A gentle kayaking or canoe trip can be a fun outing or activity for a Northeast outdoor getaway, especially if you don’t have to hoist a boat onto your vehicle.
The region is rich with calm and family-friendly paddling spots and there are dozens of outfitters who can provide the gear you need to get out on the water.
Here are 10 great locales for a kayaking or canoe trip, with information on boat rentals for each. Grab a paddle and meander where the water takes you.
Connecticut
Housatonic River
This 132-mile river flows from western Massachusetts into western Connecticut and offers long stretches of placid waters. The Appalachian Trail runs along the west bank of the river for 5 miles, and the river passes under two bridges featured on the National Registry of Historic Places.
Where to Rent:
In Massachusetts, Arcadian Shop provides kayak and paddleboard rentals, including multiday rentals. Clarke Outdoors in West Cornwall, Connecticut, also offers canoe and kayak rentals to paddle picturesque parts of the river.
Lake Waramaug
Nestled partly within a state park in Kent, this lake is considered one of the most photogenic in New England. Its shores are especially beautiful as the fall foliage begins to sprinkle vibrant colors along the lake shoreline.
Where to Rent:
Litchfield Paddle provides canoes, kayaks and paddleboards within the park on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Quinnipiac River
This emerald gem of a river is slow-moving and gentle, with many great stretches for spotting wildlife.
Where to Rent:
Quinnipiac River Marina in New Haven offers kayak and canoe rentals to help explore the lower tidal section of the river. Be sure to time your paddle to the tides.
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Massachusetts
Hopkinton Reservoir at Hopkinton State Park
Less than an hour’s drive west of Boston, this 181-acre reservoir in Hopkinton and Ashland was originally created to provide a water supply for the city. Now, it offers undeveloped splendor, good fishing and sheltered waterways. Paddlers can hop out on a pair of islands for a swim.
Where to Rent:
Regatta Point Community Sailing offers canoe, kayak and paddleboard rentals.
The Ipswich River
This riverway north of Boston offers some 30 miles of calm, navigable water with multiple branches to explore. It also connects to a handful of lakes and ponds, with great opportunities for birding and fishing.
Where to Rent:
Mass Audubon provides canoe rentals at the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield and also hosts several guided canoe trips. Foote Brothers Canoe & Kayak in Ipswich also has canoe and kayak rentals, as well as shuttle service.
New Jersey
The Delaware and Raritan (D&R) Canal
This calm waterway was once a vital link that helped maritime commerce flow between Philadelphia and New York City. It now is perfect for a gentle and scenic paddle, one that is just the right size and difficulty level for families and beginners.
Where to Rent:
Griggstown Canoe and Kayak Rental and Princeton Canoe and Kayak Rental in Princeton have boats to rent for as short as an hour at a time, should you want to test the waters.
New York
Lake Superior
It may share a name with one of the Great Lakes, but this 250-acre lake is dwarfed by its 20.3-million-acre namesake. It is located within a large and popular state park in Bethel, and visitors often combine paddling with swimming, hiking, and picnicking at the park.
Where to Rent:
Affordable kayak and canoe rentals are available through the park.
Nissequogue River
This tidal river is one of the most important tributaries for Long Island Sound and offers a 5.3-mile stretch leading out to the sound. Given its tidal ecology, the scenic Nissequogue draws many birders to spot species feasting in the intertidal zone.
Where to Rent:
Nissequogue River Canoe and Kayak Rentals in Smithtown offers canoe and kayak rentals, as well as shuttle service.
Rhode Island
Olney Pond
This pond, located within Lincoln Woods State Park, is easily accessible to those who live in Providence and is connected to a city bus route. It can get crowded during peak hours, but the 126-mile reservoir offers tranquil scenery and an easy paddle.
Where to Rent:
Providence-based Ocean State Kayak provides kayak and canoe rentals at the park.
The Pettaquamscutt River
Known locally as the Narrow River, this tidal estuary empties into the Atlantic Ocean, and provides great habitat for migratory fish, coastal birds and several species of crabs. Most of the 6-mile river is navigable, but it can get quite shallow at low tide.
Where to Rent:
Narrow River Kayaks offers canoe, kayak and paddleboard rentals that can be launched right from its Narragansett location.
Where is your favorite place to go kayaking and paddling in the Northeast? Tell us in the comment.
Last updated on August 24, 2026 by AAA Staff
Based in Massachusetts, Craig Idlebrook has written for AAA publications for over 20 years. He also has served as editor for several other publications. In his free time, he drives his youngest child to activities, cooks with his wife and fusses over his cat.
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12 Thoughts on “Where to Go Kayaking and Paddling in the Northeast”
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The Deerfield River in MA is a great place to kayak. Put in at Bardwell’s Ferry Bridge and take out a Stillwater Bridge. Its a nice float of about 3 miles with a few gentle rapids. Very secluded. And as someone else mentioned, Harriman Reservoir in Wilmington, VT is a good place, though there are power boats also.
Last I looked, Maine was in New England. You never mention sites here.
I live in Pittsfield, MA and would not recommend the Housatonic River. Besides being contaminated with PCBs most of the areas on the river aren’t very accessible or easy to launch a kayak into. Woods Pond at Lenox Station would be the easiest place to launch a kayak on the Housatonic River. There are several nice lakes in the area such as Onota, Pontoosac, Stockbridge Bowl, the Goose Ponds,etc. Also no one has mentioned VT. Harriman Reservoir and Somerset Reservoir in southern VT are great places to paddle.
My favorite place to kayak in upstate NY is on the Susquehanna River. Kayak and canoe rentals are available from Canoe & Kayak Rentals in Portlandville, NY. Another option is Otsego Lake; rentals are available at Glimmerglass State Park. Come to upstate New York!
Unfortunately, between Pittsfield, MA and the LI Sound, the Housatonic River has been polluted with PCB’s by the General Electric plant in Pittsfield. Not the best place to kayak or canoe! 😢
the Housatonic River, which begins above Hinsdale, MA and empties into the Long Island Sound, is 149 miles long; not 132. There are also several delightful paddling spots along the river in Massachusetts
Nauset Marsh, Eastham, Cape Cod (parts of this Great Marsh are in the CCNS). Put in at the town boat launch on Hemenway Rd off of Rte 6. Off season you can park without an Eastham resident sticker(roughly Oct 1 until just before Memorial Day weekend.) The Goose Hummock sporting goods store in Orleans will deliver rental kayaks to the launch site and pick them up when your rental period is over, if you arrive on Cape without your own car and boat. It’s a magical place when you’re out in the middle but very challenging to paddle. It’s a tidal marsh that almost completely drains at low tide – you’ll be walking on sand bars dragging the boat if you miscalculate. The rivers that rush in and out to the ocean through a narrow opening in the Outer Beach are almost impossible to paddle against the flow. A tide chart is a must!! (Cape freshwater ponds are more paddler friendly, but not as spectacular as the tidal marsh spots.) Out in the Great Marsh you’ll see Osprey hunting from their platforms , Oystercatchers, GBHs, Green Herons, Yellow or Black crowned Night herons, Great Egrets, Snowy egrets, Bitterns, Rails, Piping Plovers (either side of dead low tide) and more LBJs (little brown jobs) than you can count.
Paddle Boston has several docks in the Boston and Greater Boston area, mostly along the Charles River.
Waltham, Medford, Cambridge are some of the towns that offer this. Seasons pass or pay as you go, it’s so close but you feel far away from the city once you’re on the river.
Just to let you know there is a Kayak rental and use site in Pocantico Hills (Sleepy Hollow) Ny on the Tarrytown Lakes near the Tappan Zee Bridge, The Rockefeller estate and Marymount College (now part of Fordham University) it is 40 minutes north of NYC and should be added to you list of Kayaking Spots in the Northeast- BTW Lake Waramug is a Great place to Kayak.
John Griffin
The put- in at Croton Point Park gets you onto the Hudson above Sleepy Hollow. The Hudson just around the Tapp (Tappan Zee Bridge. No New Yorker will refer to it as the Mario Cuomo Bridge!) ) is very wide there so the HUGE container ships heading upriver to Albany aren’t right on top of you but they do throw up a wake. Not for novice paddlers!
Cape Cod Massachusetts has so many places to kayak, many have rentals. Try Bass River and Swan River, they have rentals. And if you don’t need to rent there is Hathaway Pond which is also great for swimming and picnicking.
The Herring River in Harwich is another great paddle, with many tributaries and more wildlife than Bass River and Swan River. No rentals on the river, though.