The Bear Slides on Butternut Brook is a half mile hike from the river at Darlings Ford.
In summer, tubing is popular in the 2nd half of this trip.
Oct 20, 2021 - Hadley gauge at 3.8' - a very nice level. Sunny & temp rising into the lower 70s. Some very nice fall foliage in the yellow/orange range but past peak for reds. Moving water, fast water, riffles up to 1' - the current made it easy to keep a 3.5-4mph pace. Steep hills on both sides. Bald eagles, lots of Canada geese, a lone merganser. 14.5 miles, 5 hours (incl an hour-long lunch break near 1000 Acres Ranch). However, what may have been a perfect day of paddling was diminished by a reminder that not all folks are having an awesome day - enough said - details below but BE WARNED, it ain't pretty.
*After paddling downstream for 10 minutes, we spotted some debris on river R that looked like some clothing, a dummy, or something. After a closer look, it was determined to be a dead male with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, gun still in hand. 911 was called - 2 of the group remained at the scene to meet with the police - the rest of the group continued downriver & the group was reunited within an hour.
May 24, 2015 - HUDSON RIVER from
Thurman Station to Hadley. North Creek & Hadley gauges a bit above
3' - some shallow spots but I only scraped bottom twice. Quickwater,
riffles, flatwater. Clear water - so much nicer than the lower Hudson.
Hills rise sharply on both sides of the river. Went along the L
shore the 1st half of the trip - a good choice, a wilder side with the Hudson River Special Management Area
on that side. Some light development on R shore (golf course, ranch
resort). Stopped to look at the campsite & have an early lunch at
Chamberlain Farm. Sandpipers, green heron, mergansers. Tubers going
very slowly, not much current in the last 4 miles above Hadley. 14.9 miles,
4.5 hours.
Jun 1, 2008 - HUDSON RIVER, Rt.418 bridge in Thurman to Canoe Access (steep shore next to huge cedar) on River Rd in Luzerne. Quickwater, riffles, flatwater. Bald eagle. North Creek gauge at 3.2' - plenty of water for this trip but do have to watch where you are going to stay in deeper water, the river is ~200' wide. Very pleasant valley with steep hills & cliffs. L shore is mostly undeveloped, R shore has light development, some road noise. A few bad bugs at put-in & take-out. 15 miles, 5 hours.
June 16, 2002 - Hudson River canoeing, Thurman to Luzerne. Put-in is at Rt.418 bridge W of Warrensburg. More sun & less rain than expected. Bugs: no problem on river, some mosquitoes at lunch, some blackflies at take-out in the warm sun - no need for bug dope. River at a nice water level & the current helps one along making the 16 miles feel like much less. Some riffles & an occasional rock to dodge. Very lightly developed shoreline on river R - river L is undeveloped public lands. Small cliffy mountains flank the scenic waterway. Bank swallows flitted across the water & turkey vultures soared overhead. Take-out on River Rd in Luzerne (marked with Warren Cty Canoe Access sign - from the water look for huge cedar tree) is steep - better take-outs can be found a mile or 2 upstream. See McMartin's Fun on Flatwater - An Introduction to Adirondack Canoeing for more details. Dagger Reflection 16 is a good all-around Royalex canoe: speed/efficiency, primary & secondary stability, turning ability, durability are all very good - if you had to have just one canoe (perish the thought) this would be an excellent choice - can also do easy whitewater & it's not too heavy for short carries.
Paddling the Hudson & Hoosic Rivers article.
NY Paddling Guidebooks
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