Charles River (Newton MA)

When We Went:

Before we purchased kayaks we were looking for a place to rent them to give it a try. Charles River Canoe and Kayak provided us the perfect opportunity. We went a number of times both before and after we bought our Kayaks. Likey during the summer of 2002 and 2003, but it is hard to remember exactly...


Details:

CRC&K rents Kayaks and Canoe's by the hour or the day. They include paddles and PFDs, everything you need to give it a try.

They have a large facility in Newton, MA on the Charles River. If you go south from their location you can go all the way to the Dam in downtown Waltham (Moody Street). If you go North from there you can go quite a way as the Charles gets twisty

This part of the Charles is very nice. There are lots of things to look at and more than enough room to tire yourself out going either down river to Waltham or up river toward Wellesley and Newton. Going under the highways (Mass Pike and Route 128) is quite interesting, but loud. Going down river towards the damn at Waltham is the more interesting direction.

There aren't alot of things for people who aren't kayaking to do, save renting a Kayak or Canoe and coming along. This can easily be a 1/2 day trip so pack some water and munchies.

Put In Details:

There are a few parking spots at CRC&K, but the majority of the parking for Charles River Canoe and Kayak is actually in a public lot located across the river. In this same parking lot we've launched our own Kayaks quite easily. There is a staircase that goes up to the Route 30 overpass that has a walkway over to the CRC&K location.

Getting to the intersection of Route 128 (route 95 for those of you who don't count yourselves as locals) and Route 30 is easy from where ever you are in MA. Understanding exactly where to get off both the Mass Pike and Route 128/95 to get to route 30 is interesting.

Link to Map:
The parking lot and Put-in area are at the southern end of Norumbega Road.

http://tinyurl.com/9nowk