Today's original paddling plan was to go to the Spurwink River in Cape Elizabeth. I had been looking for a place to put in and thought I had found the perfect spot.
We parked at the interseciton of Spurwink Road and Rt. 77 in Cape Elizabeth. (Part of The Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge.) This is what people reference as the Rt. 77 bridge. We thought we could put in there, there appeared to be a decent place to put in and take out. We saw other people there kayaking.
After we unloaded the kayaks, one of my fellow paddlers saw a sign that said. "No Access Beyond This Point." We debated about what to do... and I found a sign with a telephone number on it, and we called it. We asked if we could put our kayaks in there.
We were denied.
And we did the right thing... we re-loaded the kayaks and found an alternate spot, which as it turned out was a GREAT paddle. We did the Nonesuch River instead. (See last post.)
I am determined to find a spot where I can put my kayak in so I can paddle the Spurwink... I may have to give in and just put in at Higgins Beach.. but we'll see!
Stay tuned!
Hey, stumbled across this post while trying to figure out if that access point really is completely restricted. Looks like the person who told you no didn't know what they were talking about:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2011-title50-vol8/pdf/CFR-2011-title50-vol8-sec32-39.pdf
The relevant section on p. 370 says this:
10. We allow car-top launching from legal sunrise to legal sunset at Spurwink River division on the upstream side of Route 77 at the old road crossing.
Cheers, and happy paddling!
Thanks for the research! May have to try it again
ReplyDeleteCheck out the Salmon Falls River, above the dam. The boat launch is technically in Rollinsford, NH (at Independence Park). However, paddling upstream, you have Maine to your right and New Hampshire to your left. This is a great paddle. The water is usually still, calm, and the shoreline is rich with trees, bushes and other assorted greenery. Very scenic and pastoral. You can paddle about 6 miles before coming to the next dam, as well. Well worth the trip to southernmost Maine!
ReplyDelete