Camping tips: Take your kayak!

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Kayaking & Camping In the Finger Lakes / Central Region of NY State

Posted: 15 Jun 2010 06:33 AM PDT

By Sue Freeman

One of the things I love about kayaking is the opportunity it affords me to escape into nature, away from motorboats, away from throngs of people, and away from man-made noise. By combining camping and kayaking you can extend the escape and submerse yourself in nature. Some wonderful opportunities for these escapes exist in the Finger Lakes region.

But first, camping needs to be sub-divided into two distinct experiences. The first is the use of campgrounds where you can set up a tent or use a camper and enjoy the luxury of a shower after a day of paddling. As drawbacks, you won’t escape the noise and throngs of people and there is a cost involved. Primitive camping, on the other hand, is free and offers solitude and quiet, but you have to be willing to forgo showers and flush toilets. You choose.

Campgrounds:

1. Stay at Fairhaven Beach State Park and paddle Sterling Creek. Fairhaven Beach State Park is a spectacular 1,400-acre site with nearly two miles of Lake Ontario shoreline. A stay here can combine shoreline walks, hikes on trails, and paddling on Sterling Pond and Sterling Creek. ...

2. Stay at Hickories Park and circumnavigate Hiawatha Island on the Susquehanna River. Hickories Park is a campground owned by the Town of Owego that sits on the banks of the Susquehanna River. Launch from the campground and paddle upstream or down on the wide, slow river. ...
3. Camp at Park Station Recreation Center and paddle Park Station Lake. Park Station Recreation Center in Erin offers 6 miles of hiking trails, a RV and tent campground, and a 100-acre man-made lake to paddle or fish.

Primitive Camping:

1. Tent camping is allowed at the locks along the Erie Canal. Simply ask permission from the lockmaster. Camp at Lock 30 Canal Park in Macedon and you can paddle through history. ...
2. Become an explorer on a 21 mile loop using the Erie Canal and Clyde River and camp along the shore in the Galen Marsh Wildlife Management Area. A true sense of adventure is helpful for this trip.
3. Long Pond in Smithville offers 10 primitive campsites at its north end that are free and on a first-come, first-served basis. ...

Maps and details for each of these camping/paddling adventures and others can be found in the guidebook “Take A Paddle – Finger Lakes New York Quiet Water for Canoes & Kayaks.”


 Reprinted from the New York Outdoors blog, hosted by Sue & Rich Freeman
Please see the original article for the full text descriptions of each camping venue.  _______________________________________________
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