I had a wedding to go to in Boston and decided to re-live my undergraduate days of rowing crew on the Charles. A friend drove up from Connecticut and we paddled a few days in a row. There are several locations to rent from--we paddled in downtown Boston and in "the lakes district" out of Newton.

Paddling the Charles in Boston is a lot of fun--tons of people out there. I was surprised by how nice the Lakes District was. The Newton location is easy to get to--right off the freeway and very near a t-stop. There are a couple of hotels next door. We saw quite a bit of wildlife (deer, river otters, blue herons, cormorants, and one really big unidentified fish). We pulled over to the side of the river in Waltham and had awesome pizza...then paddled back.

Overall, it was just ideal flatwater paddling...perfect if you decide you want to bring family out for a paddle or someone who is really new. I wouldn't want to roll in that water but I guess it won't kill you. In any event, the only way we were going in is if we tried. Lots of fun.

Amica