Date traveled – August 11, 2014
length of trip – 10.4 miles
weather -Sunny, about 80 degrees.
Time on the water- 6 hours
I have kayaked on the Squamscott River before and love it. There was fish jumping on both sides of me, saw Blue Heron, Osprey, Hawks and other assorted wildlife. I saw someone who had previously came early in the morning where she saw moose and deer on the shore. There would be all sorts of surprises considering a large portion of side of the river is conservation areas.
The place to put the kayak in the water is top notch. I put the kayak in the water two hours before high tide. I understand that this is the best way to traverse this river. The tide coming in help the trip up to Exeter. When you get to Exeter the tide going out will help you get back. What I experienced was that if I had left one hour earlier(three hours before high tide), walked around Exeter for 2 hours and then headed back would have kept me from experiencing the calm in the transition between the tide coming in and going out.
I enjoyed it the way I did it. The trip was beautiful. The waters were calm. On one side there were beautiful houses all with their different character. On the other side was conservation areas. I saw (and smelled) a farm. There was an ingenious method on making an Osprey nest by making a tripod. I saw very few other boats. Most of the time I had the river to myself. There was an island in the river where I saw boaters docked and went swimming. I can never get tired going under a bridge. Route 101 had a majestic span. Past the bridge was a water treatment plant.
After that was Exeter. Exeter is a quaint city with a lot of personality. There is history, scenic areas, quaint shops, good restaurants and a nice place just to walk around. I saw a place to take the kayak to get off and explore. To see Exeter from the harbor was a unique to see the personality that a town like Exeter had to offer. I then started back. If took a while until the tide was in my favor. It was just as beautiful going back down the river as going up. I reached my starting point and got out. It was a great trip. I need to do this again except early morning.
Kayaking in New Hampshire Seacoast 