Massachusetts / Connecticut River /

Connecticut River Carry-in Access

This is a public kayak and canoe launch on the Connecticut River near Holyoke, Massachusetts, run by MassWildlife.

Aerial view of the paved lot, ramp and dock on the Connecticut River, August 2023
Aerial view of the paved lot, ramp and dock on the Connecticut River, August 2023 Photo: USDA Farm Service Agency, NAIP · Public domain · via USGS The National Map

Status not reported No closure has been posted for this launch, but its agency does not publish open or closed status. Check with the managing agency before you tow.

At the launch

Type
Carry-in (canoe and kayak)
Ramp surface
Concrete
Managed by
MassWildlife
Coordinates
42.17204, -72.62970

Directions (Google) Apple Maps

This launch has no official name in our sources; the name above describes where it is.

Conditions

Water level

Latest reading loads here; without it, see the USGS page below.

USGS gauge CONNECTICUT R AT I-391 BRIDGE AT HOLYOKE, MA, 1.7 mi from this launch on Connecticut River: water level, flow, a reading every 15 minutes. Readings and history at USGS.

On the river

River hazards
  • Falls, 4.2 mi upstream: South Hadley Falls. · USGS GNIS falls and rapids (The National Map Gazetteer)

Up to 10 river miles each way, from the agencies' inventories; not every hazard is listed and rivers change. Scout before you go.

Sources: USGS GNIS falls and rapids (The National Map Gazetteer).

On Connecticut River

The Connecticut River is the main river of the Pioneer Valley in western Massachusetts. It runs 410 miles from Fourth Connecticut Lake in Coos County, New Hampshire, to Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook and Old Lyme, Connecticut, and drains a basin of 11,260 square miles. On its way through Massachusetts it passes Northfield, Gill, Sunderland, Hatfield, Northampton, South Hadley, Holyoke, Chicopee and Springfield. Between Holyoke and South Hadley, the Holyoke Dam stands at Hadley Falls, where the river once fell 53 feet naturally. The dam is a granite gravity dam 1,020 feet long and 30 feet high. It opened in 1900 and is owned and operated by Holyoke Gas & Electric. Along the river, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation manages Connecticut River Greenway State Park, which covers 1,048 acres and 12 miles of protected shoreline. More about Connecticut River.

Boating rules on Connecticut River

  • Headway speed required within 150 feet of a swimmer, shore or moored vessel source
  • Connecticut River Task Force asks boaters not to raft more than five vessels together while anchored, to keep the river navigable (request, not regulation) source

Community

Where people who use Connecticut River talk about it.

Nearby launches

Sources

Why it is listed as public: listed by MassWildlife GoFishMA! freshwater access points. Something wrong, or is this launch private? Send a correction; it goes to a person.