Wallkill revisited-New Paltz southbound.

[Jay H]

Now that I've paddled the section between New Paltz and Perrinne's bridge, how far south can one go before one hits obstacles or low water?

Launch spots? Perhaps go from New Paltz to Gardiner and back...

Jay

 

[Mark Schaefer]

There is a boat launch at the Ulster County Fairgrounds (former "County Home" shown on the topo) on Libertyville Road. The fairgrounds are just south of the town swimming pool. Use gate C (next to fair office, a white house) shown on this map. A paved fairground road, not shown on the map, heads straight to "29" where a gravel road winds down the hill to the Wallkill. In order to drive to the launch you would need to avoid the dates when the fairgrounds are in use:

Saturday, June 30, 2007 (July 4 celebration and fireworks)
Tuesday-Sunday, July 31 - August 5, 2007 (the county fair) and several days of set up before and after
Friday-Sunday, August 17-19, 2007 (Hudson Valley Ribfest, food festival)
Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends (craft fairs)
Sunday September 16, 2007 (Taste of the New Paltz, food festival)​

A short distance further south, the Wallkill is adjacent to Libertyville Road - which might provide some access. At that point the water is fairly shallow with some boulders in the river.

There is a campground on the west side of the Wallkill in Gardiner, on Bevier Rd, via CR 9, just south of Route 44/55. It has a river access site within the campground. I don't know of any formal public access near Gardiner.

 

[Jay H]

Thanks, I've been to the fairgrounds and I've been to "the taste of new paltz" before.. fun little show, never heard of such a thing and thought it's a great idea to promote visitors and stuff. Anyway, looks like southbound (upstream) sounds like a better job for a plastic boat and not my Impex. I've beat up on it enough and it has to survive some longer Maine trips until I get a longer one. I sure know the Wallkill in NJ is one shallow stream, with strainers.

Jay

 

[Jay H]

Take a look at Google Maps satellite, the imagery that the wallkill goes through by the Ulster County fairgrounds (check out google maps off CR7 north of Danica Rd):

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...828,-74.11304&spn=0.004836,0.012617&z=16&om=1

It appears to show some really shallow cascades which I'm not running in my 'glass yak so looks like southbound will have to wait til I get a plastic yak... or maybe I'll do it in an inner tube...


I went to Spruce Run reservoir in Clinton, NJ on friday, a pretty big reservoir and a nice cool paddle.

Jay

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Take a look at Google Maps satellite, the imagery that the wallkill goes through by the Ulster County fairgrounds (check out google maps off CR7 north of Danica Rd):

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...828,-74.11304&spn=0.004836,0.012617&z=16&om=1

It appears to show some really shallow cascades which I'm not running in my 'glass yak so looks like southbound will have to wait til I get a plastic yak... or maybe I'll do it in an inner tube...

Yes, that is the area that AMF spoke of in your other thread; Wallkill River... New Paltz to the NYS Thruway->Sturgeon Pool. It is best to run going downriver in the spring. Going south (up river) from the fairgrounds there are also some shallow areas with boulders and marginal whitewater.