I was wondering what some of the best places in the Pines for beginning kayakers are. I just got mine this weekend.
Kayaking
- Thread starter Piney1125
- Start date
Best First Kayaking?
Do you want to run a river or just try some ponds? Hmm, you might
want to try paddling around Oswego Lake first to get your sealegs, then
portage over the dam and run the lower Oswego through Martha Pond and
take out at Harrisville Pond. It's an easy shuttle between put-in and take-
out, and it only takes three to four hours. Robert Parnes, in his book
Paddling the Jersey Pine Barrens, thinks the Oswego is not a good
river for beginners because the shallow gravel beds make it challenging,
but I disagree. See my destination report on www.paddling.net in the
"Places to Paddle"/New Jersey section for a complete report. There also
seems to be an Oswego trip organizing this Tuesday, although I don't know the exact time and meeting place. Heck, I'd be happy to take you
out and show you my favorite: Mullica, the Magnificent.. I was trying to
organize my own Mullica trip this week. Let me know. Bill Wiegand
Do you want to run a river or just try some ponds? Hmm, you might
want to try paddling around Oswego Lake first to get your sealegs, then
portage over the dam and run the lower Oswego through Martha Pond and
take out at Harrisville Pond. It's an easy shuttle between put-in and take-
out, and it only takes three to four hours. Robert Parnes, in his book
Paddling the Jersey Pine Barrens, thinks the Oswego is not a good
river for beginners because the shallow gravel beds make it challenging,
but I disagree. See my destination report on www.paddling.net in the
"Places to Paddle"/New Jersey section for a complete report. There also
seems to be an Oswego trip organizing this Tuesday, although I don't know the exact time and meeting place. Heck, I'd be happy to take you
out and show you my favorite: Mullica, the Magnificent.. I was trying to
organize my own Mullica trip this week. Let me know. Bill Wiegand
Actually, I have the book you were describing, and we went on our first outing. We went on the Great Egg Harbor river from Penny Pot to Weymouth. It took us 4 and a half hours. At first, it was hard for me to steer, but I got the hang of it. The only problem was that there was more logs, branches, and debris than he said there was, and there was nowhere to rest, as it was all swampy. I was wondering if Cedar Creek in Double Trouble State Park, or the Maurice River near Vineland were good places to go.
I"ve done cedar creek from bamber to double trouble and live next to the maurice and have done it many times from malaga to the bay.both creeks are mostly swamp with few high banks to pull out on.If you want an easy river with plenty of high banks I"d do the wading below hawkins bridge but it"s very crowded on weekends in summer.The mullica below 206 is also good for many banks but unless you have 4 by 4 your committed to a 6 to 8 hour trip.the wading is more easily broken up.I"d suggest a short trip from evans bridge (563 spur) to beaver branch.takes me about 40 minutes in a canoe but thats all paddling.you could stretch it out.even paddle up oswego to harrisvill pond if you recognize the junction.
Al
Ps go on a weekday.it"s a beautiful river
Al
Ps go on a weekday.it"s a beautiful river
Great Egg Nightmare!
The Great Egg is a nightmare for kayakers. How did you survive?
A friend and I did the Winslow Wildlife Management Area stretch from
Williamstown Road down to Piney Hollow last summer. It took us 8
hours to do 2 miles. My friend, who was launching his newly built
Chesapeake Light Craft kayak for the first time, was practically in tears
the whole way. Parnes is right on this issue. Too few local clubs have
cleared the Great Egg for kayaking. It's so swampy that you can truly
get lost trying to read the current. A few people have drowned there.
A week after we tried it, a local newspaper reported two kayakers who
got separated, spent the night there, and were luckily rescued.
You can't go wrong with the Oswego or the Mullica. The Wading gets
too crowded on the weekends. The Batsto is cool. but the shuttling is a
pain, and the slackwater two miles above Batsto Lake is not much fun.
All around, the Mullica from Atsion Lake down to Pleasant Mills is my
choice. I like rivers enveloped by Wharton--of course, others may
recommend non-Wharton watercourses.
Interested in doing the Mullica some time? Post reply, bro. Bill W.
The Great Egg is a nightmare for kayakers. How did you survive?
A friend and I did the Winslow Wildlife Management Area stretch from
Williamstown Road down to Piney Hollow last summer. It took us 8
hours to do 2 miles. My friend, who was launching his newly built
Chesapeake Light Craft kayak for the first time, was practically in tears
the whole way. Parnes is right on this issue. Too few local clubs have
cleared the Great Egg for kayaking. It's so swampy that you can truly
get lost trying to read the current. A few people have drowned there.
A week after we tried it, a local newspaper reported two kayakers who
got separated, spent the night there, and were luckily rescued.
You can't go wrong with the Oswego or the Mullica. The Wading gets
too crowded on the weekends. The Batsto is cool. but the shuttling is a
pain, and the slackwater two miles above Batsto Lake is not much fun.
All around, the Mullica from Atsion Lake down to Pleasant Mills is my
choice. I like rivers enveloped by Wharton--of course, others may
recommend non-Wharton watercourses.
Interested in doing the Mullica some time? Post reply, bro. Bill W.
Great Egg Harbor
I did not ride down the stretch that you went on, as my book said that it was not good for kayakers of any level. Where I went, it was a lot wider, thanks to the Hospitality Creek flowing in. The worst part of this trip was when I got stuck once in a pile of debris. The part from Penny Pot to Weymouth is really the most suitable, after it passes under 322, it becomes narrow and swampy on the way to Lake Lenape. We saw a few other people, and there were a lot of houses with waterfronts on the Great Egg, as well as at least one campground. The worst part is that the land is not protected by the state, and we ran into some drunk men on a canoe asking me "How far is home?". Their canoe was just floating side to side, and one of the men had his face scratched by a bush and the others didn't do anything to protect them. Alcohol is prohibited in the state forests, and that should make the trip more peaceful. Another bad part is when a kid at one of the campgrounds tried to tip me, he jumped out of a tree and missed, but he landed in front of me and got hit in the back of the head with my kayak and he got me wet. Overall, though, it was a pretty enjoyable trip for me and my family.
And another thing about the Great Egg not being protected by the state, you should paddle it while it is still pristine. The area around it may soon be developed, and it could get polluted just like what happened to the Toms River. Lets just hope that never happens.
I did not ride down the stretch that you went on, as my book said that it was not good for kayakers of any level. Where I went, it was a lot wider, thanks to the Hospitality Creek flowing in. The worst part of this trip was when I got stuck once in a pile of debris. The part from Penny Pot to Weymouth is really the most suitable, after it passes under 322, it becomes narrow and swampy on the way to Lake Lenape. We saw a few other people, and there were a lot of houses with waterfronts on the Great Egg, as well as at least one campground. The worst part is that the land is not protected by the state, and we ran into some drunk men on a canoe asking me "How far is home?". Their canoe was just floating side to side, and one of the men had his face scratched by a bush and the others didn't do anything to protect them. Alcohol is prohibited in the state forests, and that should make the trip more peaceful. Another bad part is when a kid at one of the campgrounds tried to tip me, he jumped out of a tree and missed, but he landed in front of me and got hit in the back of the head with my kayak and he got me wet. Overall, though, it was a pretty enjoyable trip for me and my family.
And another thing about the Great Egg not being protected by the state, you should paddle it while it is still pristine. The area around it may soon be developed, and it could get polluted just like what happened to the Toms River. Lets just hope that never happens.
B
bach2yoga
Guest
Piney:1125:
I sense a non-sequitir here....
Actually, much of the Great Egg is protected, as it was designated a wild and scenic river. you can read a bit about it here:
http://www.eht.com/recreation/geriver.html
peace
I sense a non-sequitir here....
Actually, much of the Great Egg is protected, as it was designated a wild and scenic river. you can read a bit about it here:
http://www.eht.com/recreation/geriver.html
peace
Lower Toms River
Is the part of the Toms River below the town suitable for canoeing or kayaking? If it is, where are some good takeout points below the town, such as places in Ocean Gate or Island Heights?
Is the part of the Toms River below the town suitable for canoeing or kayaking? If it is, where are some good takeout points below the town, such as places in Ocean Gate or Island Heights?
Cedar Creek is great also! Just don't start at Bamber Lake. That first stretch is not paddled often and has a lot of debris.
All the Wharton routes are great, except for the crowds on the weekends as MullicaMan said.
Tried the Egg Harbor right below New Brooklyn Lake and that was a disaster! That us the only point to point trip where I had to turn around.
If you do not want to shuttle, I like to explore Goshen Pond....
All the Wharton routes are great, except for the crowds on the weekends as MullicaMan said.
Tried the Egg Harbor right below New Brooklyn Lake and that was a disaster! That us the only point to point trip where I had to turn around.
If you do not want to shuttle, I like to explore Goshen Pond....
Cedar Creek Trip
Went down Cedar Creek from Ore Pond to Cedar Creek Campground today. I really liked this one. There were no houses, and it was quite narrow, and it was pretty scenic.
Went down Cedar Creek from Ore Pond to Cedar Creek Campground today. I really liked this one. There were no houses, and it was quite narrow, and it was pretty scenic.