Ipswich River, Massachusetts, United States

4Bill190 5:00 PM Jul 21, 2003

A wonderful river
If you're into canoeing or kayaking and are in the Boston/North Shore area, be sure to try out the Ipswich River at some point. It's classic New England scenery all the way. There's one place to rent canoes, Foote Brothers, I think near downtown Ipswich, and there's numerous places to put your own non-motorized boat into the water. People fish there. The river is very beautiful and has some wildlife, including deer. Sometmes in late summer the water level can get pretty low and that's not the best time to go, but it depends. I think there's also at least one small island on the river where camping is permitted. It'll help to have lighter personal watercraft on this river, like 30 something pound kayaks or whatever, because you will come to the occasional obstacle where you'll have to get out and go around. There's also a conservation organization that apparently oversees much of the river's land and protection, they probably have more information as well.

4147Adventure 5:00 PM Jul 18, 2012

Unique kayaking experience
I went with a friend down the river-it was unique with marshes and obstacles. I would highly recommend you go early in the day when it is quiet. We saw lots of wildlife, it was peaceful and unique. I would NOT recommend renting kayaks/canoes at Foote Brothers. The location is handly but I found the staff and owners very, very rude to customers. They also only had size L PDFs-which is NOT safe. The river takes you through santuary land is amazing-if you are a kayaker-it is worth the trip!