Need advice for club trip to R.I.

[Dave D]

Hi folks,

Our Pennsylvania kayaking club is planning a trip to Rhode Island next spring. I'm familiar with the area but could use some help working out a weekend for a group of about 40 kayakers of varying skill levels. 

The plan is for most of us to camp at Fisherman's Memorial State Park. Those who want a roof will get together and rent an Airbnb house or two and share the cost. 

But here are my questions:

--We usually find a park with a pavilion we can rent to have a cookout at the end of the day. Is there anything like that in the Point Judith area? Fisherman's doesn't seem to have a pavilion, but I'm sure we could gather near the tennis courts.

--Can you park and launch kayaks at either Roger Wheeler or Salty Brine beaches? We're looking at early June, probably the second weekend.

--We want to offer some paddles in the Point Judith Pond/Bluff Hill Cove area. This looks good for the less experienced, but I'm wondering what it looks like at low tide. How is access from the launch at the west end of the campground? Can one park near the boat launch across from the ferry parking lot?

--I've launched at a couple of spots in the state to do some rock gardening. Is there a map or guide available that shows all the available kayak launches in the state? By the way, we break up into four groups and encourage car sharing, so we typically only need 7 or 8 parking spots at a given launch.

--And finally, food. We don't want a banquet facility, just a casual place that will seat us on a Sunday night. I've found that this is a hard thing to do these days.

Our club is the Lehigh Valley Kayak & Canoe Club. We've been doing these weekend trips for several years now, and they keep growing. Any advice you can offer us will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Dave Dawson

[Cam]

Hello Dave. It's great to see fellow paddlers planning to enjoy what the Ocean State has to offer for kayaking. I'll take a stab at answering some of your questions:

+ Launching from public beaches like Salty Brine or Roger Wheeler is not allowed during the beach season.

+ There are several put-ins we regularly use in Rhode Island, off and in season.  Check out the Resources section of https://rickaseakayaking.org for two lists of Kayak Launches, one from Paddling.com and the other by Mike Krabach from RICKA:

https://paddling.com/embed/locations
https://www.kayakaccessri.info/mapserver...sites.html

+ Our preferred launch site for the Great Salt Pond is at the northern end of the pond, at Marina Park in South Kingston. Launching is not difficult at any point in the tide, but the water can be a bit murkier at low tide. There is good parking just across the street from the ramp.  The fishing access you are asking about (Galilee boat launch across from the ferry parking lot) is designated for fishing and boats with trailers.  I personally have not launched from there, but Mike K writes it may be possible to park on the area adjacent to the boat ramp.

Sorry for the partial answers, bu I'm sure other fellow RICKA members will be able to fill the gaps.  All the best;

Cam.

[Tim G]

Hi Dave,

Pt Judith Pond as Cam noted there is an active and inactive boat ramp at the top of the saltpond (northern end with plenty of parking near by).  There is a boat ramp at the southern end of the pond that you pointed out - I'm not sure about the parking situation there, but we have launched kayaks - early in boating season might be OK, alternatively there may be some alternative parking in the area.  Also as Cam mentioned there are other lists of launch sites.

Re: rock play venues - URI Bay Campus south towards Narragansett beach is an option to ease into Rocks,  Ft Wetherill State park, Jamestown, is a nice rock play venue and there may be a pavillion/location in the park that you could use for a cookout.  There is a pavillion at Ft Getty in Jamestown, though I don't have a sense for the cost.  More advanced rock play can be found at Kings Beach in Newport or Sakonnet Pt at the eastern edge of Narragansett Bay - 3rd beach in Middletown could be another gentler rock play location - but parking might not be available after Memorial day.  

As for restaurants - I'm not your best guide here - Georges is informal and near your camp ground they might have room on a Sunday - though I'm not sure about n=40.  

Best,

Tim

[mkrabach]

On the search for launch sites, the link on the Ricka site is a text site which is an artifact from the dialup days.  Much better is the graphic site.  https://www.kayakaccessri.info/mapsectio...ss_map.htm   Be aware the kayakaccessri.info site is about 15 years old and even the maps are gone. But once you locate a site (by whatever means) Google Earth has detailed views that have to be the envy of Bing and Apple.

One recent site that is not on the map is the Ninigret Park launch on Ninigret Pond on the land side.  This is one of the few launches that can accomodate parking for a group as large as yours.  A map is here.  https://exploreri.org/siteReport.php?siteID=345

Another site that shows all the public water access locations is this one.  It does not show the above Ninigret launch because it is a town site.  Also the CRMC map does not show State launches, private launches (marinias), etc.  And not all of them have parking,  some hardly have walking.
https://crmcgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/ins...a35371f86f

For a map of launch sites see this one also.  It is a State map.
https://exploreri.org/mapper3.php

For large groups that would like a little more open water paddling, the most popular site is the URI Bay Campus beach at the end of South Ferry Rd.  There is an upper parking spot for 30 at least cars. From this site you can paddle in West Passage, up the Bay, down the Bay or across to Jamestown Island.  Here is a photo of the beach.   It a panoramic photo so you need to scroll.   https://www.kayakaccessri.info/kayakphot...beach.html

The only situation I see is that Rhode Island and Narragansett Bay have so many places to launch and paddle, that if a vacation is to be free of decisions, you have a problem.

[Dave D]

"The only situation I see is that Rhode Island and Narragansett Bay have so many places to launch and paddle, that if a vacation is to be free of decisions, you have a problem."

Well this is the kind of problem I can live with. Our trips usually take us south around the Chesapeake. A few weeks ago we did a long weekend at the Thousand Islands. But Rhode Island is quite different from both these areas, so it will be something new for most of the group.

Thanks everyone for a lot of extremely useful information. Because we'll be paddling in groups of 10 or so, I think we can manage the parking. It also looks like we’ll have more than enough variety to keep everyone happy. Some will want quiet paddles on protected water, others will want to do some rock gardening and cover some open water miles. We can clearly accomplish all of that.

I had looked for a put-in link on your website, but obviously not carefully enough.

Access to the Point Judith Harbor of Refuge may be an issue. There is an access listed at the Camp Cronin fishing area as long as we don’t mind a 400-ft slog over the sand. But we can do that if the area is OK for launching in the summer. The website link says it is.

Looking at the map and listed access points, I’m wondering if there’s any tidal race play possible in The Narrows around Sprague Bridge?

I have used the Rhode Island University location as well as Fort Wetherhill and King’s Beach, so I’m familiar with those. The others look equally straight-forward in the Google Maps views.

The Water Trails map from the state suggests a run up and down Narrow River. Is that an interesting paddle? I’m wondering if it might serve as a backup if we get a lot of wind or if visibility is poor for the more open areas.

Thanks again for the helpful replies. I'm encouraged that we can make the weekend work.

-Dave

[Rich C.]

Dave,

The Narrow river tides run about two hours behind the ocean due to the constriction at the narrows. You can put in at Pollack Street Boat Ramp. There is one landing opportunity at the north-east corner of upper pond. This paddle offers good wind protection, though a south wind will funnel into the river.

Pettaquamscutt Cove, on the south end of the Narrow River, is very a nice paddle, but not passable at low tide. Be careful of exiting the river into the ocean if there is wind and swell. It can be challenging - as is paddling back into the river at high outflow rates. The ocean entrance area can be good for surfing, but not for tide race standing waves.

The Old Stone Bridge abutments in Tiverton, just south of Rt 24, can present a good tide race when there is a good outgoing tide and a south wind. It's a great training spot.

Paddle about a mile north from Ft Wetherill and you will see a big house built on a rock in the bay. We call that area The Dumplings. There is often moderate tide-play opportunity there on a larger outgoing tide.

Consider putting in at the Long Point Boat Ramp in Wickford. There is a carry-down access to the left of the ramp. The cove and harbor are very protected, and a paddle down to Rome Point and Fox Island is a nice outing.

I don't know of other pavilions that would be convenient to Fisherman's Memorial State park. There are several tent rental companies in the area, but they specialize in weddings, etc. so I expect they will be quite expensive.

If you are looking for seafood, Georges of Galilee or Champlain's Seafood should be able to accommodate a large group. There are several clam-bake/lobster-bake companies that will come to your campsite, or that may be able to suggest a place where you could do that. As mentioned earlier, you could rent the pavilion at Ft. Getty and do a clambake there, but it would get pricey to pay for both.

All the best,
Rich

[Cat.Radcliffe]

If I could add to the many great suggestions, while the mouth of the Narrow River is a great place for rock gardening and surfing, I would caution you about jetskis at the mouth of the river during the summer season.  They can be quite aggressive, and often endanger others.

I would also suggest you consider Stonington, CT, which is just over the border from RI.  This is a great place for tide races and surfing, and there are plenty of milder paddles in the area, e.g. Barn Island to Napatree Point.  The Barn Island parking area is quite large and is free, although it is quite busy with powerboaters in the summer.  Stonington has a large free public parking area next to a carry launch site, and Stonington Point is also a good launch site with free parking. although a bit more limited.

Greg Paquin of Kayak Waveology www.kayakwaveology.com uses this area for his trips and trainings and is a great source of local knowledge.  You might consider hiring him as a guide to the tide races, as he knows all the ins and outs like the back of his hand.

Also, the southern RI coastline from Point Judith to Napatree has broad sandy beaches ideal for kayak surfing, if any in your group are interested.  The New England Sailing and Science Foundation in Stonington uses this area for surfing classes, so they may be able to suggest good launch sites: https://nessf.org.

Welcome, and good luck!

[Dave D]

Rich and Cat -- Thanks much for the added suggestions. Some in our club have paddled with Greg's group. We should talk to him, we'd get a lot more out of the weekend that way. And thanks for the caution about the jet skiers. We've come across this issue before, of course, but it's good to know where to expect it.
And a clambake -- a fine idea I hadn't considered.
For now, we've committed to the weekend and will start booking places to spend the night, June 7-10. Most will be at Fishermen's Memorial Campground.
-Dave