Paddling Long Island and New York City. Kevin Stiegelmaier
dead-ending at a line of trees. Thankfully, the last three stops of the trail are along the way, giving you an excuse to paddle slowly and take your time.
Once you’ve reached the end of the trail, you have a decision to make. If the main focus of your trip was to experience the trail, you may choose to retrace your paddle strokes and make the return trip to the put-in (the most direct route puts it 1 mile away). There is much more to see within the confines of Coecles Harbor’s shores, though, and you may want to continue if you have the time. For example, just 0.5 mile beyond the entrance to Fan Creek, along a still-undeveloped shoreline, sits the harbor’s inlet. Paddle between Sungic and Reel points, which almost pinch off the inlet, and you’ll be floating in Gardiners Bay 9 miles due west of Gardiners Island. While paddling to the island from here is not feasible, heading south for 2 miles to Cedar Point and its lighthouse is a viable option. One may also choose to head north and round both Ram and Little Ram islands before portaging over the causeway and entering Coecles Harbor once again. Finally, some paddlers may simply elect to stay within the confines of the harbor but hug its northern shore, exploring Ram and Little Ram islands from the south side instead. This last option is especially enticing if conditions on Gardiners Bay are not ideal, or if the tidal current racing through the inlet is too much to handle (which it often can be).
Paddling along the harbor’s northern shore may take a bit of getting used to, as it is quite different from the southern side. Gone are the nature preserve and its associated unspoiled natural beauty. Here instead are houses and their associated boats and docks. You’ll pass more than 2 dozen docks on the southern shore of Ram Island alone. Many of the homes are quite beautiful, however, and can offer just as much enjoyment to the observant paddler as the marine trail did.
As you continue along the bottom of Ram Island, you’ll come to a fairly large cove after 1 mile that separates it from Little Ram Island. Keep an open eye and you’ll probably see a car or two driving along the causeway that links the islands to the mainland. A few spots along this stretch are suitable for a portage should you want to explore Gardiners Bay a bit. They can make good rest areas for weary paddlers as well.
The gap between the islands can be crossed in just 0.5 mile, bringing you to Neck Point on Little Ram. From there, the start of the marine trail (and your car) is only an additional 0.5 mile away.
GPS COORDINATES
Put-in/take-out
N41° 04.456′ W72° 19.018′
Tide station
Cedar Point, NY
N41° 01.998′ W72° 16.002′
5 CONNETQUOT RIVER
More limitations exist on the lower portion of the Connetquot. Although paddling on this portion of the river is permitted, access is severely limited. Most of the river’s shores are lined with homes and private property. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation maintains a few fishing-access points near Sunrise Highway but prohibits boat launching from any of them. This leaves paddlers with a single launching site on the Connetquot: Timber Point County Park.
Timber Point’s amenities include ample parking, picnic tables, and a sandy beach for launching. In addition, its location, near the mouth of the Connetquot, puts boaters on the river poised for a trip north toward Sunrise Highway or south to the Great South Bay and Heckscher State Park. Although these are its only two paddling options, the Connetquot has always been, and will likely remain, a local favorite.
USGS Quadrangles
BAY SHORE EAST (NY)
Timber Point County Park to Sunrise Highway and Back
| Level | 2A | |
| Distance | 6 miles round-trip | |
| Time | 3–4 hours | |
| Navigable Navigablehs | Year-round | |
| Hazards | Boat traffic | |
| Portages | None | |
| Rescue Rescue | Easy | |
| Tidal Tidals | Any | |
| Scenery | B–B+ |
5 DESCRIPTION The Connetquot is quite wide near the put-in at Timber Point, with both shores being extensively developed. The eastern shore contains some fairly large boatyards and yacht clubs, while the western shore is lined with houses. Head north along this shore, and these houses eventually give way to a pristine, scenic shoreline 1 mile north of Timber Point. At this point you will reach the Bayard Cutting Arboretum’s southernmost boundary. Considering the lack of open space on the river’s shores, the natural beauty of the arboretum is welcoming.
Since it was laid out in 1887, this arboretum has, according to its benefactor, Mrs. William Bayard Cutting, served to “provide an oasis of beauty and quiet for the pleasure, rest, and refreshment of those who delight in outdoor beauty.” Anyone with time on his or her hands should definitely pay this amazing park a visit. Please note, though, that landing boats is not permitted along the arboretum’s shoreline. Its small coves, inlets, and tiny islands are a pleasure to paddle among, however.
After 2 miles, you’ll reach the arboretum’s northern terminus, where houses dominate the shoreline once again. The Dowling College campus is visible directly across from the river at this point. First a Vanderbilt family mansion, the property was also home to a group of metaphysicians, the site of the National Dairy Research Lab, and part of Adelphi University. Since 1968, it has been known as Dowling College. Lucky paddlers may share the river with Dowling’s crew teams as they scull along its length during their workouts.
You’ll come to a fork in the river just after the Dowling campus. Here paddlers can head left (west), straight ahead, or right (east). The left branch takes paddlers through a narrow canal lined with private homes before it dead-ends at a low-hanging railroad trestle after about 2,000 feet of paddling. Heading straight or right leads around either side of a small island with a large cedar-shingled house situated firmly in its center. This portion of the Connetquot also dead-ends just south of NY 27 (Sunrise Highway).
After turning around, paddlers may head back to Timber Point County Park the way they came or take a slightly different path, through a canal that joins the eastern shore of the Connetquot 1 mile south of the turnaround. This