Most of our guides start as desk research, built from public sources so they are useful right away. The next step is getting out to these launches in person to confirm the practical details and add our own notes. Here is what we are prioritizing for summer 2026, and why.
This is a plan, not a promise of dates. Weather, water levels, and time all get a vote. If you paddle any of these before we do, a quick update would genuinely help us prioritize.
On the list
- Athens NYS Boat Launch is a Hudson River launch where parking, the ramp surface, and how it handles wind are the details most worth confirming on site.
- Fourth Street Launch is the dedicated Athens hand launch for kayaks and canoes - parking, launch surface, storage rack condition, and ADA access all need a site visit before we can call any of them confirmed.
- Dutchman's Landing Park, Catskill is another tidal Hudson access point near the village, where crowding and launch access are the open questions.
- North-South Lake is one of our strongest beginner lake candidates, so we want to confirm the launch areas, parking, and the seasonal fee and hours.
- Colgate Lake is a quiet, no-motor lake where the main things to verify are the carry to the water and parking on a busy day.
- C.D. Lane Park near Maplecrest is a small mountain pond where we want to confirm access, the launch, and how much of the season it stays comfortably paddleable.
How to read the labels
Until a guide is field visited, it carries a desk-researched label and a confidence level so you know how firm the details are. When we complete a review, the guide moves to field visited, the confidence usually rises, and a short field note shows up here. You can read more about how we review and label guides.
Want to help
If you have recent, firsthand information on any of these, send an update. Notes on parking, launch condition, restrooms, and crowding are the most useful, and they help us point our field time where it matters most.