Brackish water(Both river and marsh) | Kayaking in New Hampshire Seacoast

oyster92714google — Trip as seen in Google earth

Date traveled – Sept 27, 2014
length of trip – 5 miles
weather – calm, about 75 degrees no clouds
Time on the water- 2 hours

I was in the need for some kayaking. This summer was brutal when it came to my schedule to get out in the water. Today was perfect. The weather was perfect and there were no commitments. I looked at the map to see where I haven’t gone before. What stuck out was Oyster river in Durham. I saw on the map where one can put in a kayak. I had tried to find it before but without any luck. This time I found it. It was a nice park near UNH.

I put in the kayak there. There was a group of people there that lost their Frisbee in the river. I went out in the water, picked it up and threw it back to them. I went upstream to look at the dam and then immediately went downstream in the direction of Great Bay.

Both sides were woods with some high class housing. All around me small fish were jumping. This usually means that there are bigger fish scaring the small fish out of the water. I wish I had a fishing rod. A ways down the was a path to follow in the kayak. It was a little longer than 1/2 mile and there were reeds on both sides. I traced my steps and started back on the river.

I continued down the river until Great Bay was in front of me. Then had a panic attack. Did I lock the car or not. I went back. The car was locked. I put the kayak into the truck and took off. As I was kayaking I saw another place to let in the kayak so I looked for that.

Sure enough there was Jackson point. There was a boat house where UNH stored their skulls for crew. There was also a kids playground and a skating rink. I did not know any of these places existed. It was a great time all around.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

DSCF0065 — Obelisk along side of the water

DSCF0064 — Sharing the river with kayakers in training

DSCF0062 — Metal statue of a fish skeleton

DSCF0061 — House at a point surrounded by water on 3 sides

Squamscottgoogle81114 — My journey as seen on Google maps

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.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.