by Alan Mapes
Published: August 2010
One of my favorite areas of the Hudson River lies north of the village of Coxsackie. Both the east and west shores offer nice spots to explore, including two side creeks that you can paddle up for a good distance. Also on this stretch of the river are two nice islands and several used-to-be islands. I’ll explain later. To top off your trip, there is a nice landing along the shore, complete with a café.
It is hard to find a better boat launch on the Hudson than the NYS Parks site at Coxsackie. It offers lots of parking, a big lawn, port-a-johns, and good wildlife viewing right from shore. I always scan the area there for bald eagles before getting on the water. They have favored perching areas both up and down river from the launch. If no power boats are using the ramp, you can launch kayaks or canoes right there. If it’s busy, go just to the right of the ramp, and there is a nice beach with room for lots of boats. I’ve landed there with a group of over 20 kayakers and had lots of room.
Paddling north across a bay and in the direction of the boat docks, (the Coxsackie Boat Club), you make your way behind Coxsackie Island and Rattlesnake Island. I would not expect a timber rattlesnake to be found here, but there are large nests in the trees on both of these islands – bald eagle nests. I expect that only one is used for nesting in any year, but I found three nests as I paddled on the main river last fall when the leaves were down.
Unfortunately, islands are much rarer than they once were on the Hudson. Mark Twain is quoted as saying, “A river without islands is like a woman without hair. She may be good and pure, but one does not fall in love with her very often.” My apologies to anyone with hair issues, but islands certainly do add charm to a river, and the Hudson lost many of its islands during the past century. The dredging that was done to deepen the channel for large ship navigation is to blame. Sediments were scooped from the river and deposited behind many of the islands, making them part of the shore, or turning them into peninsulas instead of an island. There are a number of places near this stretch of river that still bear the “island” name: Schodack Island, Hotaling Island, Bronck Island, Campbell Island and Papscanee Island. All of these places are no longer surrounded by water.
Real islands like Coxsackie and Rattlesnake are to be treasured. You can paddle up the back side of these islands, though you will find a thick floating mat of water chestnut plants choking the narrowing bay behind Rattlesnake. If you keep right along the shore of the island, there is a clear channel to paddle. It looks like the north end of the island was connected to the shore at one time by a narrow land bridge. A few years ago you needed higher tide levels to make it through a narrow slot in that land bridge and back to the river. Someone has now widened and deepened the passage, so water level is no longer a concern. You can also cut between the two islands, going north along the river side of Rattlesnake. At the north tip of the island is a tall channel marker on a small rock island. On the ebb tide – water flowing down river toward New York City – the currents really swirl here, giving you some exciting water to play in.
Continuing north along the shore, you approach a substantial point of land projecting out into the river. To the left, in the “arm pit” of this point, emerges Coxsackie Creek. At higher tide levels, you can paddle up this creek, experiencing one of the most woodsy and secluded side trips along the river. Here the banks slope up high and fairly steeply, covered with trees, and showing no human presence. The slope on the left faces north, and is heavily shaded with eastern hemlock trees. The right hand slope faces south, and hardwood trees predominate. As you reach River Road, the creek bed starts to rise and loses its tidal nature, the water tumbling over a rocky bottom and ending navigation.
Paddling back to the river, keep left around the point of land, and proceed north along the river’s west shore. You will round a landing with an old cut stone wall, perhaps a loading spot for barges and boats in the past. We once spotted a good-sized animal shuffling along the top of the stone break wall as we approached – not the expected raccoon or woodchuck, but a large beaver. Spooked by our approach, the beaver dove off the three-foot wall into the water with a great splash! He surfaced and gave us a mighty smack of his tail on the water, disappearing again under the surface. I will always picture that cliff-diving beaver as I pass this spot.
At this point, you are 2.5 miles north of the Coxsackie launch. Continue north to about four miles out, and watch closely on the left bank for the Van Schaack Campsite at Bronck Island – part of the Hudson River Watertrail Association. The HRWA has developed this spot with a tent platform and a nice composting toilet facility. The land was donated to the Watertrail and it makes a great spot to stop. Overnight camping is allowed. Visit: hrwa.org.
At five miles, you come to the southern tip of the Schodack Island peninsula, close to the east bank of the river. As always, cross the main navigation channel carefully. This tip is called Hotaling Island, though it’s long been connected by dredge spoil. Hotaling is still the deposit site for dredge spoil and is federal government property. There is a nice sand beach on the southeastern part of the tip, opposite a boat dock on the east shore.
We will start back south from this point, keeping to the eastern shore. Remember the tide and current changes that are part of this tidal estuary. The current reverses direction with the rise and fall of the water, and though its speed may only reach one to one-and-a-half miles per hour, it makes a difference when you are paddling just three miles per hour. Your effective speed could be two or four mph, depending on the current direction. If you plan poorly, it could take twice as long to get back to the launch! Ideally, I would start this trip two or three hours before high tide at Coxsackie, going north with the flood and back south with the ebb. For tide predictions, go to http://xtide.ldeo.columbia.edu/hudson/tides/predictions.html.
Mill Creek is found at about one-mile south of our turnaround point, entering from a tunnel under a railroad bridge. You can paddle a distance up this creek; the surrounding land is a Nature Conservancy preserve. Continuing south, our final stop is Stuyvesant Landing, with a park and gravel boat ramp. You can carry your boat up to the grass above the ramp, walk across the tracks (being careful to watch for high speed trains), and go to a great little café. This makes a wonderful lunch or coffee stop. This landing is opposite Coxsackie Creek.
The paddle back to our launch is about two miles. You can cross the channel and cut between the two islands, or continue south to Nutton Hook State Unique Area, opposite the Coxsackie launch. This was the site of the largest ice house on the river, supplying New York City with ice until the advent of refrigeration. For further explorations from this launch spot, see “Coxsackie South to Stockport” in the May 2008 issue on adksports.com (see Back Issues).
Alan Mapes works with Atlantic Kayak Tours at their Norrie Point Paddlesport Center, where he instructs and leads kayak trips. Alan lives near Delmar and can be contacted at alanmapes@gmail.com.
