Our four-day journey down the Connecticut River was coming to a close with a fairly easy paddle from Selden Neck to the mouth of the river. We packed up camp with our sights on the Connecticut River Museum in Essex and Old Saybrook as our final destination. This portion of the river, heading South, is very busy with boat traffic. Seeing that it is a holiday week and after the experiences we already encountered, it’s important to get on the…
The drift to Selden Neck, Day 3, is a much easier paddle. For one, the distance is about half of the day before (see Connecticut: Fight the Tide). Plus, timing the 11 mile distance with the tides can allow you to drift almost the entire way to Selden Neck. This is where Selden Creek, an offshoot of the Connecticut River creates a island. Selden Island has just 4 primitive campsites, so make reservations early. Campsites are only accessible from the river.…
Suddenly, we were awake on the second day of our 4-day trek down the Connecticut River. The day before we paddled from Enfield to Wethersfield. Today, we will travel the 23 miles to Hurd State Park in East Hampton. This stretch of the river is taxing in terms of stamina of the body and mind as you might have to fight the tide. The river winds through the valley past Rocky Hill, Cromwell, and Middletown to East Hampton where we…
Since we live in Connecticut, we determined that the paddling story had to be epic. With this in mind, we opted for a multi-day adventure stretching the length of the Connecticut River from Enfield to Old Saybrook. That is over 60 miles in 4 days. The origin of the word, “Connecticut,” means, “long tidal river.” It’s an Algonquin term. Over a series of posts dedicated to our adventure through Connecticut, we will illustrate the beauty and importance of the river,…
One of my favorite things in the world is adventure. I love it in pretty much any form. Long backpacking excursions, thrill rides, and four day long paddles down a tidal river. This 4th of July weekend, Tony and I decided to canoe the entire Connecticut portion of the Connecticut River. It’s a trip we began planning in late 2016. Reserving campgrounds and planning the trip around the tides of the river were critical and required early preparations. We’ll share…
As we are gearing up for our 2017 Canoe 52 adventures, I wanted to recount my first multi-day paddle. My brother-in-law, Chris, and I set off on a four-day paddle down the Connecticut Riveron August 2, 2015. We had absolutely no idea what we were doing. First, we got a late start. We opted for Bloody Mary and a hardy breakfast, essential for a full-day paddle, but we did not hit the water until after 11. We embarked on our journey at…
Sometimes you have to crack through the ice in order to paddle. That’s exactly what we did for our first paddle of 2017, also our first paddle that involved ice! My brother Chris was our special guest for some Connecticut River paddling this February. I have canoed in the cold, but this was definitely the first time I canoed when ice was covering the edge of the river! Getting to the River Our initial plan was to paddle the Farmington River.…
