New Jersey Kayaking

Raritan River

The Raritan River is what is left of the outflow of the Hudson River after it broke through the Verrazano Narrows about 6,000 years ago and changed to its present course. The modern Raritan River drains much of central New Jersey, with tributaries threading through the state from Princeton to Morristown.

The map above shows a nice put-in in northern Piscataway. This spot has floating dock, and is convenient to Route 287. The river is tidal at this point, and the flow will depend on that, and the season. If you go upstream from here, you may quickly run out of water! I made it to Bound Brook one day, but only by hiking through the ankle-deep riffles, towing the boat behind me. ( Which is why you should always have a piece of rope with you. Ahem - line! )

If you scroll the map upstream, you can see a put-in in Bound Brook, but it is not too promising, as this spot places you between a dam and no water. The other side of the dam would be deeper water, but I have yet to find a good access for it - all railroad tracks along the bank, leading up to a weir.

It's deeper if you go the other way. If you scroll the map downstream, there are several more fairly convenient access points marked, from Piscataway to Edison. The river is pretty clean down past New Brunswick, but as you go further, it gets dirty and polluted. I wouldn't go past the Edison spot, in fact, I wouldn't even go that far.

If you look directly across the river from the starting spot, you can see why I recommended it - there is an excellent alternate five minutes away: the Delaware and Raritan Canal. The canal is always nice, no matter what state the river may be in.

Places,

Comments on Raritan River

Questions or Inquiries?

Just want to say Hello? Sign the .

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Click image to replace if unable to read.

Enter the digits from the image above, except for the last one:

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Prospertown Lake - Jackson

Prospertown Lake is not a park, it is a "Wildlife Management Area", and falls under a completely different set of regulations, which you can find here:

  • https://dep.nj.gov/njfw/wildlife/wildlife-management-area-regulations

From the state website:

Any vehicle used to transport or launch a vessel or water conveyance on the following WMAs must have affixed to the lower corner of the driver’s side rear window a Boat Ramp Maintenance Permit or a photocopy of a current hunting, fishing or trapping license showing the Conservation ID Number (CID#). Identifying information other than the CID# may be blacked out to protect your identity. Boat Ramp Maintenance Permits may be purchased for a fee of $15.00 from any license agent or Fish and Wildlife’s license Web site (under “Wildlife Management Area Use Permits” after logging in and selecting to make a purchase).

This is a nice clean lake that straddles the border between Monmouth and Ocean Counties. The neat thing about it is, if you scroll the map to the upper-right corner, that is not some industrial park, that is Great Adventure! This is the lake that is at the back of the park. At the east end of the lake, you are looking up at all the rides, while to the south is the Safari Park. You can see more water from there, but I wouldn't jump any of the dykes, as that would put you on Great Adventure's property, or maybe in the lion pen. It's not a big lake, but there is plenty of shoreline to inspect. There is a small dam at the western end. No real facilities, just parking.

More: Prospertown Lake - Jackson ...

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

170 // 15535 // 102

Printed from njkayak.net