On Labor Day 2022 I bought a used kayak from Paddle Boston in Waltham and spent a year exploring the rivers near Boston. The above map provides guidance on where one can put in and if you click on each pin, you’ll get my very short write-up of each spot.
Below is a list of rivers I’ve visited with some practical information and my general impressions. I’m also into birding and photography so I’ve included some photos and details on the birds and wildlife I’ve encountered.
Close to Boston
To get very detailed information on the Concord, Sudbury and Assabet rivers, go to OARS which is based in Concord. You can also get printed maps, which I recommend. They are available at the South Bridge Boathouse in Concord and sometimes on the Route 20 put-in spot in Wayland. This site also has a number of suggested trips and details on put-in sites for those three rivers.
Concord River
Generally gentle flow and wide river surrounded by a lot of conservation land. More detail on specific put-in sites by clicking names below.
Click here for more details on: Lowell Street Concord
How to get there
From Concord Center, get onto Lowell Street and continue for a couple minutes. Just before bridge there’s a left turn down to the river where you can put your boat in. Park on the street.
What it’s like
- Go right downstream and you will get to the Old North Bridge at the Minuteman National Historical Park within 10 minutes or so. In about a half hour you will be at Great Meadows. Beyond Great Meadows is more conservation land.
- Go upstream a short way to the left from the launch and you will arrive at Egg Rock, the point where the Sudbury and Assabet Rivers join and become the Concord River.
- Lots of history to learn about, including Native American presence in the area of Egg Rock and Great Meadows and of course, Henry David Thoreau, who enjoyed boating in these parts.
Click here for more detail on: Carlisle-Bedford Bridge
How to get there
It’s off route 225 in Bedford. You drive down to ramp, lots of space for parking with a dock and generally a lot of people.
What it’s like
I’ve only gone upstream towards Concord but it’s wide and exposed so consider that before going in the middle of a hot day. In about 45 minutes, you’re at Brewster Woods and an hour or so to Great Meadows.
Birds I’ve seen
- Great blue herons
- Eastern kingbirds
- Wood ducks
- Yellow-rumped warblers
Sudbury River
Wide from Concord going south upstream and usually a gentle flow, although not everywhere. A mix of conservation land and back yards, etc. Click on specific spots for more details
Click here for more detail on: Route 20 Wayland
What it’s like
Going upstream towards Sudbury quickly gets into wide wetlands and a pretty slow current as a result. Nice spots when on a high water years, you can paddle amid trees in a couple of spots. It passes a few hiking spots so there’s a good amount of nature and enters into another marshy part of Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, as seen in photo here:
Click here for more detail on: Little Farms Road, Framingham
Parking for walking trail and you can put in on banks — no ramp. Current was very strong when I went in summer of 2023 — I met some paddlers who said they couldn’t go up. I made it to Saxonville in Framingham in maybe half hour and went back to where I put in what seemed like a few minutes. There’s a walking trail on one side and high banks on the other so feels pretty remote. There’s an oxbow right across from the put-in spot which you can go all the way around in wet years, but not possible in dry years.
The oxbow is about 20 minutes around. This was a wet year so passable.
Assabet River
Usually quiet and wooded, but can be blocked from fallen trees. More narrow and twisting than Concord or Sudbury and a couple of spots where flow is quite fast, including rapids in West Concord.
Click here for more detail on West Concord, Assabet River
There are a few places to put in in West Concord. See the Google Map above for more details. From the Damonmill put-in spot or nearby to Lowell Road in Concord is a super nice stretch. If you have two cars, the one-way trip is about two hours. Important to know that Assabet can become impassible in dry years. It’s more shaded compared to Sudbury and Concord but there can be downed trees that block the route.
Click here for more detail on Ice House Landing, Maynard
Very inviting spot for boating with a kayak launch off a dock and kayak rentals (they’re in cages that you unlock through a service) right there. Short walk from parking lot next to bike trail. Put in just upriver from the dam. Upstream is quite nice and remote, although there can be a fair amount of noise from the Cow Island Airpark — small aircraft flying and landing/taking off. On the left as you go upstream is the Assabet River Wildlife Refuge and rail trail which goes along the water. On the right in the beginning is town forest of Stow. There is another kayak put-in spot on White Pond Road in Stow.
Charles River
Lots of places to put in and/or rent a kayak, including in Cambridge and Newton. Apart from kayaking in Boston/Cambridge after renting from Paddle Boston in Cambridge, I’ve only gone to Waltham. Get more detail by clicking below.
Click here for more detail on Woerd Avenue, Waltham
How to get there
Off of Crescent Street outside Waltham Center, take a right onto Woerd Ave and there’s a small park on the right with dock and ramp for boats. Also possible to hike in state park.
What it’s like
The current when I’ve been there is very slow so it feels more like a lake. In fact this was known is the Lakes District in the late 19th and early 20th century when people would take the trolley to Norumba Park in Newton to go canoeing. There are a couple of coves to check out, including going under a bridge where there’s a good size cove where you can see backyards. Going upstream towards Newton, it’s a mix of house and park, including a cemetery. About a half hour to Newton boat house and Paddle Boston rental spot. There’s another in Waltham Center where the dam is.
Birds or wildlife I’ve seen
- herons
- ospreys
- egret
- great blue heron
- black-crowned night heron
- kingfisher
- eastern phoebe
Click here for more details on: Route 30, Newton
You can put in on a rocky beach with concrete ramp across from the boat house where Paddle Boston operates. Going downstream will take you towards Waltham’s Lake District described above. Going upstream will take you under a few noisy highway bridges. After about a half hour you arrive at Riverside Park in Weston, which has a dock where you can put in. This looks like a better option if you want to skip the highways. I only made it that far as I dropped my phone in water from my gloved hands while trying to take a photo (bummer!) and then turned around, but the river continues through the Weston Golf Club and cross-country skiing until it gets to another dam (the other on downstream end is in Waltham Center.)
Mystic River and Mystic Lakes
You can put in either upper or lower Mystic Lake, but there’s a nice ramp for the upper part. From there, it’s a nice ride up to Sandy Beach and if you go around and then to the right, you will approach the Aberjona River.
The Aberjona is narrow and feels pretty urban. I only went up about 15 minutes on my trip but apparently people can go to Winchester Center from there.
If you put in on lower Mystic Lake you can continue on for a long time through Medford Center and beyond where it broadens out to a large bay before the dam where the Mystic meets the Malden River.
Paddle Boston has a location on the Mystic near Medford Center.
Another option from lower Mystic Lake is to explore Alewife Brook which goes behind Dilboy Stadium in Somerville and many back yards. It’s narrow and kind of dirty feeling. On years when there’s sewer overflow from storms, this is among first spots affected.
Spy Pond, Arlington
There’s a boat ramp in the main parking lot by the playground. It’s small but fun, particularly since you can visit Elizabeth Island which is just a short ways off shore. You could easily spend an hour exploring the different corners. Right next to Route 2, there’s a culvert that connects to the ponds in Belmont.
Farther afield and more challenging
Nashua River
Still River
Saugus River
Nashua River
I went to Harvard where there is a parking area and fairly steep boat ramp to get in the Nashua River. Going upstream you will see the forest of the Oxbow National wildlife refuge on the right and on the left more open fields. The day I went there in November I heard hunting and went about 45 minutes upstream before I was blocked by a fallen tree. There were a few spots where I had to duck under trees and even push my kayak over a log.
Still River
I would consider this advanced kayaking because the flow, a number of spots that drop down (I think because of beaver blockages), and how easy it is to get lost in the tall grasses. There are two spots to put in in the Bolton Flats Wildlife Management Area but the one I would consider is near the Red Barn in Bolton. Very wild feeling. I got stumped going upstream — couldn’t find where river continued in wide wetlands. Going downstream towards the confluence with the Nashua River got very narrow and challenging — fallen trees blocked my path on a wet year. I saw a few beaver lodges and came face-to-face with a beaver who popped out of water to give me a look and dropped back down.
Saugus River
Challenge is finding a put-in spot, but I managed to leave my car in a parking lot at a shop (details on the map) and go downstream toward Boston Harbor. This is very much urban kayaking as you pass through marinas, past the waste-to-energy plant on the point, under the Lynnway highway, the commuter rail line and big transmission line towers. In terms wildlife, there is a salt marsh that’s along the coast which has a number of birds, such as herons and cormorants.
Out of state adventures (under construction)
Muskegon River, Michigan
Green River Reservoir Vermont