Wickford Backwaters - June 20, 2026

Heading out into the
Wickford backwaters

I had originally planned to do a RICKA trip on the Sudbury River today, but with the ongoing drought the water was low and the water quality didn’t look great. Instead, I moved the trip to Wickford. Unfortunately, there was a small craft advisory on Narragansett Bay with winds from the west at 15 to 20 kt, gusts up to 25 kt, and 2 to 3 ft waves.

Since we could stay in the protected backwaters of Wickford Harbor, I decided to run the trip anyway. We had a small group of hardy paddlers – 1 canoe (me and Bill in the Spirit II) and 4 kayaks (Sharon, Bob, Paul and Fran). We headed out from Wilson Park into Mill Cove, up to Mill Creek, back past Calf Neck and over to the beach at Cornelius Island. Since the wind was too strong to paddle out into more exposed areas, we decided to call it a day. It was just a 3-mile trip, but still nice to get out. Bill and I stopped for ice cream on the way home at the Inside Scoop, which is always a treat.

The crew - Bob, Paul, Fran, Bill, Sharon and Erik

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