Charles River - Bays Region with RICKA - May 15, 2026

Heading out

Today I led a flatwater trip for RICKA on the Bay’s Region of the Charles River. It was a small group - just five of us. We had three kayaks, and I paddled tandem with Jonathan in the Spirit II.

The Charles River arises at Echo Lake in Hopkinton, and flows generally east for 85-miles, zig-zagging through 22 cities and towns in eastern MA before emptying into Boston Harbor. There are a lots of great flatwater trips on the Charles including the Lakes District in Newton, the Dedham Loop, and my favorite section from Medfield to Natick. Today we would be paddling the Bay’s Region from Needham to Wellesley.

Jonathan in the bow

We met at 10:00 to launch our boats at the Charles River Peninsula (87 Fisher Street, Needham, MA). This section of the river is relatively undeveloped except for some large houses as the river flows through Dover/Sherborn. The river starts off as marshland, and then turns to woodlands as you get above the Dover Street Bridge.

There were lots of turtles sunning themselves on the rocks, and an eagle circled overhead and perched in a nearby tree. After a break for lunch at the Elm Bank Reservation (900 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA) we headed back downstream. Total trip was 11-miles.

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Charles River - Scouting the Bays Region – May 12, 2026

I did the first weekday paddle of my retirement yesterday at Redwing Bay on the Charles River. I’ll be leading a RICKA trip there on Saturday, so I went to scout it out. Great day for a paddle, but I needed to cut it short to get home for supper before the opening BVPC trip on the North Branch of the Pawtuxet.

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Charles River - Medfield to Natick - July 5, 2025

Through the marsh

It has been a while since I led a trip on the Charles River from Medfield down to Natick. It was the first section of the Charles River that I did with RICKA when I started paddling around 2005, and is still one of my favorites.

The Charles River arises at Echo Lake in Hopkinton, and flows generally east for 85-miles, zig-zagging through 22 cities and towns in eastern MA before emptying into Boston Harbor. We met at the Medfield boat launch at 10:00 and ran the shuttle down to the South Natick Dam. Unfortunately, the parking spots on the street at the take-out were all full, so we left the cars across the street at the Hunnewell Baseball Fields.

Under Sargent's Bridge

We had 13 paddlers in 11 boats - 8 kayaks and 3 canoes. The river was low, but still at a nice level – 75 cfs, 1 foot on the Dover gage. Temps were in the mid-80’s, but we had some clouds and an occasional breeze to keep things comfortable.

This section starts off in marshland before entering into woodlands at the Rocky Narrows Reservation (hikes) and the Mass Audubon Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary (hikes). We stopped for lunch at the picnic site at Rocky Narrows. The trip ends at the So. Natick Dam after passing by the Praying Girl statue and under Sergeant’s Bridge.

The crew at the Rocky Narrows Picnic Area

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Dover Gage

Charles - Medfield to Dover - September 4, 2023

Into the marshland

With family plans this weekend, I decided to get the "early morning crew" together for Labor Day run on the Charles River. Back in the COVID days, the "early morning crew" were my primary paddling partners, doing up-and-back trips and bike shuttles in the early morning to avoid the crowds. We actually did this trip as a bike shuttle back on July 4, 2020.

The Charles River arises at Echo Lake in Hopkinton, and flows generally east for 85-miles, zig-zagging through 22 cities and towns in eastern MA before emptying into Boston Harbor. There are a lots of great flatwater trips on the Charles including the Bays Region from Natick to Wellesley, the Lakes District from Weston to Waltham and the Dedham Loop.

South End Pond

We would be running the section from Dover Road in Medfield to Bridge Street in Dover - about 5-miles. You can easily extend this trip another 3.5-miles down to the South Natick Dam, but I was looking to finish up before lunch.

We met at 8:00 to run the shuttle and were on the river by 8:45. Most of this trip runs through a large marshland, so it can be hot and exposed in the summer. The river was at a nice level - 1-foot, 250 cfs on the Dover gage. About a mile downstream we took a side trip up Bagastow Brook up to South End Pond. Once back on the Charles we paddled through the section that runs through Rocky Narrows, and took a break at the picnic area. From there it is a quick trip down to the take out. I was on my way home by noon.

It was surprising that the leaves were already starting to turn. Fall is coming. We also saw a few patches of water chestnut on the river. Hopefully a clogged up river isn't coming as well.

Leaves turning at the takeout

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Al's post on the Trash Paddler

Charles River Gage - Dover

Charles - Needham to Wellesley - September 3, 2022

In the "new to me" Capella

I had put a RICKA flatwater trip on the calendar in the spring, and my original plan was to do a shuttle trip on the Medfield to Natick section of the Charles. When I got an email from Steve saying that the river was choked with weeds above the Farm Road/Bridge Street bridge I had to change my plans. I decided to do an up-and-back trip in the “Bays Region” from Needham to Wellesley.

Under the Centre Street Bridge

We met at 10:00 to launch our boats at the Charles River Peninsula (87 Fisher Street, Needham, MA). In this section, the river is relatively undeveloped except for some large houses as the river flows through Dover/Sherborn. The river starts off as marshland, but turns to woodlands as you get above the Dover Street Bridge. After a break for lunch at the Elm Bank Reservation (900 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA) we headed back downstream – 11 easy miles in my new Capella.

Skye, Cheryl and Erik - the three Capellas

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Charles River Peninsula

Elm Bank Reservation

Charles - Lakes District - November 22, 2021

At the put-in

There was a time when you rarely saw a tandem canoe. Everyone wanted to captain their own ship and paddle their own boat. Now people are realizing the benefits of paddling tandem – especially on windy flatwater. With tandem paddlers the toughest part of organizing a trip can be figuring out who paddles with whom, and who brings the boat.

I was talking to Al last week at the Papa Joe hike, and we decided to paddle the “Lakes District” on the Charles. The Lakes District is formed by the backwater of the Moody Street Dam and runs for 5.8-miles from Washington Street in Wellsley to Moody Street in Waltham.

Sculptures on the banks

In it’s glory days, this section of the Charles was home to Norumbega Park in Newton, named for the Norumbega Tower just downstream, and the Riverside Recreation Grounds a little further upstream in Weston. Established in the 1890’s, these parks were located at the end of the Boston trolley lines and attracted hundreds of thousand of visitors each year. The Lakes District became the most heavily canoed river on earth with more than 5,000 canoes berthed at over a dozen clubs along its length.

Today, there are two put-ins on this section of the river - the Duck Feeding Area at the end of Norumbega Road in Weston (across from the Marriott Hotel) and 48 Woerd Avenue in Waltham. We decided to launch in Waltham. Conrad and I were going to paddle tandem, but I ended up bringing a solo boat for him instead.

Matching WildFires

We headed upstream past a home where the homeowner has placed statutes along the river – an elk, a bear, some deer and a life-sized bison and Native American. Shortly after we came to the dilapidated boat ramp at Norumbega Tower.

Nurumbega Tower is a stone tower erected in 1889 to mark the supposed location of Fort Norumbega, a legendary Viking fort at the confluence of Stony Brook and the Charles River. We hiked over to the tower and climbed to the top to check out the view.

Waltham Watch Company

Unfortunately we had a few problems getting back in the boats. First Georgie jumped out of the boat and landed in the water. Then, with an unstable boat, Julie tipped over at the dock. We got everyone back in the boats, and decided to head back downstream in case Goergie or Julie got a chill.

Julie and Georgie were fine, so we paddled past the put-in and down to the Waltham Watch Company. This huge mill was also known as the American Watch Company and produced over 40 million watches between 1850 and 1957. We continued down to the Moody Street Bridge (and dam) before turning around and calling it a day.

The crew at Norumbega Tower

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Charles River Watershed Association
Waltham Gage

Charles - Medfield to Natick - August 7, 2021

Heading out

With a good part of the club heading off to the Adirondacks the first week in August it can be a tricky time to run a RICKA trip. Still, there are usually enough people around who want to paddle, so I put a trip on the calendar for the Charles River.

The Charles River arises at Echo Lake in Hopkinton, and flows generally east for 85-miles, zig-zagging through 22 cities and towns in eastern MA before emptying into Boston Harbor. There are a number of great flatwater trips on the Charles including the Bays Region from Natick to Wellesley, the Elm Bank Reservation from Wellesley to Needham, the Lakes District from Weston to Waltham and the Dedham Loop.

Passing the Praying Girl

On this trip, we would be running the section from Medfield (101 West St, Medfield, MA 02052) down to the Natick Dam (South Natick Dam Park, 9 Pleasant St S, South Natick, MA 01760) - about 9-miles. We met at 10:00 and ran the shuttle down to the dam. Fortunately, we were able to grab four parking spots on the street at the take-out. The alternative would have been to park at the Hunnewell Baseball Fields up the street (22 Pleasant St S, South Natick, MA 01760).

This section starts off in marshland before entering into woodlands at the Rocky Narrows Reservation and the Mass Audubon Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary. We stopped for lunch at the picnic site at Rocky Narrows. The trip ends at the So. Natick Dam after passing by the Praying Girl statue and under Sergeant’s Bridge.

The crew at the Rocky Narrows Picnic Site

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Skye’s Pictures

Camping at Rocky Narrows on the Charles River

Call for reservations

I ran a RICKA trip on the Charles and we stopped for lunch at the Rocky Narrows Picnic Site. I noticed from the sign that you can camp there. It would make a nice paddle-in site for an overnight trip - put in at Dover Road and take out at Bridge Street. You could hike over to the King Phillip Overlook. No porta-potty, but there is a lot of space, and a fire ring. It would probably accommodate 8 to 10 people. Need to contact the Trustees at 508-785-0339 or charlesrivervalley@thetrustees.org.

Group campsite at Rocky Narrows

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Rocky Narrows – Trustees of Reservations

Charles - Dedham Loop - June 19, 2021

Al at the put in

I knew Justin would be coming down for Father’s Day, so I wanted to do an early morning trip. Al, Bill and I decided to do the Dedham Loop on the Charles River.

The Charles River arises at Echo Lake in Hopkinton, and flows generally east for 80 miles, zig-zagging through 22 cities and towns in eastern MA before emptying into Boston Harbor. There are a number of great flatwater trips on the Charles including the section from Medfield to Natick, and the Bays Region from Natick to Wellesley.

Bill in the stern

About 5-miles below the Cochrane Dam and the Bays Region, the Charles makes a 5-mile loop around Dedham. In 1635, settlers dug a half-mile ditch across the top of the loop to allow greater cultivation of hay. The water flow from the ditch resulted in a natural peninsula, creating Dedham Island (Riverdale). The ditch helped to alleviate flooding and improve meadow grasslands.

We put in at the Dedham Parks & Recreation Building (269 Common Street, Dedham). The loop can be run clockwise (upstream in the Charles, downstream in the ditch) or counterclockwise (downstream in the Charles and upstream in the ditch). We went counterclockwise and enjoyed the easy downstream current. The river was at 1.2 feet, 184 cfs on the Dover gage, and we had no problem paddling up the ditch. In higher water it could be difficult to paddle up the ditch against the current.

Up the ditch

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Charles River - Dover Gage

Trashpaddler Blog

Charles – Medfield to Dover – July 4, 2020

At the put-in

The "early morning crew" did a bike shuttle today on the Charles River from Bridge Street in Dover (5 Bridge St, Dover, MA 02030) to West Street in Medfield (101 West St, Medfield, MA 02052) - about 4-miles. For me, this was the third weekend in a row for a bike shuttle, and I'm starting to realize that it has advantages - great exercise, get's rid of boring "up-and-back" trips, and gives me options for trips even when I am alone. I'm liking it.

Today's trip was on a pretty section of Charles that runs through the Rocky Narrows. The original plan was to go all the way down to the Natick Dam (South Natick Dam Park, 9 Pleasant St, South Natick, MA 01760 - 7-miles) but we scaled it back - probably just as well for a bunch of old guys. As usual, put-in was empty when we met at 8:00, but was mobbed by the time we got back to the cars around 11:30.

Started off cloudy, but the sun came out later

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Rocky Narrows

Keeping the Circle Small - Charles River Bays Region - June 13, 2020

Bays Region

When I think of the Charles River, I usually think of the section from Medfield to Natick since that was the first section that I did, but there are lots of nice sections of the Charles. The "early morning paddling crew" got out yesterday for a run on the Charles through the “Bays Region” in Needham and Dover. I did this trip several years ago with the RICKA crew, but we put in at the other end at Elm Bank Reservation (900 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA). 

The Charles arises in Hopkinton and meanders 80-miles on its 30-mile trip to Boston Harbor. We had the place to ourselves at 8:00 when we put in at the boat ramp at the Charles River Peninsula (87 Fisher Street, Needham, MA). We paddled a short ways downstream under the South Street Bridge to check out the Cochrane Dam before heading upstream. In this section, the river is relatively undeveloped except for some large houses as the river flows through a couple of the ritziest towns in MA - Needham, Dover and Wellesley. We went upstream about 3.5-miles to the Dover Road/Charles River Road Bridge where we turned around. When we got back to the put in at around 11:00 the place was packed.

The crew - Erik, Conrad, Al and Jonathan

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Charles River Peninsula

Day after Turkey Paddle - Charles River in Millis - November 27, 2015

I was back on the Charles River yesterday for a "Day after Turkey" paddle with Earl. We put in at Dwight Street in Millis and paddled upstream a couple of miles while Earl looked for geocaches. The caching was not successful (0 for 3), but the paddling was nice. We then paddled downstream past Route 109 to take out at West Street. It was a little cloudy, but otherwise a great day. 

 

Earl heads downstream

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Charles - Wellesley to Needham - October 17, 2015

Bill and I had agreed to do some tandem paddling, so I loaded the Spirit II on the rack and headed off the to the Charles River. We joined RICKA for a round-trip from the Elm Bank Reservation (900 Washington Street) in Wellesley to the Cochrane Dam on Fisher Street (Charles River Peninsula Access Road) in Needham – about 11 miles. The river is relatively undeveloped except for a few large houses, and the foliage was great with lots of yellows, golds and reds. Nice trip.

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