Trip Difficulty: Moderate (easy for skilled kayakers)

If you have never kayaked Ogunquit, you are in for a real treat.  The Ogunquit River is a beautiful tidal sand-dune river. The sandy beach is one of the finest in Maine with a large gay section somewhat beyond the crowds. The rocks on the Marginal Way and the Cliffs are spectacular.   Perkins Cove drawbridge and the rest, from a kayak, is far nicer than by land, and right there by kayak is the beautiful grounds of the Ogunquit Museum of American Art.   I will gear the trip to the skill level that we have but you must have paddled a real kayak before.  Sit on top kayaks do not work for longer distances like this one and if we paddle out onto the Ocean, you will need a kayak with a spray skirt and you will have to have done a wet exit with spray skirt on as practice sometime before the trip (they are fun too).

 Driving Directions: Plan for heavy traffic if the trip goes on Sat.   From Massachusetts take I95 North into Maine and take the last exit before the Maine Turnpike Toll (exit 7), turn right at end of the ramp and go to the traffic light and turn left onto Route 1 North. Get into Ogunquit center after about 5 miles on Route 1 North then, at the awful intersection with no traffic light, take the second right onto Ocean St. (they may call it Beach St. now, it changes) and go down about a block and turn left on River St. where you will find the $20 all-day parking and the put-in.

 Meet at the River Road all-day parking lot ($20) by 9 AM to make sure that we get a parking space on a holiday weekend, to get an early start on the incoming tide, and to have time to go get our lunch if we decide to eat on the river. If you are not there and parked by 10 AM, we will leave without you (the parking lot is often full by 10AM!!!!).  We put-in right there at the parking lot.  Paddle up the river to the gay beach, maybe have lunch on the water, maybe paddle out to Perkins Cove and have lunch there if the seas are 2 – 4 feet or less, and maybe paddle down to the 200 foot Cliffs below the Cliff house.  Bring for in your kayak:  plenty of water to drink, sun screen, money or credit card for a restaruant, extra clothing/towel/foot protection/booties, beach stuff, first aid stuff, etc.