West Point Up the New Meadows River

The West Point beach in Maine has very limited parking and does not have an all tide ramp. As long as people are respectful, this place will remain open to the public. It is a gem.

We made our plans to put our kayaks in 2 hours before high tide. On this day we planned to navigate up the New Meadows River in order to take advantage of the incoming tide and the outgoing tide on our return.

On the way, because the wind had not picked up yet, we paddled out around an island for which we

couldn’t find a name. It is right next to West Point and may be called Carry On Island. The west side of this island is exposed to open ocean and is gorgeous.  In the afternoons, the wind tends to pick up along the Maine coastline, so we stayed on the protected eastern side on the return trip.

A few notes of concern:

1. When the waves hit the rocky shore they bounce back, causing the water action to become unpredictable.

2. There are some ledges which cause waves to break. Getting caught in breaking waves can be difficult to overcome, so we steer clear of ledges.

3. The motorized boats in this area tend to go at a pretty good clip. It's safer to stay together to increase visibility.

We paddled around Malaga Island, part of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, stopping on the north west side where an easy take out is a welcoming spot on an otherwise rocky coastline. I made a huge error in leaving our lunch in the cooler in the car, so we didn’t stay long on the island to enjoy the trails and scenery from other vantage points.

There isn’t a bathroom at the put-in at West Point, so a stop on Bath on drive is prudent. There is an art gallery and a gift shop on the point, but I didn’t have the enthusiasm or energy to check them out at the end of the paddle. That may entail a separate trip. 

Please feel free to add a comment with additional information about paddling the New Meadows River.

At the end of a day of paddling my shoulder muscles are tight and a Maine Warmers' microwave

heating pad does the trick to increase flexibility. This Cozy Black Bear heating pad becomes a comforting companion at the end of the day.

Gulf Island Pond from the boat ramp in Turner

July 6, 2015

We put in Turner off of Center Bridge Road, at an all-tide ramp (not that is makes any difference in this location) on a beautifully calm day. There were a few cars in the parking lot and the porta-potty was okay. I was a bit skeptical after the long holiday week end. It looks like a nice spot to just stop and throw a fishing line in the water or enjoy the shady area and a picnic. I think swimming would be fine here too, although one would have to climb over a few rocks as there isn’t a sandy beach. 

Boat Ramp

It was a gorgeous paddle – no houses to speak of – with the Andorscoggin Riverlands State Park (it must be about 2 miles long) on our right as we paddled down river. The current didn’t look bad for paddling back against it, and as it turned out it was an easy paddle back.

We saw quite a few birds and one large turtle who we must have spooked. He frantically paddled his own way in the opposite direction after seeing us so close by. There were lots of nooks and crannies to explore and few island on which there were WELCOME signs. That was a nice surprise! They are owned by Maine Hydro and are open to the public for camping (no more than 14 days) and for those who want to stop, like we did, and have a picnic and move on.

There is not much development on this part of the river, I think because it was once so polluted from the mills that no one would want to be close to it. We noticed a lot of dirt and grease like substance on our kayaks as we took them out and gave them a good scrub-down once we arrived home.

This is a beautiful spot to see in spite of the need for continual clean-up. There was a very unpretentious and nice group of folks who were there the day we were. I’d go again.

If your shoulders are tight after paddling, try using a microwave heating pad from Maine Warmers to increase circulation and help flexibility. An extra large back warmer is long enough to cover the shoulders.