treated to a beaver cruising with us for a short while!
If you’d like to get out and paddle and you’re near Glens Falls, those three spots are pretty good ones to check out, as well as Moreau Lake State Park. All offer a few hours each of good paddling with wildlife, interesting shoreline views, and sometimes wonderful sunsets. We’re looking forward to many more days on the water as we check out Cranberry Lake and parts of the Adirondack 90-miler someday!
(We also checked out the Widow Jane Mine in Rosendale, NY recently. We’ll add a review and photos on that soon, plus a quick bike ride up the Warren County Bike Trail to Lake George!)