New Jersey Kayaking

How the Maps Work

The maps in this site are ‘live’ – you can pan and zoom them, and also change their style. Every map has the following controls:

• At the upper-left, the [+] and [-] buttons control the zoom. You can also zoom with the mouse wheel, but you have to click the map first to activate it.
• At the lower-left is a usefully large scale. It amazes me how many online maps have no useful scale, or no scale at all! The button next to the scale changes the units.
• The Home button takes the map back to its original center and zoom. The Cycle button (if present) cycles through the three available map styles: Topographic, Road, and Satellite.
• At the upper-right is the Full-Screen button, so you can see the map in all its glory. At the lower right is the “Attribution” – the credits for the map source. Finally, there is a tiny cross marking the exact center.
• The Distance Tool lets you draw out a route and see the total distance, for trip planning.

There are several colors of markers:

• Red – places to go kayaking, free access
• Orange – places to go kayaking, likely access fee
• Purple – places to not go kayaking
• Blue – places to get kayak stuff
• Green – county handles
• Yellow – ‘liveries’, or boat rentals (seasonal)
• White – points of interest
• Black – you

Many markers are clickable, and all will show their name if you hover the mouse over them. If you’re using an iPhone, I’m sorry about that. This website is inherently meant for a large display on a real computer or a large tablet. There is only so much you can do for a phone. That said, it still works tolerably well even on a phone.

Below most maps is a caption of useful information and links. Below that is usually a box of links that control the map. Clicking a link will zoom and center the map on that marker, and change the caption to reflect the selected marker. The Home icon in the caption will take you back to the currently selected point. The GPS numbers in the caption are for the currently selected point, which may or may not be the center of the map. If you move the map, the GPS numbers will turn red, and indicate the center of the map. There may be icons for additional links, both inside the site and to outside resources.

I have left out a number of paid boat ramps and other facilities where there are free options nearby. I have tried to indicate sites that are not free. Please send any corrections or updates.

The entire dataset does not load all at once, as it is pretty big now and I don’t want to crush the server. The site is arranged by county, for want of a better plan; you can move from county to county using the green pins in the maps. If for some reason you can’t work the links in the map, you can use the regular old text links to get around.

---

The criteria for listing a spot here are:

• It must be public, no trespassing. If something seems to be a glaring omission, that is probably the reason.
• It should have reasonably good road access and parking – no long slogs to get to the water.
• It should be easy to put-in and get out – no rocks, armored shorelines or bulkheads.
• It should be safe – no heavy boat traffic, no swift water or big waves.
• It should not be too dirty or polluted. (Well, this is New Jersey.)
• It should not be too small – at least a mile around.

All 21 counties have their own pages, and many locations have their own pages as well. At last count, there are almost 700 markers, if you include all the Walmarts. I have not been to most of these sites, and never will. If anyone would like to send info on places they’ve been, please do: Contact link in the sidebar. And that’s all I have to say about that.

A Note on Access Fees

Most boat ramps have fees, even for kayaks. Some charge per-vessel, which means a kayak excursion for several people can be more expensive than a motor boat! I have called-out some of the really bad ones, and also the ones I know of that are free. Unless otherwise stated, assume any boat ramp is not free. Fortunately, a kayak doesn’t need a boat ramp. In fact, boat ramps are good places to avoid, with all the traffic.

---

Here are most of the major waterways of New Jersey, including the D&R Canal system. The rivers are drawn to their most-interesting headwaters; this is not to suggest that the entire length shown is navigable, even by kayak.

In the north, the state’s two largest river systems are the Passaic and the Raritan, which intertwine. In the south, the Mullica forms a sizable river system. Only one river originates in New Jersey and leaves the state – the Walkill in the north. All others are captured by either the Delaware or the Hudson, or the extensive southern bays. The green line is approximately the dividing line between east (Hudson/Atlantic) and west (Delaware) drainages. The red line is the “fall line” – the boundary between the Piedmont uplands and Atlantic coastal plain. And that’s your lesson in hydrology.