David Churbuck
01-09-2004, 06:12 AM
Cotuit, take exit 2 from Route 6 south on Route 130 approx 8 miles to Route 28, east and immediate right onto Main Street.
Parking notes. Cotuit is a very popular put-in spot for kayakers. Parking, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, is restricted to vehicles with a Town of Barnstable Parking Permit. Parking alternatives -- Putnam Avenue, The Elizabeth Lowell Baseball Park (if there are no games scheduled). Enforcement is vigilant.
1. Old Shore Road, aka Hoopers Landing, aka Ropes Beach
Main Street South to Old Shore Road, approx 2 miles south of Route 28. Downhill. Primary launching area is small town beach with concrete seawall. Launch on the path adjacent to the Cotuit Rowing Club rack. Muddy bottom at extreme low tide. Access to Cotuit Bay, North Bay, West Bay, Dead Neck/Sampson's Island. .75 mile paddle to Nantucket Sound for great striper and bluefishing in season. Occasional bonito appearances, dependable false albacore in Osterville's West Bay Cut/Wianno Cut.
2. Cordwood Lane/Old Post Road
A dirt road off of Old Post Road leading to a popular town way to water for fly rodders and recreational shellfishermen. No ramp, just sandy beach with a muddy bottom at low tide. Good access to Narrows, North Bay and Princes Cove. Town permit parking only during the summer. High pressure spot during early spring schoolie run.
The following three spots need no maps as they are easily accessed off of Main Street, which runs N/S through the village.
3. Town Dock
At the main intersection in the village, of Main and School Street, take the town landing down to the Town Dock. Ample off-season parking which is enforced as sticker only during the summer. The north side of the dock has a small strip of sandy beach suitable to launching. Good point for access to Dead Neck/Sampson's Island, Seapuit River, any Three-Bay Estuary exploring, and Nantucket Sound.
4. Riley's Beach/Cross Street
A public beach at the entrance of Cotuit Bay, Cross Street, off of Ocean View Avenue, has a short flight of stairs down to a sandy beach that is popular with swimmers and sunbathers. This IS NOT a suitable put-in spot at most times. There is no adjacent parking in the off-season. Currents are swift here. Any launching activities during summer use would be viewed as highly obnoxious.
5. Loop Beach. at the end of Ocean View Avenue, Loop Beach is a medium sized public beach with a seawall, a set of stairs, and a ramp to the sand. No launching here during the summer season when this is a bathing beach only. Parking restricted to town parking permits. Excellent access to Nantucket Sound and bluefishing.
6. Oregon Beach, at the end of Main Street, Oregon Beach is renowned for its access to the finest flats bluefishing in the world during the May run. As such it is extremely pressured, and has seen increasing theft incidents of tackle, etc. The public access is limited to a narrow strip of beach no wider than the dirt driveway. That driveway is highly rutted and full of potholes.
7. Shoestring Bay: on the west side of town, on the border of Mashpee, is Shoestring Bay, a semi-stagnant bay at the head of the Popponesset Estuary system (which includes the Mashpee River and Ockway Bay. At the northern end of the bay, passing under School Street, is the end of the Santuit River, a former sea run brown trout river and active herring run which has seen inordinate pressure from nitrogen loading and low water levels during the summer.
The launch spot is on Santuit Road, accessed by turning south off of School Street (also known as Quinaquissett Ave. when it runs through Mashpee) onto Grove Street which merges into Santuit Road. Santuit Road also intersects School Street but is a dirt road with potholes. Grove Street is kinder on the suspension.
About 1.5/2 miles south on Santuit Road, the road comes to a curve at a red shack. The town landing is located adjacent to this. Parking is extremely limited. Good access to all of the Popponesset Estuary.
Parking notes. Cotuit is a very popular put-in spot for kayakers. Parking, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, is restricted to vehicles with a Town of Barnstable Parking Permit. Parking alternatives -- Putnam Avenue, The Elizabeth Lowell Baseball Park (if there are no games scheduled). Enforcement is vigilant.
1. Old Shore Road, aka Hoopers Landing, aka Ropes Beach
Main Street South to Old Shore Road, approx 2 miles south of Route 28. Downhill. Primary launching area is small town beach with concrete seawall. Launch on the path adjacent to the Cotuit Rowing Club rack. Muddy bottom at extreme low tide. Access to Cotuit Bay, North Bay, West Bay, Dead Neck/Sampson's Island. .75 mile paddle to Nantucket Sound for great striper and bluefishing in season. Occasional bonito appearances, dependable false albacore in Osterville's West Bay Cut/Wianno Cut.
2. Cordwood Lane/Old Post Road
A dirt road off of Old Post Road leading to a popular town way to water for fly rodders and recreational shellfishermen. No ramp, just sandy beach with a muddy bottom at low tide. Good access to Narrows, North Bay and Princes Cove. Town permit parking only during the summer. High pressure spot during early spring schoolie run.
The following three spots need no maps as they are easily accessed off of Main Street, which runs N/S through the village.
3. Town Dock
At the main intersection in the village, of Main and School Street, take the town landing down to the Town Dock. Ample off-season parking which is enforced as sticker only during the summer. The north side of the dock has a small strip of sandy beach suitable to launching. Good point for access to Dead Neck/Sampson's Island, Seapuit River, any Three-Bay Estuary exploring, and Nantucket Sound.
4. Riley's Beach/Cross Street
A public beach at the entrance of Cotuit Bay, Cross Street, off of Ocean View Avenue, has a short flight of stairs down to a sandy beach that is popular with swimmers and sunbathers. This IS NOT a suitable put-in spot at most times. There is no adjacent parking in the off-season. Currents are swift here. Any launching activities during summer use would be viewed as highly obnoxious.
5. Loop Beach. at the end of Ocean View Avenue, Loop Beach is a medium sized public beach with a seawall, a set of stairs, and a ramp to the sand. No launching here during the summer season when this is a bathing beach only. Parking restricted to town parking permits. Excellent access to Nantucket Sound and bluefishing.
6. Oregon Beach, at the end of Main Street, Oregon Beach is renowned for its access to the finest flats bluefishing in the world during the May run. As such it is extremely pressured, and has seen increasing theft incidents of tackle, etc. The public access is limited to a narrow strip of beach no wider than the dirt driveway. That driveway is highly rutted and full of potholes.
7. Shoestring Bay: on the west side of town, on the border of Mashpee, is Shoestring Bay, a semi-stagnant bay at the head of the Popponesset Estuary system (which includes the Mashpee River and Ockway Bay. At the northern end of the bay, passing under School Street, is the end of the Santuit River, a former sea run brown trout river and active herring run which has seen inordinate pressure from nitrogen loading and low water levels during the summer.
The launch spot is on Santuit Road, accessed by turning south off of School Street (also known as Quinaquissett Ave. when it runs through Mashpee) onto Grove Street which merges into Santuit Road. Santuit Road also intersects School Street but is a dirt road with potholes. Grove Street is kinder on the suspension.
About 1.5/2 miles south on Santuit Road, the road comes to a curve at a red shack. The town landing is located adjacent to this. Parking is extremely limited. Good access to all of the Popponesset Estuary.