NH Kayaking

[Brian Elliott]

Just curious to know what some favorite places to kayak are in NH.

Living on the Seacoast I can vouch for:

Salmon Falls River in South Berwick, ME (going towards South Berwick is a lot easier but it is kind of cool to see the three river junction going south... speaking from experience: watch the tides or more importantly the mud flats)

Adams Point in Durham (great/easy access to Great Bay... strong currents and boat wake in parts... again, watch the tides)

Bellamy Reservoir in Madbury (fresh water, great launch, lazy day paddle... took us three trips to see everything)

Willand Pond in Dover (easy paddle, great launch... I wouldn't go any great distances to get there though)

[Trudy Sutherland]

for new bees Turee Pond a the Bow High School and Hot Hole pond in Concord are good places.
We fish from our Kayaks and would love to find out how to get on Great Turkey Pond in Conntoocook, haven't found any access roads yet.
I've also seen folks out in Contoocook at Elm Brook State park but haven't tried that yet.

[Kevin]

Thanks for the info, I've been hoping to do some ocean paddling soon, this will be very helpful.

In central NH (lakes region), my favorites are:

Perch Pond, near Campton: very small but no houses on the shore, undeveloped, all natural, very peaceful. I saw people fishing there too.
Lake Pemigewasset in New Hampton: somewhat developed and near the road, but there's a nice island with tons of blueberry bushes on it.
Pemigewasset River, New Hampton/Bristol line, put in near Rte 93 exit 23. Wide, flat, very scenic, lots to see & do (rope swings, etc.).
Wicwas Lake, Meredith: quiet, lots of islands, not too much boat traffic.
Lake Winona in Ashland: somewhat developed, but fairly quiet and lots of interesting things to see
Lake Winnipesaukee: At sunrise on a mid-week summer day, the big lake is like a big sheet of glass. It's incredible, there's nothing like it. Don't stay long, because once the speedboat traffic hits you'll want to run for your life. Unless you like big waves.
There's also a little lake up near the town of Freedom that is very charming. The name escapes me. Freedom itself is a cool, quiet & quaint little town right out of an old postcard.