E-Mail This Article to a Friend You and a canoe Having it your way on rivers and lakes in New England BY DAVID VALDES GREENWOOD
	Tippy canoe? How to prepare for — and handle — the inevitable: Tipping over • If you can’t swim, ask yourself how comfortable you are with the water before planning a day in a vessel that can (and does) tip easily. • Hot ... itchy ... dying to take off that life jacket? Don’t. • It doesn’t matter how skilled you think you are: be prepared to get wet. And if you’re going elsewhere afterward, have dry clothes waiting in your car (not in a bag with you in the boat). • Snug sneakers or aquatic shoes will give you added footing on the riverbed if you tip. For that reason, sandals and flip-flops — which are most likely to slip off — are a poor choice. • Do you wear glasses? Then wear eyeglass straps to keep them from sailing away without you. • If you’re bringing a picnic lunch, pack it in waterproof containers, preferably made of a lightweight material that will float. Your charming wicker basket is not ideal. • Should you turn over in water so deep you can’t stand, don’t panic. Your canoe is a flotation device itself; you can get your bearings by clinging to it. And if you surface underneath an overturned canoe, its body offers a safe hollowed place to catch your breath. — David Valdes Greenwood

Canoeing is one of those sports that even the least aggressive person can enjoy. There is an inherent serenity in the activity, in that you can go only so fast, there’s no mechanical apparatus involved, and the locales in which you find yourself tend toward the pastoral.

Make no mistake — it can also be rugged, if you choose a river with rapids or combine your canoeing with hiking and camping. But by its very nature, canoeing is adaptable to both individual and group. Canoeing can be whatever you want it to be, and you have plenty of options in New England to have it your way.

GREATER BOSTON

The grandpappy of all local canoeing is Charles River Recreation, which operates locations in Boston, Newton, and on Lake Cochituate in Natick. The Boston location is open from May to October on dry Fridays, weekends, and holidays. You’ll canoe through the Olmsted-designed Charles River Basin, part of the famed "Emerald Necklace." Here, you can enjoy the best views of Harvard, MIT, and the Boston skyline.

The Newton locale takes advantage of the Lakes District from Newton Lower Falls to Waltham. Seven days a week from April to October, you can rent canoes by the hour and receive instruction, rain or shine.

Lake Cochituate is a former Boston-feeding reservoir turned centerpiece of a state park. In addition to lake canoeing, you can pop out of your boat for a dip in the lifeguard-protected waters. This location is open May to October, weather permitting.

Charles River Recreation, Boston Bike Path above the Eliot Street Bridge, Allston, (617) 462-2513; Cochituate State Park, 93 Commonwealth Road (Route 30), Natick, (508) 647-1700; 2401 Comm Ave, Newton, (617) 965-5110; www.ski-paddle.com

WEST

On the Deerfield River, Zoar Outfitters offers canoeing instruction for beginners through advanced students, with a personalized approach. With state-of-the-art canoes, Zoar teaches you how to have the same maneuverability and excitement expected from kayaking. Solo-canoe clinics involve surfing waves, catching high-speed eddies, and spinning on rapids. If you’re feeling a bit more tentative, tandem clinics start with flat-water skills, river reading, and basic white-water maneuvers. Clinics start at $235 and run from June to August.

Families flock to Barton Cove, in tiny Gill, for picnics, tent camping, and access to the Connecticut River. For canoeists, rentals and a public boat dock are the key attractions here, guaranteeing a rustic day of exploring a river edged with waterfall-fed pools, rock formations, and a dinosaur-track quarry.

You can rent canoes by the hour ($10) or the day ($25), and if you choose to stay overnight, campsites feature hibachis, fireplaces, and picnic tables, with showers nearby. The camp is open from May to September, and accepts reservations in April.

From April to November, canoeists take advantage of South Bridge Boat House’s prime location, which offers access to the Assabet, Sudbury, and Concord Rivers. And because you can get there by commuter rail (Concord stop), you don’t need a car to do it. Rent your vessel from South Bridge Boat House, open seasonally from 10 a.m. until dusk. Hourly rates start at $8; day rates start at $30.

Zoar Outfitters, 7 Main Street (Route 2), Charlemont, (800) 532-7483; www.zoaroutdoor.com. Barton Cove, Route 2, Gill, (413) 863-9300. South Bridge Boat House, 496-502 Main Street, Concord, (978) 369-9438.

NORTH

Nashoba Paddler boasts that its base river, the Nashua, has been "restored." Whatever that means, you’ll enjoy its locale right on the river, which is forest-lined and quiet. This is a perfect spot for novices or those who like to keep it simple — not a white-water zone. You can paddle in either direction along the Nashua or its tributaries on serene flat water. Equipment is available for all ages and sizes, so it’s as good for college kids with a free afternoon as for whole families on an outing. Rates begin at $14 an hour and $42 a day weekdays, with weekends slightly more expensive.

Nashoba Paddler, Route 225, West Groton, (978) 448-8699; www.nashobapaddler.com

SOUTH

Fairly or not, your average Bostonian doesn’t think of "nature" and "Taunton" in the same sentence. But Canoe Passage Outfitters, in Raynham, is happy to correct that with leisurely canoe trips along the Taunton River. A family-owned business, Canoe Passage offers canoe rentals, day trips, overnight canoe-and-camping combos, and lessons, starting at $55 a day and $100 for a two-day weekend, including boat, paddles, life jackets, and car-top.

The company’s most singular offering is a canoe-building class, in which students build the complete canoe, from ribs, planking, and rails, to hull and bright work. Course includes all materials, instruction, and use of shop and equipment. The cost is $2000 to $2500, depending on which canoe you choose to build.

Canoe Passage Outfitters, 407 Route 44, Raynham, (508) 824-1146 or (800) 689-7884; www.canoepassage.com

CAPE COD

Don’t be put off by the name: Waquoit Kayak Company isn’t simply a kayak shop. Here, you have a chance to canoe in a non-river setting, Waquoit Bay. If coastal canoeing is new to you, instruction is offered in shallow water, with an emphasis on safety and boat handling. Lessons are available for families or individuals, Monday through Friday. If you’re just in the mood to paddle away, you can choose from half-day excursions ($45) to full-day rentals ($59). Waquoit can even arrange for you to camp overnight on Washburn Island for an additional fee. (Sorry, s’mores not provided.)

Waquoit Kayak Company, Route 28 at the Childs River, E. Falmouth, (508) 548-9722; www.waquoitkayak.com

BEYOND THE BAY STATE

At Contoocook River Canoe Company, in Concord, New Hampshire, renting a canoe comes with options. The folks there will put you in the river at their dock on the Contoocook, with rates starting at $24, or drive you nine miles upriver to a covered bridge, so you can paddle back to the base ($32). If you choose the latter, you’ll pass through the Mast Yard State Forest and Lehtinen Park on your way.

The company boasts that this river is excellent for bass, pickerel, and trout fishing, so anglers should take note and bring bait. The Contoocook can be a quick-water experience in early spring as winter run-off roils the river, which doesn’t make for good fishing, but from April on, it’s a flat-water river.

For 30 years, Sunrise Expeditions has operated canoe trips on the St. Croix River, in Maine. In that time, its name has become known well outside the Pine Tree State. In addition to guided Eastern Maine canoe trips, Sunrise now leads trips to Iceland, Canada, and beyond. You might have seen its trips on PBS, ESPN, and in National Geographic.

Bear in mind that this is for people seeking guided explorations, not casual afternoons afloat. The trip groups run small, with 10 canoeists or fewer. Even so, if you don’t want to spend your days paddling among strangers, you can also customize a trip of up to seven days for your own group of friends or family. Note: none of this comes cheap: four-day trips are $845, and six-day trips (which also include lake canoeing) run $1175.

Contoocook River Canoe Company, 9 Horse Hill Road, Concord, New Hampshire, (603) 753-9804; www.contoocookcanoe.com. Sunrise Expeditions, 4 Union Plaza, Suite 2, Bangor, Maine, (800) RIVER-30 or (207) 942-9300; www.sunrise-exp.com

David Valdes Greenwood can be reached at impersonalstuff@aol.com