A little known gem

So often we drive a long distance to paddle. Yet if we look closely, quite often there is a place to paddle that the general consenses of the population would think you're crazy. I have such a place minutes from my home in Northern NJ. This body of water, at one time, has been labeled the most polluted river in the nation. Yet time and stricter pollution standards has healed it, if not completely, this much maligned river. The river is known as the Passaic. It courses through the Northern part of NJ in a 90 mile circuitous route until it finally reaches Newark Bay.

Downstream of Paterson, NJ and the Dundee Dam, the river makes it's way through an industrial area that once contributed to the pollution. To this day, the sediments are considered extremely toxic. The water quality has improved substantially in this stretch of the river, but has a long way to go. The fish are back, but cannot be consumed.

The Passaic River has two water falls. The smaller one at Little Falls, NJ and the larger one named the Great Falls in Paterson, NJ. The Great Falls area saw the birth of the industrial age in the United States. It is the largest waterfall on the East coast.

Upstream of Little Falls, the river flows wide and slow. It meanders through the towns of Singac, Fairfield,Wayne and Montville and then further into Morris County. The most Northerly route of the Passaic takes it through Great Piece Meadows. This area is a wooded low lying forest of various hardwood trees.

Earlier this week, I took advantage of a nice day and decided to paddle upstream from Little Falls into Great Piece Meadows, a distance of approximately 8 miles. I titled this post "A little known gem", and I did because the river is under utilized. I've only seen other paddlers or other boats a few times. Most of the time, I'm completely alone on the river, aside from ducks, geese and a variety of wading birds. I've seen deer, racoons, muskrats, turkeys and a host of smaller birds.

From Little Falls, the river passes through a residential area on both banks of the river. There are a series of bridges that carry the traffic of Routes 23, 46 and I80. Once past these bridges, the river flows through Great Piece Meadows. Here the tenor of the river changes dramatically. Gone are the houses, gone is the noise of the cars and trucks, making their way to their appointed rounds. All that is left is the river, the trees and the sound of birds and the honking of disturbed geese. This is the gem. A remarkably isolated area less than 20 miles from New York City. Some 3000 acres of wooded bottomland and a river flowing through it.

This time of year, it may not be the prettiest place to paddle, but it's a short 10 minute ride from my house to the put in. My four hours of paddling took me 16 miles. Half of it within the confines of Great Piece Meadow. A gem!