The undeniable advantage of living in New England: location, location, location. No one here is far from some cool, blue refreshment, whether it be the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Cod Bay, Walden Pond, or the Connecticut River. Some natives even claim they can’t bear to be out of sight of the water for more than a day or two. (These are probably the same people who take part in those silly polar-bear swims in January.) Come summertime, though, none of us can resist the scenic views and fun of being on the water. Whether your thing is skipping rocks or daring the whitewater in Maine, opportunity for water adventure abounds. We’ve detailed some of the possibilities for beginners and hard-core adventurers alike.
Whitewater rafting
The roar of whitewater is loud in Maine and Massachusetts. Runs are rated from Class II to III (beginner) to Class VI (crazy). Environmental regulations limit the number of rafters permitted on New England’s dam-controlled rivers each day, so make a reservation in advance, and prepare to become one with the water.
Moxie Outdoor Adventures. Moxie runs trips in Maine and Massachusetts. The Deerfield River in Western Massachusetts offers two sections for rafting — a challenging intermediate run (Class IV) and a good trip for newbies. Both are 10-to-12-mile day trips. In Maine, Moxie runs the Kennebec, the Dead, and the Penobscot Rivers. Trips range in cost from $65 to $110, depending on the river and time of year. A riverside barbecue lunch is included.
Northern Outdoors. At Northern Outdoors, rafting the whitewater is a warm-up. This complete outdoor-adventure resort also features kayaking, rock climbing, swimming, and more. Stay the night in a tent alongside the river, or enjoy a cabin. The resort even has its own Kennebec River Brewery. Northern Outdoors’ whitewater trips are all Class III to V, and range from $85 to $122 for a one-day trip (two-day trips also available).
Zoar Outdoor. From April through October, Zoar runs two trips on the Deerfield (one is Class II to III, the other is Class III to IV). In April, you can also dare the whitewater on Millers River in Massachusetts and the West River in Vermont. Trips range from $49 for children to $97 for adults on the more advanced runs. Some of Zoar’s guides have been with the company for as many as 10 years, so rest assured they know their stuff. Campground sites are available, as are cabin tents.
Crab Apple Whitewater. You’ll meet members of the family that runs this business on the phone and on the river. In Vermont, they run trips on the West River in April and September (Class III to IV). Maine trips range from Class II to Class V on the Kennebec and Dead Rivers. They’re also on the Deerfield in Charlemont, where the milder parts are good for kids as young as eight. Prices range from $34 to $94; the fee includes instruction, a lunch or snack, and a slide presentation of your adventure.
Sailing
From the yachts moored off Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket to the Sunfishes that dot the Charles, New England is known for sailing. And even if you live in the heart of the city, you can sail to your heart’s content.
Piers Park Sailing. If you want to see what sailing’s all about, Piers Park offers a three-hour introductory course ($25). Day-sailing passes are available for beginners and intermediates (you’ll have to prove your stuff on a checkout sail). Monthly passes are $250, and you can bring along your pals for free (12-month passes are $625). Piers Park is a beautiful stretch of harbor built by Massport back in 1995.
Boston Sailing Center. BSC is a school and a club. The basic learn-to-sail course costs $675, and courses for experts, racers, and even celestial sailors are also available. BSC membership entitles you to unlimited sailing during the regular season. An annual day-sailing membership costs $495 for weekdays and $850 for weekends. A 30-day mini-membership (entire-week access) is $350.
Courageous Sailing Center. Join the Courageous Sailing Center and you’ll be contributing to a public charity devoted to teaching Boston children the art of sailing. Learn to sail during a 12-hour course ($225), which also entitles you to a one-month membership. Without instruction, membership costs $175 per month, or $499 yearly. Friday-night races are open to everyone.
Community Boating, Inc. Boston’s signature white sails on the Charles come courtesy of Community Boating. The organization’s goal is to enhance the quality of city life — and that it does. Beginner through advanced instruction (including a five-step learn-to-sail course) is available to members and non-members during the April-to-October season. A 45-day membership is $75, a 75-day membership is $120, and a full year will cost you $190. To learn more, attend an orientation session, held weekdays at 6 p.m., and at 1 p.m. on weekends.
Coastal Sailing School. Captain Bert Williams himself will teach you to skipper an 18- to 24-foot boat. Be ready for on-the-water, learn-by-doing instruction. The skipper’s course ($395) will earn you a certification and graduation to the cruising course ($450), which is taught on a full-size, 30-foot boat. Navigation lessons are also available. Beginners (a/k/a scurvy dogs) and experienced sailors are welcome.
Wind’s Up. What are the Islands without a sailboat? Rent one from Wind’s Up in Vineyard Haven. Sunfish cost $25/hour or $85 all day; catamarans are $30/hour or $105/day; and sloops are $35/hour. Lessons get cheaper the more people you bring along ($65/hour for one person, and $260 for a five-lesson package).
Sea kayaking
Even if you don’t know how to Eskimo roll, you can go for a paddle along New England’s coastal or inland waterways. If you’ve never kayaked before, get some introductory instruction — available just about anyplace you can rent a kayak — and then set off for a scenic, and surprisingly stable, aquatic adventure.
Charles River Canoe & Kayak. The Charles River is one of the most picturesque urban waterways in the county. Visit Charles River Canoe & Kayak along the bike path on the Boston side of the river to rent a kayak (singles are $14/hour or $56/day) and pick up some free instruction. Grab a handy paddling map of the Charles while you’re there. Open May 4 to October 14, from 1 to 6 p.m. on Fridays, and from 10 a.m. to dusk on weekends and holidays.
Cape Cod Kayak. Cape Cod Kayak will take you on guided tours of the Mashpee, Taunton, and Nemasket Rivers, and several other waterways and ponds on the upper Cape. Among its many organized trips is a monthly moonlight paddle. Kayak rentals are $35/day, $55/weekend, or $150/week. The company will deliver your kayak for free.
Martha’s Vineyard Kayak Company. Coastal kayaking doesn’t get much better than a tour off the shore of Martha’s Vineyard. Take a three- to four-hour trip through Edgartown Harbor, cruise around Sengecontacket Pond in Oak Bluffs (good for beginners), paddle to Chappaquiddick, or follow several routes up-island. Full-day kayak rentals are $50. There’s also a five-day special for $150, in case you get hooked.
Essex River Basin Adventures. The good people at Essex River Basin Adventures offer a three-hour tour of, yes, the Essex River Basin ($46). Beginners will feel at ease paddling through this estuary that feeds into the Atlantic and features four-and-a-half miles of barrier beach. Beware the greenhead flies, which are out in full force around mid July. Essex River also has offshore tours for experienced kayakers, including trips to Plum Island, Misery Island, and Gloucester Harbor. Open April 15 through the end of October.
The Maine Island Trail. " The Appalachian Trail of the sea " is a 325-mile small-boat waterway extending from Casco Bay to Machias. Serious adventurers can paddle for three to four weeks while hopping from island to island each night. Publicly owned islands allow free access, but the use of private islands is available only to Maine Island Trail Association Members (membership is $45/year; contact the MITA at 207-596-6456). Weekend-long excursions from Penobscot Bay and Muscungus Bay are popular, especially in late summer and early fall. Guides are available through Coastal Kayaking Tours in Bar Harbor and Maine Island Kayak Company in Peaks Island.
Swimming
You don’t have to drive to the Cape to take a dip in the ocean, though it’s not a bad idea: the Cape Cod National Seashore is one of the best places to go. But Boston-area beaches from north to south offer enough variety to satisfy every kind of beach bum.
Boston Harbor Beaches. What you’re thinking is true: Boston has some long-time problems associated with the wastewater that has been discharged into the harbor. But it’s also true that billions of dollars are being spent to improve water quality and beach facilities at a dozen harbor beaches from Winthrop to Quincy. Water-quality flags will be flown at Boston Harbor beaches again this summer to assure swimmers that the water has passed weekly testing. It’s never recommended, however, that you swim 24 hours after a rainstorm because of sewer-overflow problems (old city, old sewer system). Tenean Beach in Dorchester and Wollaston Beach in Quincy are off-limits to swimmers altogether.
North of Boston. Here, there are plenty of options; it just depends what you want from a day at the beach. Crane Beach in Ipswich is popular for good reason — there’s plenty of sand (four and a half miles of it), ample parking (for $15), low surf for the little ones, restrooms, and refreshments. Singing Beach in Manchester-by-the-Sea is a small crescent beach with sand that squeaks — or sings — when you walk on it. If you can keep your beach bag to a manageable size, Singing Beach is only a half-mile walk from the Manchester commuter-rail station. Plum Island in Newburyport is part wildlife refuge ($5 for access to trails) and part beach with a strong undertow. Gloucester boasts Long Beach and Good Harbor Beach (fewer families, more singles), and Marblehead’s most popular destination is Devereux Beach (families galore).
Walden Pond. Whether you go for recreation or inspiration, Walden Pond is sure to please. The reservation is open from 5 a.m. until a half-hour after sunset and features 333 acres laced with nature trails. When the park reaches capacity (which is often, on a hot city day), you’re outta luck. Parking is restricted to the lot off Route 126.
Cape Cod National Seashore. Where to start? From Bourne to Provincetown, Cape Cod features hundreds of salt and freshwater beaches, including more than 43,000 acres of coastline and 40 miles of coastal beaches. Beaches in the north and west face Cape Cod Bay and have milder surf. Southside beaches (facing Nantucket Sound) have a little more action, and the east-facing beaches on the Atlantic get the largest surf (and undertow). Everyone on the Cape has a favorite beach. Get busy finding yours.
Canoeing
Charles River. Charles River Canoe & Kayak can hook you up with a canoe to explore the Charles. Zigzag your way down the river, or perfect your skills with some instruction. For $80, you get three two-hour classes and free rentals for three weeks. Without lessons, canoe rentals run $11/hour or $44/day. Four-person canoes are available for $14/hour or $56/day.
Concord River. From Concord to Billerica, the full 10-mile paddle along the Concord River will take you past the Old North Bridge (where the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired), Minute Man National Historic Park, and the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. If you’re tired, the trip is easily shortened. During the summer you’ll share the water with powerboats; in the fall, you’ll see it the way Thoreau did when he explored the Concord in his rowboat. Rent your vessel from South Bridge Boat House, open seasonally from 10 a.m. until dusk.
Ipswich River. The Ipswich is a narrow, snaking river perfect for canoeing. Much of its 30 navigable miles is accessible only by canoe. Put in at Willowdale Dam and paddle through wetlands and the largest wildlife sanctuary of the Massachusetts Audubon Society (don’t forget your binoculars). The river is stocked with rainbow and brown trout if you want to cast a line. A rental from Foote Brothers Canoe Rentals costs $20 to $25.
North River. The North River flows 20 miles from Hanson and Hanover to the ocean south of Scituate. You can access 11 miles of it from King’s Landing in Norwell. Plan your paddle around the tide (it’s best to put in an hour before the tide) or you’ll have a hell of a day. Check a tide chart, or take the easy route and just call King’s Landing Marina for help with timing your trip. Canoe rentals cost $35/half-day or $40/all day.
Fishing
There’s no-frills fishing in Gloucester for the serious angler, and then there’s drop-your-line-into-the-Charles for the urban angler. No matter who you are, fishing in New England leaves nothing to be desired. (Note that federal fisheries officials have proposed new rules that would severely limit Gulf of Maine fishing to help certain fish replenish their populations. The proposal and underlying data on fish stocks are — no surprise — being refuted by New England fishermen. A decision is due sometime this spring.)
Firefly Outfitters. The small fly-fishing store in downtown Boston specializes in guided group trips and casting and fly-tying instruction. Charter a boat out of Rowes Wharf and fish the harbor islands for blues and stripers ($295/half day or $425/full day for two anglers). Other trips include inshore saltwater fishing in the waters of Buzzards and Narragansett Bays and fly-fishing on the North Shore.
Cape Cod Fishing Charters. The beaches and tidal flats of Chatham are renowned for their record-breaking stripers, bluefish, bonito, and false albacore. Cape Cod Fishing Charters’ season begins in May and ends in late October. Boat trips are $300 for a half-day and $500 for a full day (for two anglers). Beach/wading trips are also available for $300.
Big Fish II Charters. Big Fish II Charters specializes in cod, tuna, striped bass, and shark, and offers additional charters including pollack, haddock, halibut, wolf, monk, and bluefish. Up to six people at a time can take on the waters of Stellwagen Bank and Cape Cod Bay with Big Fish II. Trips are priced according to how long you want to fish and what you want to fish for (check out their combination trips for some variety).
Coastal Fishing Charters. Fish for striped bass and bluefish on a half-day or evening chunk-bait or live-bait trip (starting at $225). If the fish aren’t falling for it, drop anchor off Crane Beach for some swimming and sun. Or you can bring the kids along for a family fishing adventure in the mild waters of Gloucester Harbor.
Kayman Charters. Inshore and offshore trips are available from Kayman, ranging from $400 for half-day weekday trips to $1150 for a marathon 12-hour weekend excursion. These folks are out there year-round. Join them as a single ($140) on one of their open boat days, or organize your own group for a charter.
Laura Adamic can be reached at lkadamic@aol.com
