First time on a kayak: What to know
Kristine Costello of Hauppauge, with her nephew Gabriel James, 13, paddle at the Stony Brook harbor kayak tour on June 19. Credit: Corey Sipkin
For her birthday, a mother just wanted to look at the back of her Setauket home — from a kayak. She feasted visually “in awe” of her house for about 10 minutes, recounts tour guide Kevin Stiegelmaier, as her husband and two children, on their own kayaks, enjoyed their gift to her. It was a moment Stiegelmaier, founder of Paumanok Tours in Setauket, understood well.
“It’s a totally different perspective — land and everything you’re familiar with looks completely different from the water,” says Stiegelmaier. “I always feel like the air is cleaner. You breathe deeper on the water. It’s just calming.”
Kayaking options abound on Long Island. They’re familiar vessels at state parks, rivers, the ocean and secluded harbors, with riders both expert and novice commanding the water. Rental and boating shops organize themed trips, such as the full moon rise with the Stony Brook Harbor Kayak and Paddleboard Rentals; some kayak shop operators are for-hire, hauling all the equipment to the starting point.
Fans of kayaking say they go out to listen to the planet. A mass of bluefish flipping their tails on the water's surface. Muskrats splashing. Water currents washing against marsh grass. Ospreys shooting out on the water with fish in their claws.
“It’s one of the best ways to get out on the water that’s not very invasive,” says Shannon Kelly, marketing director for The Waterfront Center in Oyster Bay, a marine education nonprofit that rents out kayaks for jaunts in its backyard, the West Harbor. Unlike gas-powered boats, kayaks are small enough to explore tight areas, can be used in shallower waters and are light enough to be carried over places with little water or some obstruction. For those who own their equipment, kayaks are even available in inflatable options (around $250 and up) for easy transport.
Plus, they’re not noisy like motorboats, which defeats the purpose of going out to see wildlife, Kelly says: “If you go on a boat, you’re more likely to scare them away.”
Beginners don’t need to know how to swim, but state law requires anyone on a vessel to wear a lifejacket, which kayak rental places provide. Some shops will require those under a certain age to go on a double kayak with an adult.
Kyle Foresta-Carraro and daughter Francesca Foresta-Carraro,10, of Locust Valley, start their kayak trip at The Waterfront Center, a marine education nonprofit in Oyster Bay, on June 17. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Most kayak rental operators say learning to paddle is so easy that they can give lessons to beginners just before letting them go out.
With new kayaks costing $500 and up, it’s not hard to find rentals, which run about $30-45 per hour for a single kayak and about $55 per hour for a guided tour. Most shops limit the use of their rentals to adjacent waters.
Scenic Long Island waterways to tour on kayak
Kayakers paddle down an inlet at the Stony Brook harbor kayak tour on June 19 in Stony Brook. Credit: Corey Sipkin
If one wants a tour with a mix of wildlife, history, people watching and food, the Peconic River is a prime destination, says Stiegelmaier, who wrote the book, "Paddling Long Island and New York City." The Peconic, which winds between Brookhaven and Southampton, played a key part in cranberry production, with remnants of water mills used still visible. In Riverhead, paddlers can go right up to Roadhouse Pizza or hustle across Route 25 for Maple Tree BBQ and Snowflake Ice Cream Shoppe.
In Nassau, the South Shore Blueway Trail is billed as a safe and legal network of water access points for human-powered boats and beachable sail crafts. The trail and southshoreblueway.com, all funded by the county, Freeport Village and the state, highlight points for nature-watching, history, dining, parking and more. The website also has a short kayak 101.
Suffolk County is planning its version of the trail, says Stiegelmaier, who has worked on it.
Another resource, paddling.com, has a map of 48,000 paddling spots worldwide, including dozens on Long Island, with information on parking and rest stops.
A grist mill can be seen at the Stony Brook harbor kayak tour on June 19. Credit: Corey Sipkin
As for themed outings, the first Witches Paddle on Stony Brook Harbor was a hit around Halloween last year, with about 15 people in witchy hats on the waters and drivers stopping to stare.
Usually, the self-guided kayak trips around the harbor bewitch in other ways, turning nervous beginners into serene paddlers as they skim by the historic 18th century Stony Brook Grist Mill, and, this year, an unusually high number of baby water birds, says shop co-owner Dyanna Walters.
“People have seen deer swimming in the water,” she says. “We go out there and it’s silent and we just meditate in the kayak. It’s a dream.”
Long Island Paddlers, a volunteer-run kayaking club, organizes trips for members but allows beginners and newcomers to join one trip for free as a trial before joining, says longtime member Chris Scalisi of Huntington, who has led hundreds of water trips.
Scalisi, 75, who has kayaked around Manhattan, believes it doesn’t matter where one kayaks on the Island — it will be beautiful.
“What I always like doing is going up the back channels, out into swampland, where you’re out in the reeds,” he says. “You go into the places that are only available in high tide. You really feel alone, even when you’re with a group."
