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Kayaking the Mashpee River

August 26, 2013 •

Pristine Mashpee RiverWe kayaked the Mash­pee River the other day with a close friend, and knew we’d found a small piece of par­adise.

Thanks to a cen­tury of con­ser­va­tion efforts, this Cape Cod river remains unusu­ally pris­tine. It offers abun­dant bird life and many vis­tas for kayak­ers and nature lovers to enjoy.

Once your kayak has passed the vaca­tion homes and moor­ing fields, ten min­utes or so beyond Pirate’s Cove, the shore­lines are unde­vel­oped — no houses to be seen until you return to Pirate’s Cove.

You will see wet­lands and wood­lands that remain quite untouched — much as they used to appear to Wampanoag tribe mem­bers, the orig­i­nal natives of this region. (His­tory buffs will remem­ber that the Pil­grims encoun­tered many Wampanoag Indi­ans dur­ing their early years in the Mass­a­chu­setts Bay Colony, includ­ing famous chiefs such as Squanto and Mas­sas­oit.)

The Mash­pee River cuts through tribal lands, marshes and wood­lands pro­tected by con­ser­va­tion­ists since 1915. Sea-run brook trout spawn here. We saw crabs swim­ming past us.

This tidal river is a spe­cial place to kayak because of the way it moves through a vari­ety of ecosys­tems. From the kayak­er’s POV your pad­dle takes you from salt water to brack­ish water and finally to clear fresh water at the river’s head (not far from Route 28 and Quinaquis­set Ave.) And then back down the river again to Pirate’s Cove, and the winds and waves of Pop­pones­set Bay.

Dur­ing the two hours we kayaked this river, we saw many birds, includ­ing:

  • Osprey
  • Bald eagles — although com­mon to our Seat­tle home, this was our first sight­ing of bald eagles in Mass­a­chu­setts
  • Green herons
  • Great blue herons
  • Great egrets and snowy egrets
  • King­fish­ers
  • Sea gulls
  • Red-winged black­birds
  • Robins
  • Crows

It is a tidal river, and sum­mer winds here can be strong. Expe­ri­enced kayak­ers should antic­i­pate a one-hour expe­di­tion — and more likely two hours, if you stop to enjoy the bird life or lis­ten to the wind sough­ing through the marsh grass.

Pack enough water or snacks — there are no ameni­ties along this river, other than what nature pro­vides. And leave noth­ing behind, so the river remains clean for future kayak­ers and nature lovers to enjoy.

About This Blog

Reflec­tions on life, travel, books, and yoga. Think­ing out loud about the pur­suit of mind­ful­ness and well-being.

Learn­ing how to recover from the loss of a beloved spouse, and then to find a trans­for­ma­tive path for­ward.

About Me

Semi-retired marketing exec, transitioning from a career in high tech. Now "managed" by two Tonkinese cats. Missing travel and friends on the West Coast. Avid reader and foodie. Staying active with long walks, biking, kayaking and yoga.

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