New Jersey Kayaking

This is the biggest of the lakes and ponds created by damming the Lawrence Brook. The map is centered on the northernmost launch site, which is the most central on the lake. There are two more access points to the south, which can be useful if you want to explore up the Lawrence Brook.

Farrington Lake is named after Edward Farrington, mayor of New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1915-1918, who envisioned the construction of the dam to supply water to his city. Mayor Farrington died while in office in 1918. The lake covers about 290 acres and has a mean depth of 6.6 feet with a maximum depth of 13 feet. This lake is long and narrow - a good long paddle in either direction; I've never done both ends in one day. None of the bridges are low or difficult, in fact I have used Hardenburg Lane to get out of the rain. The lake has some odd coves along the south shore that are interesting to explore. The dam at the north end is pretty big, and I wouldn't get too close if the water is high and running over the top.

As part of the water supply for New Brunswick, the level of the lake is subject to supply and demand. The actual pumping station is downstream on Weston's Mill Pond, and Farrington Lake is drawn-down as necessary to keep that lake full(ish). I have seen Weston's Mill Pond drawn-down a foot or two, but in September 2025, Farrington Lake was drawn-down over 3 feet. Considering it has a mean depth of about six feet, that's a lot. Most of the docks on the lake were high-and-dry. The banks recede quite a bit, but the bottom is sand and gravel, so it's not a problem for launching like Weston's Mill pond, which becomes a mucky mess.

The brook goes up to the dam that forms Davidson's Millpond, which is accessible, but quite small. Beyond there the brook peters-out pretty quickly, and Dean's Pond is now dried-up. On the downstream side, Lawrence Brook flows through Mill Pond to Weston's Mill Pond. That lake has otters, so there are probably otters in this lake as well, but I've never seen any. There may also be beaver in Farrington Lake.

This is the best entry point, with convenient parking, a nice clean launch area, and access to both ends of the lake.

One thing I've always wondered is why the builders of the D&R Canal looped way up north to Bound Brook when they might have just cut six miles from Kingston to the Lawrence Brook, and built a series of dams from there to the Raritan River, as was done a hundred years later.